Haiti has had a dreadful deal with its international relations. It is about time we did something about it. Bill Clinton, who is the United Nations' envoy to Haiti, has now admitted that it was likely that the Cholera epidemic was started by UN workers from Nepal, but he almost made light of the fact by adding that the priority was to fight the outbreak, rather than dwell on its causes. The epidemic cannot be contained without clean water supplies and drainage: that is the very least the UN should offer.
• 1492: On 5 December Christopher Columbus landed at Môle Saint-Nicolas and claimed the island for Spain.
• 1503 (circa): Queen Anacaona and her husband Caonabo who tried to resist the Spanish invasion are captured and executed.
• 1507: smallpox and other epidemics began to wipe out local populations who did not have the immunities to these imported diseases. This disaster became a pattern in the New World. Ill treatment exacerbated the situation.
• The Spanish immediately began to exploit the indigenous population. Many were forced to work in their gold mines, while the less productive or more resistant were either killed or sold into slavery.
• 1512–1513: The Laws of Burgos gave the natives some rights, but still allowed them to be exploited by feudal-like system known as the “encomiendas”. Many were coerced to convert to Christianity.
• 1517: Charles V authorized the importation of slaves from Africa following the near annihilation of the indigenous Taíno population.
• 1600s: The west of the island, which had started to become popular with French pirates and buccaneers, began to attract colonial families from neighbouring islands owing to its crop-growing potential and cheap labour.
• 1697: With the Treaty of Ryswick, France and Spain formally divided the island of Hispaniola between them, eventually leading to the creation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The French, whose portion of the island is called Saint-Domingue, prosper thanks to their exploitation of slavery which reaches levels of sheer brutality. A mixed race population begins to emerge as the colonialists take advantage of their female slaves.
• 1794: Inspired by the French Revolution, Domingue, Toussaint Louverture, a former slave, takes control of Saint-Domingue after a successful revolt.
• 1802: Napoleon tries to regain Saint-Domingue, but fails because of disease that decimates his forces.
• 1803: Toussaint Louverture is invited to negotiate, but is abducted and sent to France where he dies under his captors hands. Jean-Jacques Dessalines takes over and manages to defeat the French.
• 1804: On the 1 January Saint-Domingue is formally declared independent and called "Ayiti". Approximately 100,000 slaves died during the rebellion, as well as over half of the 40,00 or so colonists.
• 1806: Dessalines is assassinated by internal factions.
• 1825: King Charles X’s forces attempt to retake the island and in order to avoid the risk of defeat, President Boyer agrees to pay a massive indemnity. Haiti has never fully recovered from the financial drain of these bizarre payments which have left most of its people in poverty to this day.
• 1876: The US finally eases the restrictions it had imposed on Haiti and recognises the government there.
• 1912: Syrians living in Haiti destroy the Presidential Palace in an anti-government attack.
• 1914: US, British and German forces occupy Haiti with the pretext of protecting their nationals during a period of social unrest.
• 1915: The US takes over the administration of Haiti and remains in control until 1934.
• 1957–1986: During the Duvalier family dictatorship Colombian Drug traffickers take root in Haiti.
• 2004: President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is ousted following a rebellion. Aristide and his bodyguard claim that they were abducted by US forces. Recent Wikileak documents indicate the the US and the UN were complicit in undermining his return to government.
• 2010: On the January 12 an earthquake strikes killing about 316,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The US takes a huge administrative fee to coordinate the charity relief funds.
• 2010: Cholera is confirmed. It is believed to have been introduced by Nepalese UN workers.
• 2012: The epidemic has so far killed 7,000 people and the UN connection has been confirmed.
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