BMUN LXX HAITIAN

Haiti may have gained its independence from France in 1804, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had its own share of hardship since. For one, Haiti’s geographical location above a major fault line has made it a prime target for earthquakes.  On January 12, 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit Haiti, leaving 220,000 people dead and 300,000 injured. Humanitarian aid immediately began to pour in from countries and disaster relief organizations all over the world as the Haitian government scrambled to supply essential services to its citizens. This proved to be difficult because the earthquake had taken the lives of many government officials and demolished the UN headquarters, parliament, and National Palace. Even more recent events have challenged Haiti to devise a plan of action after disaster—examples being the 2021 earthquake and assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, just to name a few. It’s important to understand the responses to these events because, in a sense, disaster rec...

As you know, in history Haiti wins their revolution and gains freedom from France in 1804. Yet, even over the last two centuries, Haiti has not been able to stabilize their economy and become a successful nation in the eyes of the world.  Last year, thousands of refugees fled Haiti and arrived at the US-Mexico border after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake they were hit with. Most refugees had left Haiti in 2010 when another large earthquake caused their already dismal economy to further weaken. Now, the United States under President Biden was not able to accept these refugees and they were forced to return the disaster zone that Haiti has turned into.  Haiti is a country that is constantly in crisis, and with its poor infrastructure that stemmed from the aftermath of the slave revolution, they have never been able to recover. Last July, Haiti's president Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated by Colombian mercenaries, and the man that took over the position -  Ariel Henry - is ...

As with much of the colonial history of the Americas, slavery played a major role in shaping the economies and societies of the colonies under the control of European powers. While slavery was a cruel system of exploitation across the board, colonies under the control of the French were known to be particularly brutal. In the years prior to the Haitian Revolution, Saint-Domingue was France's most valuable colony, making up a huge portion of sugar and coffee exports to Europe. The enslaved population that drove most of this plantation economy was subject to extreme living and working conditions--conditions so harsh that the average life expectancy for enslaved adults was 7-10 years. Code Noir - 1742 edition (Buchanan) Ironically, the French colonies were supposed to be governed according to the Code Noir, a legal policy issued by King Louis XIV in 1685 that regulated the treatment of the enslaved population. The Code included many provisions such as education in the Catholic faith, ...

Free Women of Color with Their Children and Servants in a Landscape - Agostino Brunias As we enter conference, it will be important to consider the space that your character occupies within the racially and socio-economically stratified populations of Saint-Domingue, which you should already have some basic familiarity with from the topic synopsis . If you haven't checked it out yet, please stop reading and go do that first!  The people of Saint-Domengue consist of three major racial groups (terminology used here in an effort to accurately reflect attitudes at the time of the Revolution and not the ideology of our dais) that can be further divided into sub-divisions related to wealth, national origin, and other factors, all of which had significant influence on the direction of the revolution from its origins and ideals to the factions it involved. Bossales and Creoles: The Enslaved Population Bossales: Enslaved people of African birth. Creoles: Enslaved people of Caribbean birth. ...