Gonâve Island
Native name: Guanabo | |
|---|---|
View of Gonâve Island from space | |
La Gonâve Location within Haiti | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Gulf of Gonâve |
| Coordinates | 18°50′N 73°05′W / 18.833°N 73.083°W |
| Area | 689.62 km2 (266.26 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 778 m (2552 ft) |
| Highest point | Morne La Pierre |
| Administration | |
Haiti | |
| Department | Ouest |
| Largest settlement | Anse-à-Galets (pop. 49,050) |
| Demographics | |
| Demonym | Gonâvians |
| Population | 87,077 (2015) |
| Pop. density | 126/km2 (326/sq mi) |
| Pointe Fantasque Lighthouse | |
| Foundation | concrete base |
| Construction | metal skeletal tower |
| Height | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Shape | square pyramidal tower with balcony and light[1][2] |
| Markings | white tower |
| Power source | solar power |
| Focal height | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Range | 9 nmi (17 km; 10 mi) |
| Characteristic | Q(6)+LFI W 15s |
Gonâve Island or Zile Lagonav (French: Île de la Gonâve, pronounced [ɡɔ.nɑv]; also La Gonâve) is an island of Haiti located west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve. It is the largest of the Hispaniolan satellite islands. The island is an arrondissement (Arrondissement de La Gonâve) or Ouest-Insulaire in the Ouest and includes the communes of Anse-à-Galets and Pointe-à-Raquette.[3]
History
European period
No major French or Spanish settlement was built in La Gonâve. During the colonial period, the island was uninhabited by colonists, which led the indigenous Taínos to seek refuge there after early battles with the Spanish.[4] Runaway slaves in the French period, too, sometimes sought out the island for a place to hide from their owners on the mainland.[5]
Haitian period
The island has been officially under Haitian control since Toussaint Louverture and the Constitution of 1801.
Kingdom of La Gonâve
The Kingdom of La Gonâve was an informal, locally recognized system of leadership on La Gonâve. The island was governed by a matriarchal system of "societies" and queens, although they were never formally recognized by the Haitian government, they governed La Gonâve independent of Haiti. During the United States occupation of Haiti, In 1926, U.S. Marine Sergeant Faustin E. Wirkus became involved in local affairs after he secured queen Ti Memenne’s release from charges related to Vodou practice.
On the 18th of July 1926, Queen Ti Memenne proclaimed Wirkus “King Faustin II,” in a vodou ceremony near the Hounfour in Anse-à-Galets, believing him to be the reincarnation of Emperor Faustin I. This perception was based on Wirkus sharing the emperor’s first name and his kindness to Queen Ti Memenne. From 1926 to 1929, Ti Memenne and Wirkus reigned as co-rulers of La Gonâve. The arrangement ended when Wirkus was reassigned by the U.S. Marine Corps.
Queen Ti Memenne died some time after Wirkus left La Gonâve in 1929, and the government of Haiti assumed control of La Gonâve, which abruptly ended the monarchy.
Modern period
In the mid-1980s, British singer Cliff Richard wrote and recorded the song "La Gonave" for relief aid for the people of the island. It is included on his album The Rock Connection.
The island's docks were damaged by the 2010 Haiti earthquake on 12 January. In the wake of the damage, supplies were airlifted in to the 550-metre (1,800 ft) dirt strip.[6]
In 2025, two men from Texas were indicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country. Prosecutors claimed they were planning to recruit homeless people to help them take over Gonâve Island by force, so they could kill the men and use the women and children as sex slaves. The men had reportedly begun learning Haitian Creole in order to prepare.[7]
Independence movement
The island inhabitants have pushed the idea of independence from Haiti in order to achieve economic prosperity.[8]
Geography
The island sits in the middle of the Gulf of Gonave, south of St-Marc, north of Miragoanes, and west of Port-au-Prince. It forms the canal of St-Marc with the Cote des Arcadins and the Canal of the South and Miragoanes.
Made up of mostly limestone, the reef-fringed island of Gonâve is 60 km (37 mi) long and 15 km (9 mi) wide and covers an area of 743 km2 (287 sq mi). The island is mostly barren and hilly with the highest point reaching 778 m (2,552 ft). The island receives between 800 mm (31 in) to 1,600 mm (63 in) of rain a year, higher elevations representing the latter figure.[9]
The barren, dry nature of the soil has long prevented agricultural development on the island and kept the population lower than it otherwise might have been.
