PORT AU PRINCE

Port au Prince is the capital of the Republic of Haiti, the largest city in the country, and a famous port in the West Indies. Port au Prince is located in the western part of Hispaniola Island in the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast coast of the Gulf of Gonav, at the foot of the LaSalle Mountains, at the junction of the Kurd Sark Plain and the sea, facing Gonav Island. According to legend, during the colonial era, a storm swept through the sea and a French ship named "Prince" sailed into the port safely. Later, people named it Port au Prince after this ship. This was originally a Native American settlement. After Columbus discovered the island of Haiti in 1492, the Spanish flocked here and brought black people from Africa to serve as slaves. In 1697, it fell into the hands of the French. Port au Prince was founded in 1749 and replaced Cap Ha ï tien as the capital of the French colony of Santo Domingo in 1770. In 1804, Haiti gained independence and Port au Prince became the capital. The majority of residents here are black and mixed race people, mostly practicing Catholicism and Vodou, and the official language is French. Port au Prince is the main port of Haiti, exporting 70% of the country's foreign trade and 40% of its coffee exports. Port au Prince also has a modern international airport and over 5000 kilometers of roads, mainly connecting Port au Prince to various parts of the country. The main mode of transportation between downtown and suburban areas of Port au Prince is the "Dapu Dapu" car. The original meaning of "Dapu Dapu" is "fast", and each car is painted with different patterns of mountains, rivers, myths, sports, etc., attracting passengers with the quality of the paintings and often changing them.