When Christopher Columbus first landed in Haiti, he mistook the island for India. After the Italians and the Spanish, the French set up a colony in western Haiti and ran sugar plantations successfully. Slaves were brought from Africa to work for the French masters.
After years of slavery, Haitians revolted against their French leaders and became an independent nation in 1804. Haiti was being ruled by different inefficient governments since then till the US occupied the country.
The US occupied the country from 1915 to 1934 and tried to restore order. But this did not solve the issue. A military regime governed Haiti till 1994. The country had elected governments occasionally which were soon overthrown by military coups. Finally, in 1994, democracy was restored in Haiti after a successful negotiation between the coup leaders and the US officials.
Haiti is often hit by the worst kind of natural calamities. Tropical storms, earthquakes, mudslides, hurricanes and flash floods have taken the lives of thousands of Haitians. The damages caused by these disasters have often left the country in a state of emergency.
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