Petit-Goâve ( ht, Ti Gwav) is a coastal

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Léogâne Arrondissement Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is an arrondissement in the Ouest Department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 509,280 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Léogâne Arrondissement start with the number 62. The arondissement consists of the followi ...

in the

Ouest Ouest (French for west) may refer to: *Ouest (department), Haiti *Ouest Department (Ivory Coast), defunct administrative subdivision of Ivory Coast * Ouest Province, Cameroon * Ouest Province, Rwanda *Ouest-France, a French newspaper * West France ...

department of Haiti. It is located southwest of Port-au-Prince. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants.

History

The town is one of the oldest cities of the country, and was named ''Goâve'' by the

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

s. The Spanish called it ''Aguava'' at the end of the 16th century. After French colonization through the releasing of the Spanish, the French divided the city into two halves; Grand-Goâve and Petit-Goâve. Petit-Goâve became a wealthy settlement and briefly functioned as a de facto capital of the prosperous colony of Saint-Domingue. It is also very famous for its sweet candy called ''douce macoss''.

January 2010 earthquake

The town was significantly affected by the 12 January 2010 earthquake. On 20 January a strong aftershock of magnitude 5.9 M_w struck Haiti. The

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

reported that its epicenter was almost exactly under Petit-Goâve. The magnitude of the aftershock was initially reported as 6.1 by the USGS, but was later revised to 5.9. On the 19th, authorized by the Haitian government, 1300 US Marines were deployed equally between Petit-Goâve and Grand-Goâve. Spanish amphibious assault ship '' Castilla'' is to arrive at Petit-Goâve beginning in February to assist in recovery efforts. By 9 February 2010, the US

24th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about ...

was rotating out of Haiti, having been replaced by the US 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, in their position on and Carrefour,

Léogâne Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is one of the coastal communes in Haiti. It is located in the eponymous Léogâne Arrondissement, which is part of the Ouest Department. The port town is located about west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. L ...

, Petit-Goâve, and Grand-Goâve. Aid For Haiti (AFH), a US-based non-profit has been coordinating some of the local medical care in the area of Petit-Goâve. They are located at the Wesleyan Compound in Petit-Goâve. The 400th episode of the radio program ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...

'', which aired in February 2010, featured a story on a school in Petit-Goâve and estimated 1000 people died due to the earthquake.

Notables

Dany Laferrière Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015. Life Bo ...

, Haitian-Canadian writer * Faustin Elie Soulouque (Faustin I), President of Haiti (1847–1849), Emperor of Haiti (1849–1859)

Facilities

Petit-Goâve has a hospital, ''Notre-Dame de Petit-Goâve''. In February 2010, this hospital was largely unusable due to damage from the earthquake. The Norwegian Red Cross ERU (Emergency Response Unit) has established their field hospital in the hospital and runs 2 fully equipped Operation Theaters and 2 ambulances with paramedics. Norwegian Red Cross support the hospital with electrical power, medical equipment and medicine. On February 15, 2013, the US State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced that it would be funding and building a 150-bed prison in Petit-Goâve to replace the one destroyed in 2004 after the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide"US plans to build 2 prisons in Haiti's provinces"
Miami Herald, 15 February 2013 (accessed 17 February 2013)

Pictures

File:Petit-Goâve 1981 (Flickr).jpg, The town of Petit-Goâve in 1981 File:Street scene in Petit-Goâve 2018 2.jpg, Street scene in Petit-Goâve File:Landscape in Palmes, Petit-Goâve, Haiti, 2018 2.jpg, Landscape in Les Palmes File:Catholic Church in Delatte, Petit-Goâve, Haiti.jpg, A catholic church in the village of Delatte File:Market in Delatte, Petit-Goâve, Haiti, 2017.jpg, A market in Delatte

References

External links

Petit-Goâve 350 Development
* Reuters

2 March 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Petit-Goave Populated places in Ouest (department) Communes of Haiti Port cities in the Caribbean