Note: There is also a group of islands called the Dry Tortugas, part of the Florida Keys, and an island called La Tortuga, part of the Venezuelan Federal Dependencies.
Île de la Tortue (Kreyol: Latòti, Spanish: Isla Tortuga, English: Turtle Island) is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, about 14 km (9 miles) by ferry off the northwest coast of Hispaniola. It constitutes the commune of Tortuga in the Port-de-Paix Arrondissement of Haiti's Northwest Department. It is separated from the mainland by Canal de la Tortue. As of the 2015 census, the population was 38,868. Part of the town is designated Ville de la Tortue, or Aux Palmistes. The region of Pointe Tête-de-Chien on Tortuga is the northernmost settlement in Haiti.
About[]
Named because of its shape Tortuga de mar (English: "Sea Turtle ") by Christopher Columbus, this West Indies island was a stronghold for pirates who scoured the Caribbean in the 17th century and was the first territory of Saint-Domingue colonized by France.
History[]
Its Taíno name was Baynei. Although Tortuga was already known by the native peoples, it was never used as a permanent settlement until European pirates made it into a launching ground for piracy activities. The first Europeans to land on Tortuga were the Spaniards in 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus into the New World. On December 6, 1492, three Spanish ships entered the Windward Passage that separates Cuba and Haiti. At sunrise, Columbus noticed an island whose contours emerged from the morning mist. Because the shape reminded him of a turtle’s shell, he chose the name of Tortuga.
18th century engraving depicting Tortuga Island seen from the mouth of the 3 rivers
People from different European countries, mainly from England, came to live on this island. In 1625, French people came to this island from the Saint Kitts island. They lived on the southern part of the island where there are flat lands and tried to grow some crops like tobacco. They also went to Hispaniola, which they called la Grande Terre ("the Big Land") to hunt wild cows and pigs and, because they used a Taíno cooking technique with smoke known as "boucan", they were known as boucaniers ("buccaneers"). They sold the smoked meat and leather (dry skin used to make footwear and clothing) to those ships that came to the island.
Tortuga was founded in 1925 under the name Aux Palmistes, with the implantation of Catholicism in the region. At that time, this municipality did not have the adequate means to allow the Tortugese to survive. Unfortunately, the situation has not changed much. The lack of economic and financial infrastructures means that this municipality remains very lightly endowed.
Pirate history[]
In 1625, French and English settlers arrived on the island of Tortuga after initially planning to settle on the island of Hispaniola. The French and English settlers were attacked in 1629 by the Spanish commanded by Don Fadrique de Toledo. The Spanish were successful and fortified the island, expelling the French and English men. As most of the Spanish army left for Hispaniola to root out French colonists there, the French returned to take the fort and expanded on the Spanish-built fortifications. In 1630, the French built Fort de Rocher in a natural harbor. From 1630 onward, the island of Tortuga was divided into French and English colonies allowing buccaneers, more commonly known as pirates, to use the island more frequently as their main base of operations. In 1633, the first slaves were imported from Africa to aid in the plantations. The new slave trend did not stick, and by 1635, the use of slaves had ended. The slaves were said to be out of control on the island, and at the same time there had been continual disagreements and fighting between French and English colonies. In that same year 1635, the Spanish returned and quickly conquered the English and French colonies, only to leave again, due to the island being too small to be of major importance. This abandonment of Tortuga allowed the return of both French and English pirates. Again in 1638, the Spanish returned to take the island and rid it of all French and newly settled Dutch. They occupied the island, but to their surprise were beaten back by the French and Dutch colonists who expelled them.
Historical Timeline[]
- In 1630, French adventurers came to settle there. Most of them were Norman. They were called Boucanniers. They were nomads and did not worry the Spaniards at all. But these, protecting themselves, the only masters of the New World, swore to exterminate them. The Boucanniers made war with them. Never had more terrible sailors tamed the waves. They took 50-gun Spanish vessels.
- In 1640, Levasseur was sent to them as governor. These buccaneers made great progress and astonished the New World with their exploits on land and at sea against the Spaniards and their navy. By 1640, the bucaneers of Tortuga were calling themselves the Brethren of the Coast. The pirate population was mostly made up of French and Englishmen, along with a small number of Dutchmen. In 1645, in an attempt to bring harmony and control over the island, the acting French governor imported roughly 1,650 prostitutes, hoping to regularize the unruly pirates' lives.
