| Official Name: | Croix-des-Bouquets |
| Native Name: | Kwadèbouke |
| Settlement Type: | Commune |
| Pushpin Map: | Haiti |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Haiti |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Haiti |
| Subdivision Type1: | Department |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ouest |
| Subdivision Type2: | Arrondissement |
| Subdivision Name2: | Croix-des-Bouquets |
| Area Total Km2: | 5.46 |
| Population As Of: | 2009 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 284,812 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Coordinates: | 18.5761°N -72.2269°W |
| Elevation M: | 64 |
Croix-des-Bouquets (in French pronounced as /kʁwa de bukɛ/; Haitian; Haitian Creole: Kwadèbouke or Haitian; Haitian Creole: Kwadèboukè) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located 12.9km (08miles) to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake.
Croix-des-Bouquets was founded in 1749 by Royal Decree. Legend has it that the city takes its name from a tradition that had the Spaniards passing to deposit bouquets of flowers at the foot of a large cross that was on the land where the city was built. Croix des Bouquets pursues a tradition of beauty through the sculpture of iron, and the village of Noailles is at the heart of this tradition specifically in ode to Haitian artist and sculptor Georges Liautaud.[2]
On March 22, 1792, the city was the scene of one of the first battles of the Haitian Revolution.[3] Men of color, under the leadership of Pinchinat, Beauvais, and Lambert, took up arms in 1700 in fighting for their political and civil rights.
In September 1791, after the Battle of Pernier, the royalist in La Croix-des-Bouquets made a concordat with the freedmen encamped at Trou-Caïman, which obliged the contractors to execute the national decrees in favor of the freedmen. On September 11, the freedmen came to camp at la Croix-des-Bouquets who signed a concordat with the freedmen in a church in the borough. On October 10, a deputation of the colonists of la Croix-des-Bouquets, sent by Hanus De Jumécourt, came to Port-Républicain, demanding the execution of this concordat.
In 1791, Halaou, the leader of African bands, rebels of the Cul-de-Sac Plain, was killed at Croix-des-Bouquets on February 9. There was a massacre of his group by the soldiers of the western region who occupied the village. Men of color entrenched themselves in the church. General Louis-Jacques Beauvais continued to occupy Croix-des-Bouquets until June, when the English came to remove Port-Républicain. They then returned to Jacmel. The English occupied the city, and returned the people to slavery.
In March 1793, Louis-Jacques Beauvais abandoned Croix-des-Bouquets and went to retreat at Gressier with 500 men. In April 1796, Toussaint L'Ouverture wanting to rid Croix-des-Bouquets of the occupying English, had unsuccessfully attacked the outposts of the town. His cavalry reconquered four squadrons of hussars commanded by the Count of Manoux. The English, after several charges, overthrew the republicans, and drove them back to Grands-Bois.
After the occupation of Port-Républicain by the troops of General Charles LeClerc's expedition, General Jean Boudet learned, on February 9, 1802, of the appearance of Dessalines in the Cul-de-Sac Plain. There were immediately 2,000 men occupying Croix-des-Bouquets. On September 19, 1803, Jean-Jacques Dessalines took possession of Croix-des-Bouquets. The first citizen who represented this commune in the first Chamber of Communes in 1817 was Plomba Ladouceur.
On January 11, 1859 President Fabre Geffrard's troops made their entry into resistance. During the Cacos Revolution in 1869, atrocities were committed in the name of President Sylvain Salnave. On January 15, 1870, Generals Saint-Lucien Emmanuel, Alfred Delva, Errié, Ulysses Obas and Pierre-Paul Saint-Jean, after being outlawed by decree, were arrested and executed at Croix-des-Bouquets. The Nordists seized Croix-des-Bouquets on June 28, 1889, after the evacuation of the village by General Canal Jeune, whose forces were insufficient.
Prior to the 2010 earthquake, the once crowded city had been restored. The streets had been cleaned up, wholesale merchants and other commerce had been relocated to Port-au-Prince. Retail commerce which once crowded sidewalks downtown now had a dedicated building. Also, the Cuban medical mission set up a field hospital in the region.[4]
On 25 February 2021, hundreds of prisoners escaped from the Croix-des-Bouquets prison.[5]
Croix-des-Bouquets is a northern suburb in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Haiti is world-famous for its exuberant art, richly influenced by nature, history and religion, both Christian and Vodou. The entire village of Croix des Bouquets is a good example of Haitian creativity - it resonates with the sounds of clanging and banging of the mallets and chisels in the process of transforming raw metal into stunning, and often haunting, iron sculptures. The city of Croix-des-Bouquets is on the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, where many people grow organic foods such as beans, sweet potato, and corn.
One school close by is Anís Zunúzí Bahá'í School to the north east which opened its doors in 1980[6] which survived the 2010 Haiti earthquake[7] and its staff were cooperating in relief efforts and sharing space and support with neighbors.[8] A clinic was run at the school by a medical team from the United States and Canada.[9] