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Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital

Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city faces the Gulf of Gonâve, and lays along a bay, a natural harbour. It was first incorporated under the colonial rule of the French, in 1749, and has been Haiti's largest metropolis since then. The city's layout is somewhat similar to that of an amphitheatre; commercial districts are near the water, while residential neighborhoods are located on the hills above. Its population is difficult to ascertain due to the rapid growth of slums in the hillsides above the city; however, recent estimates place the city's population at between 2.5 and 3 million people.

Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the region that would eventually become Port-au-Prince was not the site of any permanent human settlement, but a hunting ground: people didn't live on the coast for fear of raids by the Carib indians who lived on neighbouring islands. At the end of the 15th century, the region was under the control of Bohechio, the Taíno cacique (chief) of the chiefdom of Xaragua. Bohechio, childless at death, was succeeded by his sister, Anacaona, wife of the cacique Caonabo. Anacaona tried to maintain cordial relations with the Spaniards who had arrived, but larger and larger tributes were demanded by them and in 1503, Nicolas Ovando, then governor, set about to put an end to the régime headed by Anacaona. He invited her and other tribal leaders to a feast, and when the Amerindians had drunk a good deal of wine, he ordered most of the guests killed. Anacaona was spared, though only to be hanged publicly some time later. Through violence and disease, the Spanish settlers decimated the native population.

Ovando founded a settlement not far from the coast (west of Etang Saumâtre), named Santa Maria de la Paz Verdadera; it was abandoned several years later. Not long thereafter, Ovando founded Santa Maria del Puerto. The latter was first burned by French explorers in 1535, then again in 1592 by the English. Thereafter, in 1606, the Spanish decided to abandon the region. In the 17th century buccaneers used it as a base and around 1650 French pirates established a colony at Trou-Borded. As the colony grew, they set up a hospital not far from the coast and the region became known as Hôpital. The Spanish tried to retake it but failed and in 1697 the Treaty of Ryswick was signed in which they renounced any claims to Hôpital. The French then founded bases around the area, including Léogane, where the old chiefdom of Xaragua had been. The area of Hôpital, the region that was later to contain Port-au-Prince, was inhabited mainly by "flibustiers", French pirates and in 1707, under pressure of the French governor, they closed the hospital and many became settled farmers. In 1706 a captain named de Saint-André sailed into the bay just below the hospital, in a ship named Le Prince. It is said that M. de Saint-André named the area Port-au-Prince (meaning "Port of the Le Prince"), although the port and the surrounding region continued to be known as Hôpital. The colonial administration decided to build a new capital to better to control the French portion of the island of Santo-Domingo (Hispaniola) and in 1749 a new city was built: Port-au-Prince.

On 12 January 2010 a massive earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck about 15 km south-west of Port-au-Prince, quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. The effects were catastrophic, with most of the capital flattened; the Presidential Palace and the Cathedral collapsed, along with hospitals, schools, the UN Headquarters and private dwellings. The death toll was well over 150 000 in Port-au-Prince alone.

	View to Port-au-Prince	Above Port-au-Prince	Presidential Palace	Tourism Office
	The Cathédrale	Towards the Cathedral	Downtown Port-au-Prince	Port-au-Prince street
	At the bus station	Bus station, Port-au-Prince	The Marché en Fer	On the market

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