- In 1648, the Spaniards attacked them and were bathed by Levasseur, who ended up driving them off of the island.
- In 1660, du Rausset took it from them forever. As a reward, the island was conceded to him in full possession. In 1664, du Rausset sold his rights to the French West India Company.
The same year, Bertrand d'Ogeron was appointed governor of the West India Company. There were 400 adventurers of prodigious intrepidity. D'Ogeron disciplined them and procured them white women, to encourage culture. Constantly worried by the Spaniards, he attacked Santiago, in the eastern part, looted it and took twenty-five thousand piastres from the inhabitants.
D'Ogeron died in Paris in 1676. He was succeeded by Monsieur de Pouancey who fortified the city of Cap-Francais. He died in 1681. Monsieur Franquesney, the king's lieutenant, replaced him, plus Monsieur du Cussy in 1633, who abandoned La Tortue and gave all his care to the establishments of the mainland. He resolved to seize Santiago to give occupation to these buccaneers. In 1689, he defeated the Spaniards there and took their city, which he destroyed and withdrew. The lair of the filibusters became a leper asylum for the colony of St-Domingue: the Superior Council of Cap-Haïtien, seeing the number of these unfortunate people increase day by day, issued on April 25, 1712, an order ordering the transport of the "ladres" (miserables) a la Tortue.
- By the year 1670, as the buccaneer era was in decline, most of the pirates, seeking a new source of trade, turned to log cutting and trading wood from the island. At this same time, a Welsh pirate named Henry Morgan started to promote himself and invite the pirates on the island of Tortuga to set sail under him. They were hired out by the French as a striking force that allowed France to have a much stronger hold on the Caribbean region. Consequently, the pirates were never really controlled, and kept Tortuga as a neutral hideout for pirate booty.
- In 1680, new Acts of Parliament forbade sailing under foreign flags (in opposition to former practice). This was a major legal blow to Caribbean pirates. Settlements were finally made in the Treaty of Ratisbon of 1684, signed by the European powers, that put an end to piracy. Most of the pirates after this time were hired out into the Royal services to suppress their former buccaneer allies. Within a few years, the age of buccaneers had ended.
- When the English came to occupy some points of the "Big Island" in 1793, the white Pierre Labatut who was the greatest landowner of Tortuga, and who commanded the National Guard, knew how to preserve this cradle of the Saint-Domingue colony from all excess and of the conquest of the English.
- In April 1802, a revolt broke out on the Tortuga plantations in favor of Toussaint Louverture. General Leclerc sent there Martial Besse, a colored man, who had been appointed general by the people of Paris at the storming of the Bastille. This general made the plantations return to duty. As he had treated them with humanity, after victory, Leclerc had him arrested and taken to France. He was imprisoned in France in the fortress of Joux, in the department of Doubs, near Pontarlier.
- In 1802, General Leclerc went there often, and had transformed this island into a delicious stay. He indulged in it with all the material pleasures of life. His wife Pauline Bonaparte surrounded herself with all kinds of enchantments. The finest officers of the General Staff, of the Captain-General, were his cavaliers.
The farmers of Tortuga, who had withdrawn their weapons under the pretext of replacing them with French weapons, were the first to revolt against Leclerc. This movement followed at Verrettes and Matheux. Colonel Labatut calmed the excitement with wise measures. Leclerc accused Labatut of having been the instigator of the insurrection by his slackness; he degraded him.
The Tortuga farmers were condemned to pay a war contribution of fifty thousand francs; and two-thirds of a quarter of the proceeds they received were withheld to be used in the reconstruction of houses which had been burnt down.
