Download World Regions in Global Context: Peoples, Places, and

World Regional Geography
January 20, 2010
Reading:
Marston Chapter 1
Website:
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/class_homepages/geog_1982_s10/
Haiti
• Brief History of Haiti
• Brief Geography of Haiti
•
•
Human / Social
Physical
• January 12th Earthquake
•
•
•
What happened….
Social implications
International response
• How are geographers helping?
• How does this affect the world?
Haiti: Location
Colonial History
1492: Columbus lands on Hispaniola, Spanish
colonize Island shortly thereafter.
1697: Eastern 1/3 of Hispaniola ceded to
France by Spain (Saint-Domingue).
1791: Slave revolts begin.
1804: Haiti achieves independence.
History
1825: After several failed attempts to retake
the country, France officially recognizes Haiti.
1914: British, German, and US forces enter
Haiti to ‘protect their citizens”.
1915-1934: US occupation of Haiti.
1937: Parsley Massacre.
History
1991: Elected leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide fleas the
country following a successful coup.
1994: Aristide returns with international support.
2004: Following his re-election in 2000, Aristide is
again overthrown amidst corruption charges. US
Marines “evacuate” Aristide.
2006: Current President Rene Preval elected.
Instability & Emigration
Since achieving independence in 1804 the sitting
Haitian government has been overthrown 32 times.
As a result hundreds of thousands have fled Haiti


Dominican Republic (800,000)
United States (600,000)
• New York City
• Miami (Little Haiti)

Canada (100,000)
• Montreal


France (80,000)
Bahamas (80,000)
Haiti: Interesting Facts
• Only nation in the world born of a slave revolt.
• First independent nation in Latin America.
• First black-led post-colonial independent nation in
the world.
• Only French-speaking independent nation in the
Americas.
• Strong connection to Louisiana Creole population.
• 17th century haven for pirates.

Tortuga and the “Brethren of the Coast”
Haiti
The People
• Population: 9,035,536
• Ethnicity


African Decent: 95%
White / Mulatto: 5%
• Religion*




Roman Catholic: 80%
Protestant: 16%
None: 1%
Other: 3%
• Official Languages


French
Creole
* It is estimated that roughly 50% of the population actually practices
Haitian Vodou, which merges Catholicism and West African religions.
Population Characteristics
Population
Age Structure
0-14
15-64
65+
Median Age
Growth Rate
Birth Rate
Death Rate
Net Migration Rate
Urban Population
Haiti
9,035,536
USA
307,212,123
38.1%
58.5%
3.4%
20.2
1.84%
29.1
8.65
-2.07
47%
20.2%
67.0%
12.8%
36.7
0.98%
13.82
8.38
4.31
82%
• Demographic differences related to stages of
development.
• “Demographic Transition”
Population Density
Social/Vital Characteristics
Infant Mortality Rate
Life Expectancy
Total Fertility Rate
HIV/Aids Prevelance
Literacy
Education Expenditures
Cell Phones Per Capita
% Internet Users
Radio Stations
Haiti
56.69
60.78
3.81%
3.81
2.20%
USA
6.26
78.11
2.05
0.6%
Haiti
52.90%
1.40%
0.35
11.07%
67
USA
99%
5.30%
0.88
75.19%
13,750
• Highest fertility rate in the western hemisphere.
• Ranks 149th out of 182 countries in U.N. Human
Development Index.
Economic Characteristics
Haiti
GDP (2009)
GDP per Capita
GDP by Sector
Services
Industry
Agriculture
Sectoral Employment
Services
Industry
Agriculture
Unemployment Rate
% Poverty
USA
$7.018 billion $14.44 trillion
$790
$47,500
Dominican
Republic
$44.4 billion
$8,200
52%
20%
28%
79.6%
19.2%
1.2%
66.3%
22.9%
10.8%
25%
9%
66%
unknown*
80%
76.8%
22.6%
0.6%
9.7%
13%
63.1%
22.3%
14.6%
14.1%
42%
* Nearly 2/3 of the population is not formally employed.
Haiti is the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere.
Socio- Economic Characteristics
• Poverty




