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Collection A:  Port-au-Prince (May 1947–August 1948)

En Route to Haiti (UH000–02):

Paul Bourguignon arrived in Haiti in May 1947, having traveled from Le Havre to Martinique on board the French luxury liner Le Colombie.  The boat had been converted into a military hospital ship and had not yet returned to its prewar character.  It was crowded with emigrants from many different European countries, most of whom hoped to relocate in South America.  From Martinique Bourguignon proceeded to Port-au-Prince, with stops on the way in Gouadeloupe and the Dominican Republic.

In Port-au-Prince, Bourguignon settled at the Hotel Excelsior on the Champ-de-Mars and soon began to take photographs.

The City and Its Surroundings (PH003–30):

Port-au-Prince is located on the Gulf of Gonāve, named for the island at its center.  The city was founded by the French, in the 18th century, as the capital and principal port of the colony of St. Domingue.  In 1944 (the most recent date for which U. S. Government estimates were available in 1948) Port-au-Prince was reported to have a population of 125,000.  Unofficial estimates in 1948 set the total closer to 200,000.  The increase, by all accounts, was due to a continuous migration from rural areas to the city.  This long term trend was accelerated, on the one hand, by fragmentation and alienation of rural lands and on the other, by the availability of service jobs in the city.  This included quasi-adoptions of child servants (ti moun, restavec) by middle and upper class families.

 

 

 

Continued

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

Page last revised: July 31, 2007

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