Haiti Timeline
Chronology of Major Events
1492 — Christopher Columbus lands on the island and names it Hispaniola, or Little Spain. 1496 — The Spanish establish the first European settlement in the Western Hemisphere at Santo Domingo, now the capital of Dominican Republic. 1697 — Spain cedes this western part of Hispaniola to France. It becomes Haiti. 1801 — A former black slave who became a guerrilla leader, Toussaint Louverture, conquers Haiti, abolishing slavery and proclaiming himself governor-general of an autonomous government over all Hispaniola. 1802 — A French force led by Napoleon’s brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc, fails to conquer the Haitian interior. 1804 — Haiti becomes…
