Sud (English: South) is one of the ten departments of Haiti. Sud was formed from parts of Jaragua, one of the original five kingdoms that formed the Taíno homeland of Hispaniola. With an estimated 774,976 in 2015, it is the fourth most populous department. It has an area of 2,950 sq km (1,079 sq mi), making it the fourth largest department. Its land area includes Île-à-Vache and several other small islands.
Sud departmental flag
Map of the South department
About[]
The province's capital and largest city is Les Cayes. Among its occasional nicknames are Aux Cayes, and Kreyol: Okay. The state is named after the compass direction in relation to the country's center of government, Port-au-Prince.
One of Haiti's original three departments, it is politically divided into five counties (Aquin, Les Cayes, Les Chardonnières, Les Côteaux, and Port-Salut) and 18 municipalities. With an area of 2,794 square kilometers (1,079 square miles), its land area has been reduced by territorial readjustments. The province's capital is Les Cayes. When Haiti split into two nations after the assassination of Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1806, Ouest and Sud came under the control of Alexandre Pétion.
Southern Haiti is known to be the most laid-back region of the country, home to its Caribbean coast, remote beach towns, both of the country's only two national parks, and the popular tourist spot of Jacmel.
Geography[]
Exterior boundaries
North: Grand'Anse and Nippes Departments
East: Southeast Department
South: Caribbean Sea
West: Windward Passage
Interior boundaries
The department is divided into 5 arrondissements:
- Aquin Arrondissement
- Les Cayes Arrondissement
- Les Chardonnières Arrondissement
- Les Côteaux Arrondissement
- Port-Salut Arrondissement----
Sud has an area of 2,794 sq km (1,079 square miles) and is slightly smaller than Rhode Island.
Sud possesses a variety of landscapes within its border.
Les Platons[]
The Citadel of Platons is a huge fortress erected 600 meters above sea level overlooking the south coast of Haiti. Day trips depart from the town of Les Cayes to visit the citadel. Guided tours take you into the mountainous rainforest below the fortress. The whole area is full of picturesque nature and sea views.
After a pass through Ducis, arrive at the village of Dubreuil. When you are in Dubreuil, the citadel is about a two to three hour walk up a steep path that offers breathtaking scenery. Continue on the same path through Formond. Enter Macaya National Park and follow the signs for Platons Citadel.
The Platons or Parades are placed in front of the Macaya. The Ravine des Mornes, which waters the Torbeck plain, takes its source in the heights of the Platons. From these fortified heights, the eye dominates the entire Cayes plain, and the Orange trees, between Saint Louis and Cavaillon.
- In 1792, the slaves of the Platon mountains had marched to support the rights of men of color. This insurrection became formidable, and kept the whites in Les Cayes in constant alarm. The blacks, led by one of theirs named Armand, occupied steep positions, covered with wood, crossed by deep gorges,
along the plain of the valley.
Governor Blanchelande went in person to the foot of the Platons, and presented himself as a peacemaker to the blacks who refused to surrender. On August 6, Blanchelande conducted three columns of troops against them. He established his neighborhood general opposite the foot of the Platoons, near the insurgent camp. where stood Armand, The blacks, a number of 10,000 occupied an area of 6 leagues; they only had 900 rifles, pikes and stones as weapons. In the afternoon, the insurgents assailed the front and the flanks the first white colonnades, commanded by Deschet. This one had to retreat under a hail of bullets and stones, crossed in disorder the highest peak of the Platons, the famous parade bordered by precipices, called the Dompte-Mulatres. His division almost perished there: the prisoners were slaughtered.
The second white column, commanded by Thiballien - unaware that the first had been annihilated - attacked the 7 negroes hiding themselves behind the trees and the rocks, and threw down the whites on all sides with a fiery plunging fire. The whites were forced to abandon the battlefield after losing Lt. Col. Doyle of the 88th.
Organizations[]
- The Lambi Fund's mission is to assist the popular democratic movement in Haiti. The Lambi Fund provides financial resources, training and technical assistance to peasant-led community organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people. The operate in the South, the Nippes, and the Northwest Departments.
References[]
Who what where - Southern Dept by commune [1] Michael Vedrine