Cap-Haïtien, Nord Department, Haiti

Economy | Labadie and other beaches | Vertières | Citadelle Henry and Sans-Souci Palace | Bois Caïman | Morne Rouge | 1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake | 2010 Haiti earthquake | Transport : Air | Seaport | Transport : Road : Public | Health | Education : University | Sport | Communal sections | Media : Television : Radio

🇭🇹 Cap-Haïtien often referred to as Le Cap or Au Cap, is a commune on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previously named Cap‑Français (initially Cap-François) and Cap‑Henri during the rule of Henri I, it was historically nicknamed the Paris of the Antilles, because of its wealth and sophistication, expressed through its architecture and artistic life. It was an important city during the colonial period, serving as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from the city's formal foundation in 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Haiti under King Henri I until 1820.

Cap-Haïtien's long history of independent thought was formed in part by its relative distance from Port-au-Prince, the barrier of mountains between it and the southern part of the country, and a history of large African populations. These contributed to making it a legendary incubator of independent movements since slavery times. For instance, from February 5–29, 2004, the city was taken over by militants who opposed the rule of the Haïtian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. They eventually created enough political pressure to force him out of office and the country.

Cap-Haïtien is near the historic Haitian town of Milot, which lies 12 miles (19 km) to the south-west along a gravel road. Milot was Haiti's first capital under the self-proclaimed King Henry Christophe, who ascended to power in 1807, three years after Haiti had gained independence from France. He renamed Cap‑Français as Cap‑Henri. Milot is the site of his Sans-Souci Palace, wrecked by the 1842 earthquake. The Citadelle Laferrière, a massive stone fortress bristling with cannons, atop a nearby mountain is 5 miles (8.0 km) away. On clear days, its silhouette is visible from Cap‑Haïtien.

The small Cap-Haïtien International Airport, located on the south-east edge of the city, is served by several small domestic airlines. It has been patrolled by Chilean UN troops from the "O'Higgins Base" since the 2010 earthquake. The airport is currently being expanded. Several hundred UN personnel, including nearby units from Nepal and Uruguay, are assigned to the city as part of the ongoing United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

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Economy Cap-Haïtien is known as the nation's largest centre of historic monuments; it is a tourist destination. The bay, beaches and monuments have made it a resort and vacation destination for Haiti's upper classes, comparable to Pétion-Ville. Cap‑Haïtien has also attracted more international tourists, as it has been isolated from the political instability in the south of the island.

It has a wealth of French colonial architecture, which has been well preserved. During and after the Haitian Revolution, many craftsmen from Cap‑Haïtien, who were free people of colour, fled to French-controlled New Orleans as they were under attack by the mostly African slaves. As a result, the two cities share many similarities in styles of architecture. Especially notable are the gingerbread houses lining the city's older streets.

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Labadie and other beaches The walled Labadie (or Labadee) beach resort compound is located ten km (6 mi) to the city's northwest. It serves as a brief stopover for Royal Caribbean International (RCI) cruise ships. Major RCI cruise ships dock weekly at Labadie. It is a private resort leased by RCI, which has generated the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986. It employs 300 locals, allows another 200 to sell their wares on the premises, and pays the Haitian government US$6 per tourist.

The resort is connected to Cap‑Haïtien by a mountainous, recently paved road. RCI has built a pier at Labadie, completed in late 2009, capable of servicing the luxury-class large ships. Attractions include a Haitian market, numerous beaches, watersports, a water-oriented playground, and a zip-line. People not on cruises can visit the beach, too.

Cormier Plage is another beach on the way to Labadie, and there are also water taxis from Labadie to other beaches, like Paradis beach. In addition, Belli Beach is a small sandy cove with boats and hotels. Labadie village could be visited from here.

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Vertières Vertières is the site of the Battle of Vertières, the last and defining battle of the Haitian Revolution. On November 18, 1803, the Haitian army led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines defeated a French colonial army led by the Comte de Rochambeau. The French withdrew their remaining 7,000 troops (many had died from yellow fever and other diseases), and in 1804, Dessalines' revolutionary government declared the independence of Haiti. The revolution had been underway, with some pauses, since the 1790s.

In this last battle for independence, rebel leader Capois La Mort survived all the French bullets that nearly killed him. His horse was killed under him, and his hat fell off, but he kept advancing on the French, yelling, "En avant!" (Go forward!) to his men. He has become renowned as a hero of the revolution. The 18 of November has been widely celebrated since then as a Day of Army and Victory in Haiti.

