Photos of Artibonite, Haiti’s heart, Haiti

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Artibonite, Haiti’s heart

The small town of Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite (meaning “the small river of Artibonite”) lies not far to the east of Saint-Marc. It is a quiet and friendly place alongside the Artibonite river, with small farms and a thriving market.

Homestead
 
Farm houses
 
Village square
 
Village street
 
Girl fetching water
 
A friendly man
 
Boys of Artibonite
 
Children swimming
 
A grandmother
 
Curious children
 
Farm houses
 
Family at home
 
At a public tap
 
Village scene
 
Along the river
 
Market in Petite Rivière
 
Drink seller
 
Market women
 
Boy at the Artibonite river
 
View to the market
 
Street corner in St. Marc
 
Hotel, Saint Marc
 
Haitian landscape
 
Mountain view
 

It is quiet now, but when the black people, led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, had begun their revolt against the French in 1802, they fought one of the most critical battles of the Haitian Revolution here, at the fort of Crête-à-Pierrot. General Charles Leclerc’s French colonial army besieged the heavily barricaded fort, which was defended by Haitian forces under Jean-Jacques Dessalines; it was significant as it controlled access into the Cahos Mountains. The defenders, running short of food and munitions, eventually abandoned the fort but could force their way through the French lines and into the Cahos Mountains. The French, although gaining control of the fortress, had suffered heavy losses. It was the deciding battle that forced the French to withdraw from the war. The fort was never captured, and in February 1803, in Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, chief of the black rebels, and Alexandre Pétion, leader of the mulattos, proclaimed Haiti’s independence.

Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite: a small town with a big name in the heart of Haiti.