In the year 1492 Christopher Columbus (Christophe Colomb) discovered North America, opening up the area to a flood of colonization.  The Dutch, Spanish, English and French all raced to claim as much land as possible.  The result was many battles over the same piece of land.  The Caribbean islands (les Antilles) were very much a part of these battles because they were rich in sugar cane (la canne à sucre), citurus fruit (les agrumes), cacao and coffee beans (les grans de café).

France eventually won control over Haiti (Haïti), St. Lucia (Sainte-Lucie), Martinique and Guadeloupe.   The French colonists developed large sugar plantations and lived in great luxury while people who were native to the islands were made to work the land along with the slaves transported from Africa.  The French withheld rights from the rest of the population but the African slaves eventually united in protest.  Haiti led the way with a massive revolution against the French plantation owners.  When the slaves took possession of Haiti, the surviving French colonists fled to nearby islands.  France then realized that it would have to change its policies and attitudes towards its colonies or it would lose more of its possessions through revolution.

Despite many modern social and political challenges, Haiti and other islands in the Caribbean still retain a French flavour based on language, customs and religion.  Add to these features Carnival time, beautiful beaches, palm trees and a warm climate and you have all of the reasons why the islands' main industry is tourism.