Jacmel
Encyclopedia
Jacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno
name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti
founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department
of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality (commune) of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.
The buildings are historic and date from the early nineteenth century; the town has been tentatively accepted as a World Heritage site
and UNESCO
reports that it has sustained damage in the 2010 Haiti earthquake
.
. The area now called Jacmel was Taíno
territory of the Xaragua chiefdom ruled by cacique Bohechio. With the arrival of the French, and the later establishment of the town, the French renamed Yaquimel as Jacmel.
The town has not changed much since the late 19th century when it was inhabited by wealthy coffee merchants, who lived in gracious mansions that adorned it. These mansions would later come to influence the home structure of much of New Orleans; the town's architecture boasted cast-iron pillars and balconies purchased in France
. Today, many of these homes are now artisan shops that sell vibrant handicrafts, papier-mâché
masks and carved-wood animal figures. In recent years, efforts have been made to revitalize the once flourishing cigar
and coffee
industries. The town is a popular tourist destination in Haiti due to its relative tranquility and distance from the political turmoil that plagues Port-au-Prince.
Over the years, this rather small town experienced a number of noted historical events. Some of these occurrences are:
between him and his fellow countryman André Rigaud
, who wished to maintain authority over the city. This war began in June 1799. By November the rebels were pushed back to this strategic southern port, the defence of which was commanded by Alexandre Pétion
. Jacmel fell to Toussaint's troops in February of 1800, during which the American
warship USS General Greene
bombarded the city. After which the rebellion was effectively over. Pétion and other mulatto
leaders subsequently went into exile in France.
in the liberation struggle against colonialism in Spanish-ruled South America, Francisco de Miranda
, created the first Venezuelan flag near Jacmel. Anchored in the Bay of Jacmel (Baie de Jacmel), he first raised the flag on March 12, 1806, on the corvette Leander. This day is still celebrated as Venezuelan Flag Day.
spent a short interval in Jacmel in 1870, from where he channelled support for an uprising in the Dominican Republic, seeking to install a liberal government there. Then-president of Haiti Nissage Saget
supported Betances's ideals of a pan-Antillean union, and gave the uprising his support.
, plans to add stopovers at Jacmel. In February 2007, Edwin Zenny became the town's newly elected mayor. In addition, the Jacmel Film Festival
is held there annually. On January 11, 2010, Choice Hotels announced they would open a 120-room Comfort Inn in Jacmel, the first chain hotel to be opened there in a decade.
that caused heavy damage and casualties in Jacmel. The first tremblor rocked the city at 4:40pm, but the later tremblor at 5:37pm stopped the cathedral's clock. A Jacmel radio station estimated that at least 5000 were dead from the quake itself, although mayor Zennie Edwin later reported that the figure was closer to 300-500 deaths and 4,000 injured. In the earthquake, around 70 per cent of the homes were damaged, with most of the heavier damage being suffered in the poorer neighbourhoods. Town Hall was so severely damaged that, though it survived, it had to be demolished. A small tsunami
hit Jacmel Bay, with the ocean receding, leaving fish high and dry on the seabed, and rushing back in, four times.
La première & l'unique radio station sur internet depuis Jacmel
destroyed its headquarters. The station is the oldest in Jacmel and was founded in the early 1980s. After the quake, it operated from a tent, with salvaged equipment from the rubble. Post-quake, there is no advertising revenue, due to the damage to local businesses.
Also located in Jacmel is a small airstrip
(MTJA) capable of handling small to medium sized planes. The airstrip is unable to handle large aircraft.
Jacmel has a single hospital, Hôpital Saint-Michel, which locals had nicknamed "the morgue" prior to the earthquake. The hospital is the largest hospital or health centre in the region. It has a staff of six doctors and ten nurses. The quake half collapsed the hospital, including the maternity ward, however, the hospital continues to operate. The radiology department was the only undamaged portion of the hospital.
Jacmel had a civil court building, which was destroyed in the tremblor.
The town's main square is Place Toussaint Louverture, named after the Haitian revolutionary leader.
, France Palm Beach
, USA Gainesville
, USA
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department
Departments of Haiti
The Communes of Haiti are the third-level divisions of Haiti. The 10 departments have 42 arrondissements which are divided into 140 communes.-Artibonite Department:*Dessalines Arrondissement**Desdunes**Dessalines**Grande Saline...
of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality (commune) of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.
The buildings are historic and date from the early nineteenth century; the town has been tentatively accepted as a World Heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
reports that it has sustained damage in the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
.
History
The town was founded in 1698 as the capital of the south eastern part of the French colony Saint-DomingueSaint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
. The area now called Jacmel was Taíno
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
territory of the Xaragua chiefdom ruled by cacique Bohechio. With the arrival of the French, and the later establishment of the town, the French renamed Yaquimel as Jacmel.
