Léogâne

At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in 1492, Yaguana—modern day Léogâne—was the capital of Jaragua, one of the five chiefdoms on the island of Hispaniola. This province was the last independent holdout during the Spanish conquest of Hispaniola until the Taíno queen Anacaona, who was born in the town, was captured and killed by the Spaniards in 1503. In 1592 the town was captured and burned by an English privateer fleet led by Christopher Newport. As the western part of the island was gradually settled by French buccaneers and filibusters, in 1691 the French court appointed Jean Baptiste du Casse to succeed Pierre Paul Tarin de Cussy as governor of Saint Domingue after he was killed in the Battle of Sabana Real. It was during this time that du Casse had renamed the area Léogâne, with traces of the Taino name Yaguana, as were other names of places that were maintained by the Spanish and transmitted over to the French administration. The French secured legal access to one third of the island from the Spanish crown by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 and established a city. The town was destroyed in an earthquake in 1770. In 1791 and 1792, Romaine la Prophétesse, who owned a plantation outside Léogâne (in what is now the Fondwa area) and had been influential in the local community, led rebels in taking control of the town and destroying many nearby plantations and freeing their slaves. In 1803, later in the Haitian Revolution, Jean Jacques Dessalines ordered his men to burn the town to the ground to force out the last of the French colonists. Léogâne was also the birthplace of Marie Claire Heureuse Félicité, an Empress of Haiti and wife of Haitian revolutionary Jean Jacques Dessalines. Charlemagne Péralte, the leader of the Haitian resistance to the U. S. occupation that began in 1915, had been a military officer stationed in Léogâne. He resigned from the military, refusing to surrender to the U. S. troops without a fight. Afterwards, he returned to his native town of Hinche and began leading the Cacos against the occupation forces.

Léogâne is bounded to the north by the Gulf of Gonâve, to the east by the commune of Gressier, to the south by the summit of the Massif de la Selle which separates it from the south east (Jacmel), and to the west by the commune of Grand Goâve.

Léogâne is a commune with widely diverse microclimates. The average temperature in Léogâne is warm and stays approximately the same throughout the year. Temperatures are almost always high in the lowland areas, ranging from 15 °C to 25 °C in the winter and from 25 °C to 30 °C during the summer. The lowland portion is relatively warm throughout the year; the dry mountains have moderate temperatures; the humid mountainous areas have very mild temperatures and fairly high humidity all year round. The annual rainfall is between 800 millimeters to 1277 millimeters.

The dry mountains in Léogâne receive less than 800 millimeters of rain annually. The areas in this group include Fond de Boudin, Palmiste à Vin, Gros Morne, Cormiers, Petit Harpon, and Citronnier.

The humid mountains in Léogâne receive more than 800 millimeters of rainfall yearly. This areas in this group include Orangers, Aux Parques, Beauséjour, and Fond d’Oie.

The commune of Léogâne has six rivers (Rouyonne, Momance, Cormier, Ravine Seche, Haut Saut, and Courbyon, in addition to nineteen streams, two ponds and a lagoon. Despite the abundance of water in the region, only three communal sections are irrigable: Dessources, Petite Rivière and Grande Rivière. These sections are crossed by several rivers and streams, some more important than others. The Momance River in Grande Rivière, for example, is the most significant river in Léogâne, because it is widely used for irrigation purposes. This river also has the potential to generate renewable energy via hydro electricity.

The economy in Léogâne remains predominately agricultural despite the challenges that are facing the sector in the commune. The sugarcane industry holds the largest share in the economy. The sugarcane industry is closely followed by the banana industry and then grains such as maize, sorghum and rice. Legumes and foodstuffs such as sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, and yams complete this chain. A significant amount of fishing and farming is practiced throughout the coastal areas. Aviculture and apiculture farms have been rapidly expanding in recent years. The Jean Léopold Dominique sugar mill in Darbonne produces surplus cane molasses, some of which is supplied to the smaller alcohol distilleries around the commune. The sugar mill has a production capacity of 375,000 metric tons of sugar; it also has the ability to produce 22 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Coffee is a crop of vital importance to the entire national economy. It is one of the major cash crops for Léogâne's peasants living in the humid mountain areas considered ecologically strategic for the country. Nearly 200,000 households at the national level are engaged in coffee growing with at least 20% of their annual income derived from coffee, providing them with cash income for family expenses including education, health, and investing in cattle and the construction of houses. Tombe Gateau Léogâne is home to the largest coffee mill in Haiti which serves the Southeast region, Center, Artibonite, and Grande Anse. The Federation of Native Coffee Associations (FACN), is the owner of the trademark "Haitian Bleu", a blend of coffee beans. The production of building materials plays an important role in the local economy and is in fierce competition with the agricultural sector. Construction enterprises are emerging at such an alarming rate that many territories that were once occupied by crops are now restricted to concrete. Two other sub sectors occupy a statistically relevant role in the economy; transportation and private schools. Proximity to the metropolitan area of Port au Prince is also of economic significance to Léogâne. It constitutes a market exceeding two million potential customers, excluding the five hundred thousand people living in the Region Des Palmes or palm tree region. The abundant labor force constitutes another important production factor in Léogâne. The region's population consists of more than 55% young adults who are willing and able to work. Léogâne has the capacity for 100,000 active farmers to enter the labor market, excluding prospective workers coming from neighboring municipalities.

