Ouest (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
) or Lwès (
Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...
; both meaning "West") is one of the ten
departments of Haiti
In the administrative divisions of Haiti, the department (french: département d'Haïti, ; ht, depatman Ayiti) is the first of four levels of government. Haiti is divided administratively into ten departments, which are further subdivided into 4 ...
and located in Centre-Sud of the country linking the Great-North and the
Tiburon Peninsula.
It is the jurisdictional seat of the national capital, the city of
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
.
It has an area of and a population of 4,029,705 (2015 Estimate). Due to the Ouest being the biggest and most populated department it better understood when split into 5 subregions, each sub-regions deserve to be their own department.
* Ouest-Arcadins or Akaya, the District of
Arcahaie, the biggest city being
Arcahaie
* Ouest-Plaine or Azuei, the
District of Croix-des-Bouquets, the biggest city being
Croix-des-Bouquets
Croix-des-Bouquets (, ; ht, Kwadèbouke or ) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Po ...
* Ouest-Meridonnal or Yaguana, the
District of Léogane, the biggest city being
Léoganes
* Ouest-Insulaire or Gonave, the
District of Gonave, the biggest city being
Anse-à-Galets
Anse-à-Galets ( ht, Ansagalèt) is a commune and city in the La Gonâve Arrondissement, in the Ouest department on Gonâve Island in Haiti, located to the west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve
The Gulf of Gonâve (french: G ...
* Ouest-Capital, the
District of Port-au-Prince, the biggest city being
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
History
Taino Period
The department was part of the Xaragua kasika under the leadership of Anacaona.
There are many native settlements in the department notably around
Akaya,
Azuei Lake,
Yaguana, the
island of Guanabo and
Goava. It is understood that the Azuei Plaine region was used as a hunting ground for the natives.
The island of Gonave is the last point of refuge for the Taino natives.
Spanish Period
One of the only Spanish settlements in the area was a destroyed Spanish town called Santa-Maria-de-la-Paz-Verdadera, the actual city of
Tabarre.
French Period
The earliest French settlement in the area was a hospital named Morne L'Hopital. In the second half of the 18th century, the French wanted to build a new colonial capital outside the troubled North. One of the suggestions was Petit-Goâve but later they chose the region of l'Hopital building which would become the City of
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
.
English Period
In 1793 the city fell to the British troops where they built the Fort-National until Toussaint gained it back for the French government.
Haitian Period
Haitian Revolution
Many
maroon
Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown".
According to multiple dictionaries, there are vari ...
troops controlled the mountain around Port-au-Prince mainly
Romaine-la-Prophetesse and
Lamour Dérance and Cangé.
Around 1772,
Romaine-la-Prophétesse acquired a plantation named Trou Coffy in the department (likely in what is now
Fondwa), becoming a prominent coffee grower and trader. In 1791 and 1792, during the early
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...
, Romaine led some thirteen thousand slaves and rebels in freeing slaves from and burning the provinces plantations and briefly controlling two major cities,
Léogâne
Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is one of the coastal communes in Haiti. It is located in the eponymous Léogâne Arrondissement, which is part of the Ouest Department. The port town is located about west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. L ...
and
Jacmel
Jacmel (; ht, Jakmèl) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsu ...
.
First Ogé and Chavannes organized more than 300 blacks the Suisses to rebel against their so-called master. Caradeux the rough slave master in the region orderer their execution in
Omòl.
Then in 1791, Pétion, Pinchinnat, Beauvais, and more rebelled against the French authority and reclaimed their civil rights. After the Battles of Pernier,
Croix-des-Bouquets
Croix-des-Bouquets (, ; ht, Kwadèbouke or ) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Po ...
, and
Mirebalais
Mirebalais ( ht, Mibalè) is a commune in the Centre department of Haiti, approximately 60 km northeast of Port-au-Prince on National Road 3. The city was established in 1702.
American Rotarians have made a number of mission-type trips t ...
they gained a Concordat, although the slaves did not gain anything.
