Italian Haitians (Italian: italo-haitiani; Haitian Creole: italyen ayisyen; French: haïtiens italiens) are Haitian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Haiti during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Haiti.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 100 (by birth) c. 5,000 (by ancestry) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Port-au-Prince, Pétion-Ville | |
| Languages | |
| Haitian Creole · Haitian French · Italian and Italian dialects | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Italians, Italian Americans, Italian Argentines, Italian Bolivians, Italian Brazilians, Italian Canadians, Italian Chileans, Italian Colombians, Italian Costa Ricans, Italian Cubans, Italian Dominicans, Italian Ecuadorians, Italian Guatemalans, Italian Hondurans, Italian Mexicans, Italian Panamanians, Italian Paraguayans, Italian Peruvians, Italian Puerto Ricans, Italian Salvadorans, Italian Uruguayans, Italian Venezuelans |
History
editItalian explorer Christopher Columbus explored the Haiti region.[1]
The Italian presence in Haiti dates to the era of the French colony of Saint-Domingue.[2]
During colonial times only a few Italians went to Haiti: most of them were Catholic missionaries, with a few merchants and soldiers.
The business sector of Haiti was dominated by German and Italian immigrants in the mid-19th century.[3] In 1908 there were 160 Italians residing in Haiti, according to the Italian consul De Matteis, of whom 128 lived in the capital Port-au-Prince. [4]
During the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the first Italian recorded dead was 70-year-old Gigliola Martino, who was born in Haiti to Italian parents who emigrated to the country in the early 20th century.[5]
Daphnée Duplaix, an American actress and model born in New York City, is of Haitian and Italian descent.[6][7]
Stella Jean[8] is a fashion designer in Italy whose mother is Haitian and father is Italian.[9]
In 2011, according to the Italian census, there were 134 Italians who were resident in Haiti, nearly all of them living in the capital. However, there were nearly 5,000 Haitians with recent or distant Italian roots (according to the Italian embassy).
Notable Italian Haitians
edit- Sherif Abdallah, insurance businessman and a close associate of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.[10]
- Regine Chevallier, fashion designer
- Daphnée Duplaix, actress and model
- Lindsay Zullo, footballer
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Italy Invades.
- ^ Italians Crossing the Caribbean: Two Case Studies - Age of Revolutions
- ^ "History of immigration to Haiti dates to the 19th century". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ Emigrazione e Colonie; volume 3: "Italiani in Haiti" (1908)
- ^ "Gigliola Martino death". Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Daphnee Duplaix Biography". IMDb.
- ^ "Haitian American To Know: Daphnee Duplaix". L'union Suite. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
- ^ Stella Jean[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Stella Jean, Italian interview (and photo)". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ "Sanctioned Businessmen From Haiti Run Business Operations In The Dominican Republic". The Latin Times. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
Links
edit- Hossary, Nagia (Archive article)
Bibliography
edit- Commissariato dellemigrazione. Emigrazione e colonie, Volume 3: Raccolta di rapporti dei RR. agenti diplomatici e consolari.Tipografia nazionale di G. Bertero & comp. Roma, 1908