- Under Leclerc and under Rochambeau, this island, inhabited in that day by a few miserable fishermen, presented the traveler with a picturesque glance. Orange trees, interlacing their branches laden with fruit above the paths which crossed the island in all directions, gave one a fragrant shade that protected it against the heat of a murderous sun. The healthy air of Tortuga; the atmosphere of the island was always renewed by the refreshing breeze of the sea; everything had made the government choose this place to establish a vast hospital. The French had built magnificent buildings there; and around these buildings, they had erected several thousand huts, by driving into the earth tree trunks intertwined with lianas tightly tightened and coated with loam. The large banana leaves with the parched bark of the palm tree, the tall stems of reeds on the shore, sheltered the enclosure of the huts in the form of a roof. Most of the wounded and sick were transported there from Cap, Port-de-Paix, Mole, and Fort-Liberte. Priests celebrated the divine office in a chapel built at great expense, with bricks and mahogany planks. The government had spent considerable sums on all these constructions. Barracks housed a demi-brigade of elite soldiers, both for the police of the little island, and for the defense against the English, in case of aggression. General Pamphile de Lacroix was in command there. The troops of the garrison were often replaced. Rochambeau sent the soldiers there alternately to breathe healthier air than that in the towns.
- In December 1802, the native General, Capois, commandant of Port-de-Paix, conceived the project of burning the French establishments at La Tortue. Determined to set the hospital on fire, he ordered Commander Vincent Louis to prepare for a raid there. The ruin of this establishment was to deprive the French of immense resources. Vincent Louis had rafts built planks bound by strong lianas and embarked, accompanied by one hundred and fifty elite men of the 9th, under the orders of Captain Gardel. He left from the Carré Rouge in Saint-Louis du Nord at the beginning of a dark night, from January 6 to 7, 1803. Two boats loaded with rowers were pulling the rafts back. The natives, after having avoided the lugger le Vautour (the Vulture), under the orders of Captain Fey, who cruised between Port-de-Paix and Saint-Louis, landed at Tortuga Island, Basse-Terre and Palmiste Point. Vincent Louis immediately went to the Labatut habitation, which he seized without striking a blow. He delivered a crowd of natives [600], who were chained there, among others, his mother, his son and Placide Lebrun. Immediately, he returned two of his rafts to the Carré Rouge of Saint Louis-du-Nord where the native prisoners who had been delivered, as well as the wife of Colonel Labatut, an old white woman who had been surprised in the large hut of her habitation, disembarked. Capoix treated her humanely. But scoundrels stabbed her shortly after to remove her jewelry. Vincent Louis plundered several plantations, went through a few habitations, burning and sacking everything, and drove the French garrison back into the hospital fort. This fortification was then attacked, removed and set in flames. Most of the sick and inhabitants only escaped death by hiding in the ravines, deep in the woods. At daybreak, Adjutant General Boscus who commanded the garrison, managed to rally the debris of French troops on the Doubaire habitation. He stopped the progress of the insurgents. Vincent Louis took refuge in the interior of the island, striving to organize the insurrection, and awaiting the return of the rafts to send a rich booty to Capois. As soon as the burning of La Tortue establishments was made known in Au Cap, superior forces were directed towards him. He was driven from the Island, and only reached the mainland through the greatest dangers.
- In March 1803, new insurrection broke out where the natives had slaughtered the patients of the hospitals and driven back the French to the ports of the shore, and burned the habitations. Squadron leader Lallemand, sent by Rochambeau, landed at Basse Terre. He killed 50 men from the natives, took away 25 rifles and 2 drums and barges hidden in the woods. Tranquility was restored. French losses caused by the fire were estimated at 1,200,000 francs. From then on the island was ruined and abandoned.
- On April 24, 1825 the secretary general, B. Inginac, took an opinion announcing that the government has never conceded or alienated any land in the islands of Gonave, Tortuga, and others which depended on the territory of the Republic, and which are part of the domains of the State; he warned those who had established logging without the authorization of the President of Haiti that they were forbidden to continue them and to make new ones, since these woods were reserved for the service of arsenals and public buildings.
- In 1827, President Boyer was chasing migrants and farmers (who had withdrawn there to engage in cultivation with their families) away from Tortuga, for fear of contraband.
- In 1835, the Secretary of State Jn. Cme. Imbart invited the companies which would be disposed to undertake the cutting of mahogany wood at La Tortue, to send him their bids.
- A notice of February 13, 1862 from the administrator of the Estates put the exploitation of La Tortue up for auction. Offers would be received until February 15 at. 3 o'clock in the afternoon to Ministry of the Interior in the presence of the bidders. The consul of Secretary of State accepted the offer and the conditions made by Mr Ed Devèze, French trader.