Most Haitians live on less than $2 per day.
80% of the population lives below the poverty line.
54% live in “abject poverty”.
Poverty has forced some 225,000 children into virtually
slavery (unpaid servants).
• Labor Force


Lack of skilled labor, and opportunities for skilled laborers.
2/3 of population relies on small-scale agriculture
(subsistence), which is extremely vulnerable to natural
hazards.
• Education

Brain-drain: 80% of Haitian college graduates have left the
country to find work.
• Inequality

50% of the nations wealth is owned by 1% of the population.
Physical Geography
Physical Geography
Area: 27,750 km², slightly smaller than Maryland.
»3rd largest Caribbean nation.
Climate: Tropical, semi-arid immediately east of
mountains.
Terrain: Mountainous with dispersed plains and river
valleys.
»Highest point: 2,680 meters (8,793 feet)
Arable Land: 28.11%
Permanent Crops: 11.53%
Land Use
Physical Geography
Environmental Issues
• Extensive Deforestation



Agriculture
Logging
Fuel (Charcoal)
• Soil Erosion

Mud-slides
• Lack of Potable Water
Natural Hazards
“Lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe
storms from June to October; occasional flooding and
earthquakes; periodic droughts.” (CIA World Fact Book)
January 12, 2010 in Review
Time:
Magnitude:
Location:
Depth:
4:53pm local time (Eastern Time Zone)
7.0 on the Richter Scale
25km (15mi) WSW of Port-Au-Prince
13km (8.1mi)
January 12, 2010 in Review
Caribbean Earthquakes
• How prevalent are earthquakes in this region?
• Was what happened rare?
Caribbean Earthquakes
Caribbean Earthquakes
Caribbean Earthquakes
• How prevalent are earthquakes in this region?
Small earthquakes occur daily in this
region, although this particular
earthquake was unusually large.
• Was what happened rare?
Yes…..and no. Seismic activity is
common in the Caribbean, but the
precise location of this quake was
somewhat unusual.
The last significant earthquake along the EnriquilloPlaintain Garden Fault occurred in 1860.
January 12, 2010 in Review
An earthquake of this magnitude occurs somewhere in
the world, on average, once every 3 weeks. In relation
to other earthquakes, the Haiti quake was very strong.
However, what made this earthquake particularly
devastating was not necessarily its strength, but
WHERE it occurred.
Recipe for Disaster
• Proximity to Population

Metro Port-Au-Prince: 2,000,000
• Shallow epicenter = greater surface intensity
• Most buildings not designed to withstand
earthquakes.

Simple concrete structures.
• Many of the slums surrounding Port-AuPrince are built on steep hillsides.
• Haiti does not have the resources to respond
to a disaster of this magnitude.
Social Ramifications
• Health & Humanitarian




Estimated 200,000 dead.
3 million Haitians in need of food, water, and medical care
(U.N.).
Estimated 1.5 million Haitians are now homeless.
Search and rescue (5-7 days)
• Medical care for those successfully extracted.

Sanitation and disease.
• Social & Political

Most government infrastructure destroyed.
• Rule of law?
• “Mob Justice”


Looting and rioting – both “criminal” and survival oriented.
International aid - should foreign governments step in for
the Haitian government?
How are Geographers Involved
• Logistics


Satellite Imagery: search and rescue mapping.
Transportation of aid once it reaches Hispaniola.
• Socio-political


Aid organization – making difficult decisions.
Predicting social behaviors / reactions.
How does this affect the world?
• Safety of foreign nationals.

Diplomats, foreign companies
• Instability affects neighboring countries.
• Refugees / Legal length of stay.
• World commodity prices.

Sugar, coffee
• Transportation and trade.


Airline routes
International shipping
Aftershock: January 20, 2010
Time:
Magnitude:
Location:
Depth:
6:03am local time (Eastern Time Zone)
6.1 on the Richter Scale
53km (35mi) WSW of Port-Au-Prince
9.9km (6.1mi)