The town has not changed much since the late 19th century when it was inhabited by wealthy coffee merchants, who lived in gracious mansions that adorned it. These mansions would later come to influence the home structure of much of New Orleans; the town's architecture boasted cast-iron pillars and balconies purchased in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Today, many of these homes are now artisan shops that sell vibrant handicrafts, papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
masks and carved-wood animal figures. In recent years, efforts have been made to revitalize the once flourishing cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
industries. The town is a popular tourist destination in Haiti due to its relative tranquility and distance from the political turmoil that plagues Port-au-Prince.
Over the years, this rather small town experienced a number of noted historical events. Some of these occurrences are:
War of Knives
Toussaint Louverture fought over Jacmel in the so-called War of KnivesWar of Knives
The War of Knives alludes to the conflict between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture, a Black, and his adversary André Rigaud, a mulatto, from June 1799 to March 1800. These men fought over control of Haiti after defeating foreign forces...
between him and his fellow countryman André Rigaud
André Rigaud
Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...
, who wished to maintain authority over the city. This war began in June 1799. By November the rebels were pushed back to this strategic southern port, the defence of which was commanded by Alexandre Pétion
Alexandre Pétion
Alexandre Sabès Pétion was President of the Republic of Haiti from 1806 until his death. He is considered as one of Haiti's founding fathers, together with Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his rival Henri Christophe.-Early life:Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince to a Haitian...
. Jacmel fell to Toussaint's troops in February of 1800, during which the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
warship USS General Greene
USS General Greene (1799)
The second USS General Greene was a frigate in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France.Named after American Revolution General Nathaneal Greene, she was built under government contract by Benjamin Talman and James De Wolf at Warren, Rhode Island. Launched on 21 January 1799, the...
bombarded the city. After which the rebellion was effectively over. Pétion and other mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
leaders subsequently went into exile in France.
Creation of the Venezuelan flag
A predecessor of Simón BolívarSimón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
in the liberation struggle against colonialism in Spanish-ruled South America, Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...
, created the first Venezuelan flag near Jacmel. Anchored in the Bay of Jacmel (Baie de Jacmel), he first raised the flag on March 12, 1806, on the corvette Leander. This day is still celebrated as Venezuelan Flag Day.
Ramón Emeterio Betances
Puerto Rican pro-independence leader Ramón Emeterio BetancesRamón Emeterio Betances
Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán was a Puerto Rican nationalist. He was the primary instigator of the Grito de Lares revolution, and as such, is considered to be the father of the Puerto Rican independence movement...
spent a short interval in Jacmel in 1870, from where he channelled support for an uprising in the Dominican Republic, seeking to install a liberal government there. Then-president of Haiti Nissage Saget
Nissage Saget
Jean-Nicolas Nissage Saget succeeded Sylvain Salnave as President of Haiti in 1869. He was the first Haitian president to serve out his term of office and retire voluntarily, although his retirement led to a renewal of the political turmoil between blacks and the country's mulatto elites. He...
supported Betances's ideals of a pan-Antillean union, and gave the uprising his support.
Modern Jacmel prior to the 12 January 2010 earthquake
The port town is internationally known for its very vibrant art scene and elegant townhouses dating from the 19th century. Among the wealth of art and crafts available in Jacmel are the papier-mâché, done by nearly 200 artisans and the reknow Atelier created by Moro Baruk. In recent years Jacmel has been host to a large film festival, the 'Festival Film Jakmèl', started in 2004, and in 2007 the international music festival 'Festival Mizik Jakmèl' was successfully launched. Its carnival, the nearby Bassins Bleus (Haiti's most famous natural deep water pools), and the scenic white sand beaches attract many visitors. The town is regarded as one of the safest in the country and foreign visitors that enter the country in hope of a tranquil time often head for Jacmel. Its urbanization has been increasing in large part due to the income generated by tourism. Royal Caribbean, the leading tourism company whose cruise ships regularly dock at LabadeeLabadee
Labadee is a port located on the northern coast of Haiti. It is a private resort leased to Royal Caribbean International. Royal Caribbean International has contributed the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986, employing 300 locals, allowing another 200 to sell their wares on...
, plans to add stopovers at Jacmel. In February 2007, Edwin Zenny became the town's newly elected mayor. In addition, the Jacmel Film Festival
Jacmel Film Festival
The Jacmel Film Festival is a Haitian festival celebrated in the seaside city of Jacmel, Haiti. It is an annual ceremony celebrating contemporary world cinema and at the same time, entertaining the masses and providing cultural insight through film. Local Haitian cinema is awarded alongside other...
is held there annually. On January 11, 2010, Choice Hotels announced they would open a 120-room Comfort Inn in Jacmel, the first chain hotel to be opened there in a decade.
