Afro-Haitians

The Island of Ayiti was inhabited by the Indigenous Arawak Peoples: Taíno, Ciguayo and the Siboney. Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted the Island on 6 December 1492. He named it La Isla Española ("The Spanish Island"), later Anglicized as Hispaniola. The Spanish controlled the Island from 1492 to 1697. The French in took control in the Treaty of Ryswick and renamed the western portion of the island as Saint-Domingue, of what will later become known as Haiti, while the other still maintained their Spanish colony in the eastern two thirds of what later became the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo. Slavery supported their plantation economy in which Saint-Domingue was their most important. Between 1681 and 1791 the labor for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 or 860,000 slaves, to produce sugar, coffee, cacao, indigo, and cotton. The slave system in Saint-Domingue was considered brutal, with high levels of both mortality and violence. ==Origins==

The enslaved African population of Haiti derived from various areas, spanning from Senegal to the Congo. Most of which were brought from West Africa, with a considerable number also brought from Central Africa. Some of these enslaved ethnic groups include those from the former Kongo kingdom (BaKongo), Senegambia (Mandinka, Fulani, and Wolof), Benin and Togo (Fon, Aja, Ewe, Yoruba). There were also many Igbo people from the Bight of Biafra, in south-east Nigeria. Many people can also trace much of their DNA from the native people. Others in Haiti were brought from Senegal, Guinea (imported by the Spanish since the sixteenth century and then by the French), Sierra Leone, Windward Coast, Angola, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, and Southeast Africa (such as the Bara tribesmen of Madagascar, who were brought to Haiti in the eighteenth century). ==Demography==

Although Haiti averages approximately 250 people per square kilometre (650 per sq mi.), its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. Haiti's population was about 11  million according to UN 2018 estimates, with half of the population being under 20 years old. The first formal census, taken in 1950, showed a population of 3.1 million. According to The World Factbook, 95% of Haitians are primarily of African descent; the remaining 5% of the population are mostly of mixed-race and European background, and a number of other ethnicities. Genetics ==Culture==

Culture, religion and social organization are the result in Haiti of a process of syncretism between French and African traditions. Religion Christianity • Roman Catholicism: :A majority of the population identifies as Catholic. At 35% in Jacmel, Haiti, February 2014 A small minority (2% but spoken by a minority of black and biracial residents, in Port-au-Prince and other cities. Haitian Creole, with roots in French, Spanish, Taíno, Portuguese, English, and African languages, is a language with dialectal forms in different regions. It is spoken throughout the country, but is used extensively in rural areas. Music Dance Cuisine ==Notable people==

• Dutherson Clerveaux • Hannes Delcroix • Samuel Dalembert • Mikaël Cantave • Wyclef • Fabrice Noël • Jhondly van der Meer • Kodak Black • Garcelle Beauvais • Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain • Michel DeGraff == See also ==