In Arcahaie, on May 18, 1803, the generals of the North and West and Maroons met for a Congress and chose
Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Jean-Jacques Dessalines ( Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Under Dessalines, Haiti be ...
as commander of the
Armée Indigène
The Indigenous Army (french: link=no, Armée Indigène), also known as the Army of Saint-Domingue (french: link=no, Armée de Saint-Domingue) or Lame Endijèn in Haitian Creole, was the name bestowed to the coalition of anti-slavery rebels w ...
s and chose the
Haiti Flag designed by
Catherine Flon
Catherine Flon (d. ''after'' 1803) was a Haitian seamstress, patriot and national heroine. She is regarded as one of the symbols of the Haitian Revolution and independence. She is celebrated for sewing the first Haitian flag in May 18, 1803 and ma ...
.
Independence
According to
Thomas Madiou's recount of the Haitian Revolution, the fight for
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
is one of the most important fights. After Gabart gained control of
St-Marc, the entire
Artibonite region was under the control of
Dessalines and the
Armée Indigène
The Indigenous Army (french: link=no, Armée Indigène), also known as the Army of Saint-Domingue (french: link=no, Armée de Saint-Domingue) or Lame Endijèn in Haitian Creole, was the name bestowed to the coalition of anti-slavery rebels w ...
. In the south, only the major port town of
Les Cayes
Les Cayes ( , ), often referred to as Aux Cayes (; ht, Okay), is a commune and seaport in the Les Cayes Arrondissement, in the Sud department of Haiti, with a population of 71,236. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capita ...
was still under French control. In the north,
Cap-Haitian and
Mole-St-Nicolas are still under French control.
Rochambeau anticipated that the next step for
Dessalines would be the conquer of Port-au-Prince, so he moved the capital of the colony back to
Cap-Francois which would be harder for the British Navy to put under blockade versus Port-au-Prince located in the
Gulf of Gonave. Leaving
Petite-Rivière-de-l'Artibonite on September 15, the general stopped in St-Marc by
Gabart and was in
Arcahaie by
Pétion on September 17. The same night for
Croix-des-Bouquets
Croix-des-Bouquets (, ; ht, Kwadèbouke or ) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Po ...
where he camped by Frère. Pétion continued to march toward
P-au-P and was by habitation Drouillard the next day. The French general of Croix-des-Bouquets Lux left the arrondissement to go help the French troops in P-au-P, he passed by Damien, Sarthe and the convoy was attacked by the Indigènes. By September 23,
Cangé left
Léogane, marched toward Port-au-Prince, and attacked the Fort-Bizoton in
Carrefour
Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, whic ...
, Gabart was at the St-Joseph gate and Dessalines camped in Turgeau a neighborhood located east of the city. The city of Port-au-Prince is officially sieged by the Armée Indigénes. The very next day Pétion was located in the habitation Philippeaux and started bombarding the French troops. By October 5, an
aide-de-camp of
Lavalette brought a letter to Dessalines with the terms of their capitulation. Dessalines accepted with an exchange of prisoners and
adjuvant-general Bonnet came back to the Haitians and gave the French 4 days to leave the city. Thus on September 9 Port-au-Prince was freed from the French troops and Dessalines enter the city proudly with Pétion on his right and Gabart on his left.
Pétion,
Germain Frère and
Yayou are signatories of the
Haitian Declaration of Independence.
Ouest was part of the Second Military Division of the West with Pétion as commander.
Pétion build the twin fort
Jacques and Alexandreon the order of Dessalines.
On October 17, 1806, coming from
Dessalinesville,
Emperor Jacques 1st was ambushed and assassinated plunging the country into a civil war. His body was buried in St-Anne Cemetery. On January 2, 1904, he received state funerals and later on his body was moved to the Autel de la Patrie in Champs-de-Mars along with
Pétion's body.
On January 1, 1807, only three years after the
Haitian Declaration of Independence, the northern troops fought the western troops in the Sibert Battle, where Pétion almost died.