Administrative division
La Gonâve arrondissement is divided into two communes: Anse-à-Galets and Pointe-à-Raquette. These are further subdivided into eleven sections and two towns (villes). The towns are Anse-à-Galets and Pointe-à-Raquette, named after their respective communes. Anse-à-Galets is the largest settlement on the island with an estimated 2015 population of 52,662 of the island's total population of 87,077.[10][11]
| Anse-à-Galets | Pointe-à-Raquette |
|---|---|
| 1st Palma | 5th Gros Mangle |
| 2nd Petite Source | 6th La Source |
| 3rd Grande Source | 7th Grand Vide |
| 4th Grand Lagon | 8th Trou Louis |
| 10th Picmy (Pickmy) | 9th Pointe-à-Raquette |
| 11th Petite Anse |
Water scarcity
In 2005, following a particularly drastic drought, the Mayor of Anse-à-Galets formed the Water Platform, composed of service groups working on the island. Current participants include the Mayors of Anse-à-Galets and Pointes a Racquette, the Deputy, Justice of the Peace, World Vision, Concern WorldWide, Sevis Kretyen, the Matènwa Community Learning Center, the Alleghany Weslyen Church, the Methodist Church, Haiti Outreach and many others. The Water Platform acts as a focal point for activities on the island, providing a coordination point for the multitude of groups working on La Gonâve.
Assistance efforts
The members of the Water Platform have been working to address the water needs of the island by capping springs, building rainwater catchment cisterns, building water systems and drilling wells. Dozens of rainwater catchment cisterns and wells have been drilled on the island as an effort to bring water relief to the residents of the island.
2002–2004 Guts Church funded construction of a school providing first through sixth grade education and construction of a medical clinic providing free medical, dental and vision services for Haitians.
As of 2007, there were two non-profit groups actively drilling water wells on the island: Haiti Outreach, which has financed and drilled water wells in 25 communities; and Guts Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Tougher Than Hell Motorcycle Rally, organized by Guts Church, has sponsored 10 water wells drilled on the island.
In 2010 Coordinated relief efforts after the 12 January earthquake. $250,000 was raised for this relief project. Medical supplies, building supplies, 150 tons of rice and beans and a backhoe were purchased. Aid was shipped to La Gonâve via a leased vessel and delivered directly to La Gonâve in early March 2010. The aid shipment fed 50,000 people for one month.
As of 2011 there are over 70 water wells fully functional on the island. The drilling of more wells on the island has been planned for the near future.[12]
Ferry disaster
On 8 September 1997, the passenger ferry La Fierte Gonavienne (The Pride of Gonave) operating from La Gonâve to the Montrouis on the Haitian mainland sank with hundreds of passengers aboard.[13] It is unknown how many died; some estimate that about 290 people were killed.[14] Others think up to 250 with 60 surviving.[15] It is considered the worst disaster in Haitian maritime history since the Neptune accident in 1993.[16]
Media
- Radio Zetwa 89.1 FM
Sports team
- Roulado FC – professional football club
Notable natives and residents
- Faustin E. Wirkus – King of La Gonâve (Faustin II)
- Ti Memenne of La Gonâve – Queen of La Gonâve
See also
References
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Haiti". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- ^ List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2016.
- ^ Description de Saint-Domingue, M.L.E. Moreau de Saint-Méry, vol. 2, p. 528, Philadelphia: 1798.
- ^ Description de Saint-Domingue, p. 528.
- ^ "Les Affiches Américaines", 19 March 1766, pg. 102 (accessed 30 May 2014)
- ^ The Bahamas Weekly, "Bahamas Habitat completes 150th Haiti relief flight", GeneralAviationNews.com, 4 February 2010 (accessed 4 February 2010)
- ^ "North Texas men indicted in the Eastern District of Texas for an international murder/kidnapping scheme".
- ^ "Gonâve: A wind of independence blows on the island". iciHaiti. 9 June 2019.
- ^ "National Aeronautics and Space Administration". Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
- ^ "Sections communales et villes de la République d'Haiti". Gexpert Haiti. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ IHSI, "POPULATION TOTALE, POPULATION DE 18 ANS ET PLUS MENAGES ET DENSITES ESTIMES EN 2009" Archived 24 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, March 2009 (accessed 30 May 2014)
- ^ "About | You Help Haiti". Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "Red Cross lowers estimate of Haitian ferry victims". CNN. 9 September 1997. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ Vant Bef Info (9 September 2024). "27 ans après le naufrage de la "Fierté Gonâvienne", des Gonâviens plaident pour une amélioration du trafic maritime". Vant Bèf Info (VBI) (in French).
- ^ "Chronologie: Die schlimmsten Fährunglücke der letzten Jahre". Der Spiegel (in German). 23 December 1999. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- ^ Rohter, Larry (9 September 1997). "More Than 300 Feared Lost on Haiti Ferry". New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2016.