Jeremie, the city of poets, Capital of the department of Grand'Anse
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It developed as an agricultural town producing coffee, sugarcane, bananas, mangoes, logwood, and hides. It’s also the town where most of the mulattos, Haitians of mixed African and European descen,t are believed to have been from.
A hurricane hit the town of Jeremie in 1954 destroying much of it.
Jeremie is famous for the 1964 massacre in which the Haitian army killed more than 27 people in the town. François (“Papa Doc”) Duvalier, the famous Haiti dictator whose son is currently facing charges for the crimes he committed during his 15 years as a ruler, during the same year, ordered the closure of its port due to its purported opposition to his rule and the town consequently underwent steep decline.
The town of Jeremie is also referred to as the city of poets, due to the renowned poets who came from it. These include, among others Etzer Vilaire whose most revered work include Page d'Amour peoms of (1897), Dix Hommes Noirs of (1901), and Nouveaux Poèmes of 1910. Another poet is Emile Roumer who is famous for his satirical poems about love and nature.
The father of Alexandre Dumas, Père, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, was born in Jérémie. Alexander Dumas was a historic novelists best known for his adventure works and was one of the most widely read novelists. His notable works include the Count of Monte Cristo and the Three Musketeers.
The late Reverend Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, killed in the devastating 2010 earthquake in Port au Prince, was also born in Jeremie.
After the earthquake that ravaged Haiti in 2010, the town of Jeremie hit the headlines after a convoy carrying food aid from the airport encountered an attempted hijacking on Saturday 30 January 2010.Talk of making headlines for the wrong reasons.
