Haiti (Principia Moderni)

The recorded history of Haiti began on December 5, 1542 when the French navigator Alain Bertrand happened upon a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean Sea. It was inhabited by the Taíno, an Arawakan people, who variously called their island Ayiti, Bohio, or Kiskeya. Bertrand promptly claimed the island for the French Crown, and named it Haiti, which came from Ayiti which means "Land of the Mountains." Though the entire island is claimed by France, only one third of the island is actually occupied. The colony currently functions under a Royal Charter, which puts the Mayor of Haiti as its source of law. The main export from the island of Haiti is its gold.