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Citadelle Henry and Sans-Souci Palace The Citadelle Laferrière, also known as Citadelle Henry, or the Citadelle, is a large mountaintop fortress located approximately 27 km (17 mi) south of the city of Cap‑Haïtien and eight km (5 mi) beyond the town of Milot. It is the largest fortress in the Americas, and was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1982 along with the nearby Sans-Souci Palace. The Citadel was built by Henry Christophe, a leader during the Haitian slave rebellion and self-declared King of Northern Haiti, after the country gained its independence from France in 1804. Together with the remains of his Sans-Souci Palace, damaged in the 1842 earthquake, Citadelle Henry has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Bois Caïman Bois Caïman (Haitian Creole: Bwa Kayiman), three km (2 mi) south of road RN 1, is the place where Vodou rites were performed under a tree at the beginning of the slave revolution. For decades, maroons had been terrorizing slaveholders on the northern plains by poisoning their food and water. Makandal is the legendary (and perhaps historical) figure associated with the growing resistance movement. By the 1750s, he had organized the maroons, as well as many people enslaved on plantations, into a secret army. Makandal was murdered (or disappeared) in 1758, but the resistance movement grew.

At Bois Caïman, a maroon leader named Dutty Boukman held the first mass antislavery meeting secretly on August 14, 1791. At this meeting, a Vodou ceremony was performed, and all those present swore to die rather than to endure the continuation of slavery on the island. Following the ritual led by Boukman and a mambo named Cécile Fatiman, the insurrection started on the night of August 22–23, 1791. Boukman was killed in an ambush soon after the revolution began. Jean-François was the next leader to follow Dutty Boukman in the uprising of the slaves, the Haitian equivalent of the storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution. Slaves burned the plantations and cane fields, and massacred French colonists across the northern plains. They also attacked Cap-Français and some of the free people of color. Eventually the revolution gained the independence of Haiti from France and freedom for the slaves. The site of Dutty Boukman's ceremony is marked by a ficus tree. Adjoining it is a colonial well, which is credited with mystic powers.

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Morne Rouge Morne Rouge is eight km (5 mi) to the south of Cap. It is the site of the sugar plantation known as "Habitation Le Normand de Mezy", known for several slaves who led the rebellion against the French.

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1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake On 7 May 1842, an earthquake destroyed most of the city and other towns in the north of Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic. Among the buildings destroyed or significantly damaged was the Sans-Souci Palace. Ten thousand people were killed in the earthquake. Its magnitude is estimated as 8.1 on the Richter scale.

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2010 Haiti earthquake In the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which destroyed port facilities in Port-au-Prince, the Port international du Cap-Haïtien was used to deliver relief supplies by ship.

As the city's infrastructure suffered little damage, numerous businessmen and many residents have moved here from Port-au-Prince. The airport is patrolled by Chilean UN troops since the 2010 earthquake, and several hundred UN personnel have been assigned to the city as part of the ongoing United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). They are working on recovery throughout the island.

After the earthquake, the port of Labadee was demolished and the pier enlarged and completely re-paved with concrete, which now allows larger cruise ships to dock, rather than tendering passengers to shore.

Cap-Haïtien fuel tanker explosion

Main article: Cap-Haïtien fuel tanker explosion

On 14 December 2021, over 75 people were killed when a fuel tank truck overturned and later exploded in the Samari neighborhood of Cap-Haïtien.

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Transport: Air Cap-Haïtien is served by the Cap-Haïtien International Airport (CAP), Haiti's second busiest airport. It was a hub for Salsa d'Haiti prior to its cessation in 2013. American Airlines operated international flights to CAP for a number of years, but canceled their last connection in July, 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced passenger demand. American Airlines was the last major US flight operator to provide service to CAP and thereby Northern Haiti—in July, 2020, Cap-Haïtien became only accessible by air travel through limited flights from Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Spirit Airlines, which had previously canceled their service due to political unrest and low demand in 2019, announced in October, 2020 that they would resume limited service to CAP in December of the same year.

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Seaport The Port international du Cap-Haïtien is Cap-Haïtien's main seaport.

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Transport: Road The Route Nationale#1 connects Cap-Haïtien with the Haitian capital city Port-au-Prince via the cities of Saint-Marc and Gonaïves. The Route Nationale#3 also connects Cap-Haïtien with Port-au-Prince via the Central Plateau and the cities of Mirebalais and Hinche. Cap-Haïtien has one of the best grid systems in Haiti with its north–south streets were renamed as single letters (beginning with Rue A, a major avenue), and its east–west streets with numbers. The Boulevard du Cap-Haitian (also called the Boulevard Carenage) is Cap‑Haïtien's main boulevard that runs along the Atlantic Ocean in the northern part of the city.

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Transport: Public Cap-Haïtien is served by tap tap and local taxis or motorcycles.

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Health Cap Haitien is served by the teaching hospital: Hôpital Universitaire Justinien.

