Jérémie (; ) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. It had a population of about 134,317 at the 2015 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the city. Jérémie is called ''the city of the poets'' because of the numerous writers, poets, and historians born there.

History

During 1762, Creole General

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Army general (France), Army-General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (; 25 March 1762 – 26 February 1806) was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars. Along with fellow French officers and Toussaint Lo ...

was born here. He is mostly known for fighting under Napoleon in Italy and Egypt and for being the father of writer

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

. In 1954 Jérémie was hit by Hurricane Hazel which destroyed much of the city and destroyed many neighboring inland villages. Hazel travelled north along the continental US east coast and went on to kill 39 Americans and 85 people in Canada. In 1964, during the Jérémie Vespers, the Haitian army and the '' Tonton Macoutes'' massacred 27 people in Jérémie. In the early 2000s, archaeologists uncovered an ancient synagogue of

Crypto-Jews Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Spani ...

in the city, the only one found on the

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

. Jérémie has historically been inhabited by many

mixed-race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

families of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. In the aftermath of the 2010

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

, a food aid convoy transporting aid delivered to Jérémie Airport through Jérémie encountered a hijacking attempt by 20 men, on 30 January 2010. Medical supplies have also been airlifted through the airport, due to the increase in medical needs from injured refugees arriving in the wake of the quake. In October 2016, Jérémie was almost completely destroyed by

Hurricane Matthew Hurricane Matthew was a powerful tropical cyclone which caused catastrophic damage and a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as widespread devastation in the southeastern United States. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Stan ...

as it went past Haiti. Roughly west of the city lies

Navassa Island Navassa Island (; ; , sometimes ) is an uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea. Located east of Jamaica, south of Cuba, and west of Jérémie on the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, it is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Haiti and ...

, which is claimed by Haiti and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Facilities

The city has an airport, Jérémie Airport. The area of the airport of Jérémie is known as "Numero Deux".

Mission Aviation Fellowship Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is an Evangelical Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated mission ...

conducts charter flights into the airport
Agape Flights
based in Venice, Florida, provides weekly mail and cargo service for several missionaries in the area.

Locations in Jérémie

Beaudrouin Beaudrouin is a rural settlement in the Jérémie commune in the Jérémie Arrondissement, in the Grand'Anse department of Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east ...

, Campagne,

Carrefour Sanon Carrefour Sanon is a rural settlement in the Jérémie commune of the Jérémie Arrondissement, in the Grand'Anse department of Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, ...

Dayere Dayere is a village in the Jérémie commune of the Jérémie Arrondissement, in the Grand'Anse department of Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and J ...

, Duranton, La Forêt, Leopold, Lori, Marche Leon, Previle, Rampe des Lions and Sassier.

Notable natives and residents

, a general of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, was born in Jérémie as the son of a French nobleman and his African slave, before independence. Dumas lived most of his life in France, where his father took him at age 18. He married and was the father of

, who became a noted and prolific author in the nineteenth century. * Joseph Serge Miot, was born there. He was the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Port-au-Prince, and was killed in the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. * Emile Roumer (1903–1988), a poet. * Modeste Testas (1765–1870), formerly enslaved Ethiopian woman, whose statues stands in Bordeaux commemorating the

transatlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. * Etzer Vilaire (1872–1951), a poet * Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent (1798–1883) free colored businesswoman * Joseph Raoul Cédras (1949) former Haitian military officer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeremie Communes of Haiti Gulf of Gonâve Historic Jewish communities in North America Jews and Judaism in Haiti Populated places in Grand'Anse (department) Port cities in the Caribbean Populated coastal places in Haiti