2010 Haiti Earthquake
On 12 January 2010, Haiti experienced a magnitude 7.0 earthquake2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
that caused heavy damage and casualties in Jacmel. The first tremblor rocked the city at 4:40pm, but the later tremblor at 5:37pm stopped the cathedral's clock. A Jacmel radio station estimated that at least 5000 were dead from the quake itself, although mayor Zennie Edwin later reported that the figure was closer to 300-500 deaths and 4,000 injured. In the earthquake, around 70 per cent of the homes were damaged, with most of the heavier damage being suffered in the poorer neighbourhoods. Town Hall was so severely damaged that, though it survived, it had to be demolished. A small tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
hit Jacmel Bay, with the ocean receding, leaving fish high and dry on the seabed, and rushing back in, four times.
Notable residents
- René DepestreRené DepestreRené Depestre is a Haitian poet and communist. He lived in Cuba as an exile from the Duvalier regime for many years and was a founder of the Casa de las Americas publishing house. He is best known for his poetry.-Life:...
, a famous Haitian poet and essayist who fled from the Duvalier dictatorship. He was born in Jacmel. The city is the setting for much of his fictional work. - Préfète DuffautPréfète DuffautPréfète Duffaut is a Haitian painter. Born near Jacmel , where he lives and works, The painter Pauleus Vital was Duffaut's half-brother, the painter Jean Charles Duffaut is his son...
- painter - Michaëlle JeanMichaëlle JeanMichaëlle Jean is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation, from 2005 to 2010....
, later Governor General of CanadaGovernor General of CanadaThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, was born in Port-au-Prince to a Jacmel family. - Magloire AmbroiseMagloire AmbroiseMagloire Ambroise, hero of the Haitian Independence, was born in Jacmel in 1774 and died in Port-au-Prince on December 7, 1807. His military career began in the colonial army....
- Jørgen LethJørgen LethJørgen Leth is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his epic documentary A Sunday in Hell and his surrealistic short film The Perfect Human...
, Danish filmmaker, writer and former Danish honorary consul in Haiti.
Radio
- Radio Ambiance FM 93.5 http://www.ambiancefm.com
La première & l'unique radio station sur internet depuis Jacmel
- Ambiance Télé Canal 11 http://www.ambiancefm.com
- Radio Anacaona
- Radio Hispaniola FM
- Radio Lumiere, 100.9 FM (as of March 20, 2011) http://www.radiolumiere.org/
- Radio Télé-Diffusion Jacmelienne
- Radio Télé-Express Continental
- Radio Vibration Inter
- Radio Jacmel Inter
- Radio Détente
- Négritude
- Vision 2000
- National radio with a Jacmel bureau
- RTDJ 101.5
- oldest radio station in Jacmel, founded in the early 1980s.
RTDJ 101.5
RTDJ 101.5 was located in downtown Jacmel, but the 12 January 2010 earthquake2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
destroyed its headquarters. The station is the oldest in Jacmel and was founded in the early 1980s. After the quake, it operated from a tent, with salvaged equipment from the rubble. Post-quake, there is no advertising revenue, due to the damage to local businesses.
Facilities
The Port of Jacmel (HTJAK) is a small, relatively shallow port and is unable to harbour large ships. There is also a pleasurecraft dock as part of the port, which survived the quake. It is run by the Autorité Portuaire Nationale.Also located in Jacmel is a small airstrip
Jacmel Airport
Jacmel Airport was the sixth busiest airport in Haiti by passenger volume prior to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, located near the city with the same name, Jacmel, on Haiti's south coast. The airport's timezone is GMT –5, and is located in World Area Code region #238 Jacmel Airport was the sixth...
(MTJA) capable of handling small to medium sized planes. The airstrip is unable to handle large aircraft.
Jacmel has a single hospital, Hôpital Saint-Michel, which locals had nicknamed "the morgue" prior to the earthquake. The hospital is the largest hospital or health centre in the region. It has a staff of six doctors and ten nurses. The quake half collapsed the hospital, including the maternity ward, however, the hospital continues to operate. The radiology department was the only undamaged portion of the hospital.
Jacmel had a civil court building, which was destroyed in the tremblor.
The town's main square is Place Toussaint Louverture, named after the Haitian revolutionary leader.
Sister cities
StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France Palm Beach
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
, USA Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, USA
External links
- Festival Film Jakmèl
- Festival Mizik Jakmèl
- Bonzouti.com - Web portal for Jacmel and the Sud-Est Department of Haiti
- Official Chamber of Commerce Website
- Website for the nearby town of Cayes-Jacmel, also a part of the Sud'est Region/Jacmel
- Bassin-Bleu website
- Radio Ambiance FM 93.1
- Globe and Mail, Project Jacmel