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...
was the de facto border between the two states.
Under
Jean-Pierre Boyer
Jean-Pierre Boyer (15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annexed ...
, fearing the return of the French boat, he ordered the construction of a city in the heights like Toussaint with
Ennery, Dessalines with
Dessalines and Christophe with
Milot and naming it after his mentor
Pétionville.
Being the political center of the country, most of Haiti's political instability and economical fight happen in the Port-au-Prince area since 1749 until today.
Geography
The department is bordered to the north by
Artibonite and
Centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
and the
Mattheux mountain chain, the west by the Gulf of Gonave, the south by the Sud-Est department and the
La Selle Mountain Chain, and the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
to the east through the province of
Independencia.
It is the second largest department in Haiti after
Artibonite.
Gonâve Island is also part of the Ouest department. The department's stretch of coastline lies entirely in the
Gulf of Gonâve.
A part majority of the department lies in the
Plaine-de-Cul-de-Sac which continues to the Dominican Rep. as the
Hayo de Enriquillo. Two other plains that lie in the region are the Plain of Arcahaie-Cabaret and the
Plain of Léoganes.
Gulf and Coast
The Golfe is more than 500 km in length from Mole-Saint-Nicolas to Abricots and it consists of more than a dozen bays and harbors.
The Bay of Port-au-Prince is the largest in the country and one of the biggest in the Caribbean harboring many islands, cays, and reefs. The island of Gonave is the largest
satellite island on Hispaniola being the size of
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
.
Environment
The largest lake in the country is a salty lake in a depression in the plain of the same name, Azuei Lake. A smaller lake lies next to it Caiman Lake. Both lakes form a national park harboring
flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...
s and
caiman
A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South America f ...
s.
The hills of Port-au-Prince consist of a mountain from the
Massif de la Selle
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
-
Cordillera Meridional, where one can find multiple forests such as Foret-des-Pins and Parc-la-Visite.
The most important rivers in the department are Blanche River, Froide River, Monance River, and Bois-de-Chène Ravine.
Geology
The earthquake activities in the area are a result of the
Enriquillo-Plantain-Garden fault going from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
to the
Dominican Rep passing through the
Xaragua Peninsula and the
Gonave Microplate. Two well-documented earthquakes happen in the area.
* 1751 Earthquake
*
2010 Earthquake
Earthquakes in 2010 resulted in nearly 165,000 fatalities. Most of these were due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused an estimated 160,000 deaths, making it the 11th deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Other deadly quakes occurred i ...
or ''Goudougoudou''. The epicenter was in Léoganes affecting
Jacmel
Jacmel (; ht, Jakmèl) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsu ...
,
Léoganes, and Port-au-Prince and causing millions in damages and counting hundreds-thousand of casualties.
On 12 January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck in the department, the largest in Haiti in two centuries. In the
Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, many areas suffered damage. In the
Léogâne Arrondissement, the city of
Léogâne
Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is one of the coastal communes in Haiti. It is located in the eponymous Léogâne Arrondissement, which is part of the Ouest Department. The port town is located about west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. L ...
suffered 80-90% destruction.
Other places in Léogâne were also affected.
Economy
This is the richest department in Haiti with economic poles in different sectors.
Tourism
In the Haitian metropolis, the tourism sector touch on different branches such as leisure tourism in the Cotes-des-Arcadins,
eco-tourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fun ...
with Park Azuei-Caiman and Park La Selle, historical tourism with the countless historical monuments especially the
National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
, and cultural tourism.
Agriculture
For so long agriculture was a part of the economy of the department with the Arcahaie plain being a center for
plantain, the Cul-de-Sac and Léogane being known for large
sugar-cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks ...
plantations mostly for the production of
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
, and the hills of
Kenscoff
Kenscoff ( ht, Kenskòf) is a commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti, located in the foothills of the Chaîne de la Selle mountain range, some 10 kilometres to the southeast of the capital city of Port-a ...
cultivating different vegetables. Unfortunately, over-construction and the ever-expansion of the city, those areas see their fertile land now covered with asphalt and concrete.
