Country histories
Full series to understand how each country became what it is today, told in parts and with sources.
Cuba, the key to the New World: from Columbus to independence (part 1)
Columbus called it the most beautiful land human eyes had ever seen. Today more than two million Cubans live abroad. The story begins with Hatuey, sugar and José Martí.
Haiti was the richest colony in the world: how its history began (part 1)
Today it's the poorest country in the Americas, but just over 200 years ago it was "the pearl of the Antilles". From the Taíno to the revolution that defeated Napoleon.
France made Haiti pay for its freedom: the 1825 debt (part 2)
Fourteen warships, a royal order and 150 million francs. Haiti had to pay for its own independence, and the last payments were made in 1947.
Haiti under the Marines and the Duvaliers: occupation and dictatorship (part 3)
In 1915 the U.S. Marines arrived and stayed for nineteen years. Then a doctor became a dictator and handed power to his son.
The earthquake, an assassination and the gangs: how Haiti got to where it is today (part 4)
The first free elections, a military coup, the 2010 earthquake, cholera, the assassination of a president and a capital in the hands of gangs.