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regions to the north and west of the city, these agricultural products are brought by rail to the port for export.  Freighters plied the shipping lanes from the southern Caribbean to the east coast of the U.S., carrying goods and some passengers.  Occasional cruise ships stopped at the port for a day.  Coastal traffic, along the northern shore as well as traffic from La Gonāve, however, was largely based on the use of sailboats transporting passengers and goods.  Given the poor conditions of roads or their total absence, these provided the major means of transport for building materials (gravel, sand), fish and seafood, and locally produced goods as well as people.

The port area is also the starting point of converted trucks (camion) that serve as buses for out of town travel and transport of goods.

“The means of public transportation, called camion, are, as their name implies, trucks rather than buses.  They run at rare intervals without a schedule.  The inexperienced traveler may be pleased when, at 6 a.m., a partially filled truck leaves the Port-au-Prince market place, near the port, to proceed to the desired location.  As the vehicle slowly moves along the road leading to the city limits, passengers and driver will call out the destination to passers by, in an attempt to collect passengers and fill the truck.  If, on reaching the city limits, the truck is insufficiently filled, the driver will turn back and the procedure will be continued until there are enough passengers to make the trip worth while” (EB:  edited field notes).

As the capital and largest city, Port-au-Prince was and remains the center of political and economic activity, but also of social life, religion and the arts.  The festivals seen in the life of the streets are Carnival and pre-Easter Rara.  There are Catholic Churches and shrines, but also an Episcopal Cathedral and churches of various smaller denominations and evangelical groups.  Watch Tower and Bahaļ were represented in the city.

 

 

Continued

Table of Contents, Collection B | Table of Contents, Collection C

Page last revised: July 31, 2007

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