Transport
Much of Haiti's road network extends out of the Ouest
*The RN1 connects the West to the North by the coast
*The RN2 connects the West to the South
*The RN3 connects the West to the North through the mountains
*The RN4 connects the West to the South-East
*The RN8 connects the West to the
Jimani, in the Dominican Rep.
The bay harbors many ports of sizable capacity owned or operated by the state or private parties.
Haiti's biggest airport is the
Toussaint Louverture Airport located in
Delmas Delmas may refer to:
People
* Antoine Guillaume Delmas (1766–1813), French revolutionary and Napoleonic general
* Benjamin Delmas (born 1976), French ice dancer
* Bert Delmas (Albert Charles Delmas, 1911–1979), American baseball player
* C ...
.
Administrative divisions
The Department of Ouest is subdivided into five
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...
s, which are further subdivided into twenty
communes
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
.
(with 2009 Population Estimates in parentheses)
*
Arcahaie Arrondissement (180,564)
**
Arcahaie (118,501)
**
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...
(62,063)
*
Croix-des-Bouquets Arrondissement (431,789)
**
Cornillon (54,254)
**
Croix-des-Bouquets
Croix-des-Bouquets (, ; ht, Kwadèbouke or ) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Po ...
(227,012)
**
Fonds-Verettes (45,491)
**
Ganthier
Ganthier ( ht, Gantye) is a commune in the Croix-des-Bouquets Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on ...
(56,869)
**
Thomazeau
Thomazeau ( ht, Tomazo) is a commune in the Croix-des-Bouquets Arrondissement, Ouest department of Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the ...
(48,163)
*
La Gonâve Arrondissement (79,188)
**
Anse-à-Galets
Anse-à-Galets ( ht, Ansagalèt) is a commune and city in the La Gonâve Arrondissement, in the Ouest department on Gonâve Island in Haiti, located to the west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve
The Gulf of Gonâve (french: G ...
(56,890)
**
Pointe-à-Raquette (22,298)
*
Léogâne Arrondissement (463,140)
**
Grand-Goâve
Grand Goâve ( ht, Grangwav) is a commune in the Léogâne Arrondissement in the Ouest department of southwestern Haiti.
The Rivière de Grand Goâve passes to the east of the town. It is bridged by National Route No. 2 to the south and forded ...
(124,135)
**
Léogâne
Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is one of the coastal communes in Haiti. It is located in the eponymous Léogâne Arrondissement, which is part of the Ouest Department. The port town is located about west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. L ...
(181,709)
**
Petit-Goâve (157,296)
*
Port-au-Prince Arrondissement (2,509,939)
**
Carrefour
Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, whic ...
(465,019)
**
Cité Soleil
Cité Soleil ( ht, Site Solèy; English: ) is an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 ...
(241,055)
**
Delmas Delmas may refer to:
People
* Antoine Guillaume Delmas (1766–1813), French revolutionary and Napoleonic general
* Benjamin Delmas (born 1976), French ice dancer
* Bert Delmas (Albert Charles Delmas, 1911–1979), American baseball player
* C ...
(359,451)
**
Gressier (33,152)
**
Kenscoff
Kenscoff ( ht, Kenskòf) is a commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti, located in the foothills of the Chaîne de la Selle mountain range, some 10 kilometres to the southeast of the capital city of Port-a ...
(52,232)
**
Pétion-Ville
Pétion-Ville ( ht, Petyonvil) is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the hills east and separate from the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. Founded in 1831 by president Jean-Pierre Boyer, it was named ...
(342,694)
**
Tabarre (118,477)
**
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
(897,859)
*
× —
The communes of Cité Soleil and Tabarre are newly constituted, and did not exist at the time of the 2003 census
References
{{Authority control
Departments of Haiti
ht:Lwès