Léogâne has many tourist attractions including renovated historical sites such as Fort Campan, Latounèl Gwoso, and one of the most ancient windmills in the western hemisphere, located in Baussan. Léogâne is also a home to thousands of local plants and natural species and the best way to explore the exotic flora and fauna in Léogâne is on foot. Ayiti (Haiti), which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, "Land of high mountains", has many mountains. Ten of the thirteen communal sections of Léogâne are located in the mountains which cover an area of more than 25,000 acres. The rehabilitation of natural caves such as the grotto Belloc, Anacaona, and Fond d'Oie offers visitors a unique experience in Léogâne. Léogâne also has twenty five kilometers of sandy beaches. Hiking is quite a popular activity in Léogâne among visitors and with the success of Mountain Bike Ayiti (MTB Ayiti), an event hosted by the Léogâne Cycling Club (LCC) in 2013, Léogâne has become a destination for adventure tourism. Each year thousands of people from all over the country make religious pilgrimages to Léogâne to visit the many patron Saints in the area. No other place in Haiti houses more religious pilgrimages sites than Léogâne, from Saint Dominique to Saints André, Antoine, Gérard, Philogène, and Saintes Thérèse and Rose. Léogâne is the host location for several annual cultural events which attract thousands of national and international visitors to the city each year, notably Rara and Fête Champêtre.

Léogâne is the bastion of Rara, a rural festival that is one of the most popular cultural events of Haitian origin, dating to colonial times. The boisterous Rara season starts with the Carnival and keeps going through Lent, culminating in Easter week. The phenomenon of Rara is at once a season, a festival, a genre of music, a religious ritual, a form of dance, and sometimes a technique of political protest. The town of Léogâne is best known for its Rara but the festival is practiced all over Haiti and is different from region to region. Local Rara societies form musical parading bands that walk for miles through local territory, attracting fans and singing old and new songs. Rara bands often stop at crossroads, the homes of community leaders and important religious spots—cemeteries for example, where they salute their ancestors. Musicians play drums, sing, and sound bamboo horns and tin trumpets. The typical Rara orchestra consists of drums followed by bamboo instruments called bamboo or vaccine, some metal horns called italic=no, and then several waves of percussion players with small, hand held instruments like the maraca, and finally a chorus of singers. Rara has evolved into an important contributor to the local economy. Rara season attracts positive media attention and stimulates commercial activity that generates significant revenue for the cultural, tourism, and hospitality industries by drawing many visitors to Léogâne. The net result has been the growth of rara driven festival tourism that has created an alternative and sustainable source of revenue for the city.

The centerpiece of the city was the now destroyed Roman Catholic Sainte Rose de Lima Church.

Prior to the earthquake, there was a hospital run by the Episcopalian Diocese, with Presbyterian missionary collaboration; Hopital Sainte Croix (Holy Cross). The hospital had closed to inpatients two years previously, and although it had continued with a variety of outpatient services, it is since restored to a being full service healthcare institution.

Since 2005 (before the 12 January 2010 earthquake) the city has had an Episcopalian nursing school, Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l'Université Épiscopale d'Haïti à Léogâne. A new Catholic school, "Notre Dame des Anges", run by the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus), and made possible by money sent from the Vatican, was dedicated by Catholic and government officials on Thursday, 27 November 2014, about five years after the 12 January 2010 earthquake.

Léogâne is home to five major league sports teams: the Léogâne Cycling Club (LCC), Cavaly Association Sportive Club (CASPORT), League Basketball Léogânaise (LBL), the Valencia Football Club (VFC), and the Anacaona Football Club (AFC). The Léogâne Cycling Club (LCC) came into being 15 December 2002 following a race that was organized in the region in which many of the participating cyclists weren't members of any particular club at the time. These athletes joined together to form the Léogâne Cycling Club and elected Jonas Ronald as the club's president. In 2013, the Léogâne Cycling Club and Mountain Bike Ayiti together hosted the first ever International mountain bike competition in Haiti. The Cavaly Association Sportive Club (CASPORT) is a Haitian professional soccer club based in Léogâne. Founded May 10, 1975 in Léogâne, this club has represented Haiti in the Concacaf Competitions of Clubs in 2009 and several of its former players have secured professional contracts in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. The Valencia Football Club (VFC) is a Haitian professional soccer club located in Léogâne. The club plays in Haiti's top national league, the Ligue Haïtienne. Valencia FC was founded on June 27, 1972. The club won its first national championship in 2012 and several of its former players have secured professional contracts in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

Johanniter International built top of the bill rehabilitation center in Léogâne, which was donated to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, and six community clinics in the region of Léogâne. They trained more than 30,000 villagers in disaster reduction and preparation. Deep Springs International (sponsor of Gadyen Dlo) and the Children's Nutrition Program are based in Léogâne. The University of Notre Dame of Indiana, U. S., is hosted by the Sainte Croix Hospital and, with the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, assists the hospital in conducting a Ministry of Health sanctioned reference center to research, treat and control the mosquito borne disease lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis). GOALS (Global Outreach and Love of Soccer) is a permanent sport for development organization in Léogâne which uses soccer to mobilize youth to improve health, the environment and local leadership. La Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l'Université Épiscopale d'Haïti à Léogâne (FSIL) is a nursing school located in Léogâne. Éditions Ruptures (Association Éditoriale Ruptures) is a pioneer editorial and publishing institution in Haiti established in 2009,i n Léogâne. Initially, it aimed at helping young and disenfranchised Haitian writers to publish their work at a time when publishing and editorial services were a luxury in Haiti. In 2016, it established the Josaphat Robert Large Cultural Center to extend cultural and educational services to a broader community.