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Education A union of four Catholic Church private schools have been present for two decades in Cap‑Haïtien. They have higher-level grades, equivalent to the lycées that feed the Écoles Normale Supérieure in France. They have high standards of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and generally their students come from the social and economic elite. Also, the lyceé Philippe Guerrier that was built in 1844 by the Haitian President, Philippe Guerrier, has been a fountain of knowledge for more than a century. • Collège Notre-Dame du Perpetuel Secours des Pères de Sainte-Croix • Collège Regina Assumpta des Sœurs de Sainte-Croix • École des Frères de l'instruction Chrétienne • École Saint Joseph de Cluny des Sœurs Anne-Marie Javoue • Lyceé Philippe Guerrier built by the Haitian President, Philippe Guerrier in 1844.

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Education: University Cap Haitien is home to the Cap-Haitien Faculty of Law, Economics and, Management; the Public University of the North in Cap Haitien (UPNCH). The new Université Roi Henry Christophe is nearby in Limonade.

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Sport Cap Haitien has the Parc Saint-Victor home of three major league teams: Football Inter Club Association, AS Capoise, and Real du Cap.

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Communal sections The commune consists of three communal sections, namely: • Bande du Nord, urban (part of the commune of Cap-Haïtien) and rural • Haut du Cap, urban (part of the commune of Cap-Haïtien) and rural • Petit Anse, urban (commune of Petit Anse) and rural.

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Media: Television • Télé Vénus Ch 5 • Télé Paradis Ch 16 • Chaîne 6 • Chaîne 7 • Chaîne 11 • Télé Capoise Ch 8 • Télé Africa Ch 12 • HMTV Ch 20 • Télé Union Ch 22 • Télé Apocalypse Ch 24 • Télévision Nationale d'Haiti Ch 4

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Media: Radio • Bon Déjeuner! Radio, an internet radio station in Haiti, broadcasting from Cap-Haitien. • Radyo Atlantik, 92.5 FM • Radio 4VEH (4VEF), 840 AM • Radio 4VEH, 94.7 FM • Radio 7 FM, 92.7 • Radio Cap-Haïtien • Radio Citadelle 91.1 FM • Radio Étincelle • Radio Gamma, 99.7 (based in Fort-Liberté) • Radio Lumière, 98.1 FM • Radio Méga, 103.7 FM • Radio Sans-Souci FM, 106.9 • Radio VASCO, 93.7 FM • Radio Vénus FM 104.3 FM • Sans Souci FM, 106.9 • Voix de l'Ave Maria 98.5 FM • Voix du Nord 90.3 FM • Radio Intermix 93.1 FM: La Reference Radio en Haïti # 1- www.radiointermix.com • Radio Paradis • Radio Nirvana, 97.3 FM • Radio Hispaniola • Radio Maxima, 98.1.FM • Radio Voix de l'ile 94.5 FM • Radio Digital 101.3 FM • Radio Oxygene 103.3 FM • Radio Passion 101.7 FM Haïti • Radio City Inter Haïti

La Radio de l'éducation • Radio Multivers FM Cap haitien.

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Port-au-Prince Time 

Cap-Haïtien has a population of over 274,400 people. Cap-Haïtien also forms the centre of the wider Nord Department which has a population of over 1,067,177 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Cap-Haïtien see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns - Sister Cities Cap-Haïtien has links with:

🇺🇸 Columbia, USA 🇺🇸 Fort Lauderdale, USA 🇺🇸 New Orleans, USA 🇺🇸 Portland, USA
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Cap-Haïtien is: 107.801,-19.759

Locations Near: Cap-Haïtien -72.1986,19.7592

🇭🇹 Cap-Haïtien -72.199,19.759 d: 0  

🇭🇹 Trou-du-Nord -72.017,19.633 d: 23.6  

🇭🇹 Borgne -72.533,19.85 d: 36.4  

🇩🇴 Monte Cristi -71.65,19.867 d: 58.6  

🇭🇹 Port-de-Paix -72.833,19.95 d: 69.7  

🇭🇹 Saint-Marc -72.7,19.117 d: 88.7  

🇭🇹 Tabarre -72.267,18.583 d: 130.9  

🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince -72.347,18.546 d: 135.8  

🇭🇹 Carrefour -72.399,18.541 d: 137.1  

🇭🇹 Léogâne -72.633,18.5 d: 147.3  

Antipodal to: Cap-Haïtien 107.801,-19.759

🇮🇩 Cilacap 109,-7.733 d: 18671.6  

🇮🇩 Yogyakarta 110.35,-7.8 d: 18657.2  

🇮🇩 Kebumen 109.661,-7.671 d: 18656.1  

🇮🇩 Purworejo 110.03,-7.722 d: 18655.3  

🇮🇩 Sleman 110.357,-7.72 d: 18648.3  

🇮🇩 Tulungagung 111.9,-8.067 d: 18642  

🇮🇩 Singaparna 108.11,-7.35 d: 18634.8  

🇮🇩 Purwokerto 109.23,-7.42 d: 18634.4  

🇮🇩 Ponorogo 111.462,-7.869 d: 18635.3  

🇮🇩 Ciamis 108.353,-7.326 d: 18631.3  

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