Happy Haitian Heritage Month! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti">

Each day this month, I will drop a fun fact in Haitian history!

A Thread.
Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> assisted Greece https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇷" title="Flag of Greece" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Greece"> in their independence against the Ottoman Empire.

Greek government sent a letter to then Haiti& #39;s president Jean Pierre Boyer, asking him for military and monetary help for their fight against Ottoman rules.
Did you know the founder of Chicago was Haitian?

Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable founded the city of Chicago around the 1770s.
Did you know w/o Haiti, the US wouldn’t have most of its territory?

The Louisiana purchase was a consequence of the Haitian Revolt. Napoleon planned to invade the US w/Haitian soldiers however Haiti’s revolt against the French forced Napoleon into selling 15 states to the US.
5/4: Did you know Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> has the WORLD’S LARGEST solar powered hospital https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏥" title="Hospital" aria-label="Emoji: Hospital"> ?

After the 2010 earthquake, 1,800 solar panels https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌞" title="Sun with face" aria-label="Emoji: Sun with face">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💡" title="Electric light bulb" aria-label="Emoji: Electric light bulb"> were installed for Hospital Universitaire De Mirebalais.

Which cut energy consumption by 60% compared to traditional lighting!
5/5: Did you know Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> assisted Mexico https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇲🇽" title="Flag of Mexico" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Mexico"> in fighting for their independence?

Fransisco Xavier Mina (https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇲🇽" title="Flag of Mexico" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Mexico">General)sought to liberate slavery of Spanish/French control & Alexander Petion(former https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> president) supported him by sending https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti">soldiers to Texas in 1816.
5/6: Did you know the Merengue dance originated in Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> then in Dominican Republic https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇩🇴" title="Flag of Dominican Republic" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Dominican Republic"> ?

Mérengue/méringue, originated in early 1800’s as a blend of African dance & the French Minuet. Haiti’s méringue or mereng can be fast paced but is known to be slower in tempo.
5/7: Did you know the first known black graffiti artist was Haitian https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti">?

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s pieces ranged from abstract to political. He used his art to shed light on issues in the black community, capitalism & racism. His tag SAMO stands for “same old shit”.
5/8: Did you know Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> has the most mountains https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏔" title="Snow capped mountain" aria-label="Emoji: Snow capped mountain"> out of all the countries in the Caribbean?

2 tallest mountains https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⛰" title="Mountain" aria-label="Emoji: Mountain"> are Pik Lasel (highest peak) and Pic Macaya (2nd highest) part of Pic Macaya National Park https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😍" title="Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes">
5/10: Did you know Haitian Mother’s Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of May?

In Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> they give out 3 colored flowers or ribbons.

Red/Pink, if your mom is alive.

White, if she recently passed.

Purple/Black, if she has been deceased for a long period of time.
5/13: Did you prior to Miss Haiti https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> pageants, beauty/popularity contests were held in the early 1910s?

Les Beautés d’Haiti (The Beauties of Haiti), held in Port au Prince. Below are photos of an entry ballot asking for the ladies prefixes (Miss or Mrs) & their photo submissions
5/14: Did u know Dessalines’s https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti">aunt taught him everything he knew about combat?

Adbaraya Toya taught Dessalines how to fight as a soldier. She taught him skills such as hand to hand combat & knife throwing. Her training made Dessalines eventually join the 1791 slave rebellion.
5/15: Did u know a Haitian https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> woman intiated the Haitian revolution?

Cécile Fatiman, a Haitian vodoo priestess whose spiritual guidance & power helped others enslaved seek revenge for their oppression. The ceremony she held in Bois Caïman sparked a historical reset.
5/16: Did you know one of Haiti’s https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> first army lieutenants was a woman?

Suzanne Sanité Bélair was a freedom fighter, sergeant turned lieutenant in Toussaint Louverture’s army. Her & her husband, Charles Bélair, taught many escaped slaves how to defend themselves in battle.
5/17: Did u know Haiti’s https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇹" title="Flag of Haiti" aria-label="Emoji: Flag of Haiti"> last kingdom was ruled by a woman?

Anacaona ruled the Taino kingdom of Xaraguá, now western Haiti @ the time of the Spanish invasion led by Columbus in 1492. She was a rebel warrior who defied only men can conquer kingdoms.
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