- In 1892, the government leased the island to General Turenne Jean-Gilles and J. C. Antoine for thirty-one years, at 15 percent of the gross proceeds. The government made it a military post for the Borough of Port-de-Paix.
Geography[]
Tortuga is situated off the northern coast of Haiti at 20.0549° N, 72.7925° W. According to the IHSI, this commune has a total land area of 179.94 square kilometers (69.48 square miles), of which 115.06 km² (64%) is rural, 61.04 km² (34%) is suburban, and 3.84 km² (2%) is urban. Tortuga does not share borders with any other towns, one of two municipalities in Haiti that share this distinction (the other is Tortue includes two communal sections, Pointe-des-Oiseaux and Mare-Rouge. The commune's land area consists of either the plateau or the mountains. Its climate varies from normal to warm depending on the area where you are.
The southern part of the island was divided into four; the first part was called Basse-Terre (Low Land). This was the main part of the southern coast because it contained the island's port. The town was called Cayona, and there lived the richest planters of the island. The second was called the Middle Plantation. Its territory could only grow Tobacco. The third part was named Ringot. These places were situated towards the Western part of the island. The fourth was called the Mountain; it is there that the first cultivated plantation was established upon the island.
The island, 37 km (23 miles) long by 7 km (4 miles) wide, is 7 kilometers off the coast of the city of Saint-Louis and 8 km (5 miles) north of Port-de-Paix. It is separated from these two cities by the Canal de la Tortue.
Neighborhoods
| LTT | La Tortue | 38,868 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLT | Ville de La Tortue | Urban | 2,390 | ||
| PDO | 1ère Section Pointe-des-Oiseaux | Rural | 16,810 | Agathe, Aux Palmistes, Aux Plaines, Avril, Basse Terre, Bien Compté, Carrefour, Cayenne, Celan, Cerca, Citron, Colonie, Découvert, Du Rossey, En bas Mare, Fort Refuge, Grande Sable, Grande Savane, Jacof, La Visite, Mapou, Mare Gauthier, Moreau, Paille Mais, Palan, Pierre Noel, Pointe-aux-Oiseaux, Port Vincent, Terre Glissée, Tête Rochelle, Ti Fabre | |
| MRO | 2ème Section Mare Rouge | Rural | 19,668 | Bassin Cheval, Boucan Guèpe, Clair Messine, Clarisse, Corosse Séché, Creace, Dame Marie, Dupuis, Embas Morne, Fond Goriose, Grand Mane, Gringotte, Gros Raisinier, Hemboucot, Herbes Marines, Herbes Rasoirs, La Vallée, L'Hopital, Mancenillier, Mare Rouge, Mare Terrien, Mentrie, Monder, Nan Grisgris, Nan Migoine, Petit Mane, Petit Paradis, Pierre Tules, Place Nègre, Pointe Ouest, Roches Eustaches, Roselière, Saline, Savoyard, Servily, Source Fannan, Terre Cassée, Ti Bois Neuf, Trésor, Trou Sardines, Trou Vasseux, Voûte l'Église |
Geology
Although in its immediate vicinity, Tortuga Island is part of a separate tectonic block from the rest of Hispaniola. Its relief is very rugged with a central ridge, terraces to the north, sandy and loamy soil on the coasts and clay-acid on the heights which reach 450 meters (1500 feet). The south coast features exceptional beaches and reefs.
Littoral
Tortuga Island has a north coast with cliffs battered by the ocean swell and made so inaccessible that this inhospitable coastline was called the "Iron Coast". Its "leeward" southern coast offers excellent, well-sheltered refuges, including the bay of Basse-Terre, and magnificent beaches. One of them, "La Pointe-Ouest", was named by the tourism magazine Condé Nast as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.
Demography[]
The inhabitants of the town are called Tortugais.
| Year | Population | +/- |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 31,579 | |
| 2009 | 35,347 | |
| 2015 | 38,868 | +9% |
Economy[]
The local economy is based on agriculture, livestock, and trade. The town has a lot of fertile land, farmers, and agricultural products. Many small traders (especially women) conduct the sale of agricultural products, fruit, livestock, seafood, coal and other imported items. Livestock farming is widespread and a source of income (especially goats and chickens) but also cattle. The commercial exchanges take place at the marketplaces of Aux Palmistes, Mare Rouge, Nan Jacques, and Méance. These markets are largely informal.
The boat building industry also contributes to the economy. Maritime transport provides income to many sailors, boat builders, and sailboats of all kinds.
The island has great tourism potential with its numerous beaches, caves, and pirate legends, among others. Above all, its 80 kilometers (50 miles) of coastline results in great fishing potential and a large potential market on the mainland.
Infrastructure[]
Transportation
Ground. An unpaved road connects the villages of the central part of the ridge to a few secondary roads. People get around by way of motorcycle taxis and donkeys. With very few private cars, transportation costs are substantial.
Sea. The island has over 20 ports serving boats of all different sizes. The largest boats are accommodated at Mahé, with it's wide bay, where more boats anchor. Ferry service to the mainland has destinations of Port-de-Paix, La Pointe, Saint-Louis du Nord, Berger, and Anse-à-Foleur.
Education
The Ministry of National Education of Youth and Sports is not represented in the municipality of Tortue. The education sector on Tortuga Island has yet to achieve its full potential, both in terms of the quantity and quality of provision. For a long time, education was not seen as important by the Tortuga residents but today, it has become a subject of major concern to the population. In total, only about 13,000 children would be educated on the island, while the population under 18 is around 23,000 - and still growing. Parents often cannot send all their children to school, because it is expensive. The town has 57 schools. There are two kindergarten schools, and at least two dozen primary schools, public, private, and congregational. At the secondary level, there is a public and two private schools. There are three national schools and a high school. There is a professional school at Pagne.
Health
The municipality of Tortuga does not have representation from the Ministry of Public Health and Population. There is a hospital in Aux Palmistes and five dispensaries. The dispensary is the lowest rung of the national health services, and regularly refers patients to the larger public hospitals. A team of healthcare workers, including a trainee doctor, nurse, and, numerous auxiliaries, provide the health service at the different health centers of the municipality.
Utilities
As for water availability, eleven sources have been inventoried. Five of these sources, served the population of several localities. Apart from the springs, there are public fountains with at least a dozen taps. At the time of the survey, no area of the municipality of Tortue was electrified.
Security
With regard to the administrative infrastructures, the municipality of Tortue has a court of peace and a police station. The police station is located in Aux Palmistes. There is no prison in this commune, only a police custody room.
Culture[]
Religion
Nearly 42 temples of all beliefs have been enumerated in the commune of la Tortue. The number of Pentecotist temples is higher than the number of temples of the other denominations counted in the commune (16 in total).
Organizations
As for the political parties and organizations, they are distributed: two grassroots organizations, six women's groups, two non-commercial cooperatives, three NGOs and two international organizations.
Communication
The municipality of Tortue has neither newspaper nor television station, but has a radio station called Universal, located in the 1st communal section.
Leisure
As for Leisure, Tortue has several theaters located in different places, and sports such as football (soccer), volleyball, tennis, swimming and basketball, which are practiced on land that is in poor condition. The gaguères numbering eight complete the main places of entertainment in the municipality of Tortuga.
Tourism[]
There are several good beaches in Tortuga Island; Point Saline, at the western tip, is considered by many to be the best beach of the island. This area is very dry and offers little shade. At the Les Palmiste on the eastern coast, visit a pre-Columbian rock carving of a goddess at La Grotte au Bassin and two big caves at Trou d'Enfer and La Grotte de la Galerie.
Basse-Terre, on the southeastern coast, is home to the remains of Fort de la Roche, once the island's biggest fortress, built in 1630. Along with a 15 m (4 ft) high lime kiln, three cannons and the foundations of a wall are all that is left of Fort Ogeron.
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References[]
Île de la Tortue - Wikipedia.fr [1]
Tortuga (Haiti) - Wikipedia [2]
Tortuga (Haiti) - Academic.com [3]
Tortuga in the Caribbean - Wingsch Real Estate Investments [4]
Tortuga (Haiti) - Kidzsearch [5]
Medicine and Morality in Haiti: The Contest for Healing Power - Paul Brodwin [6]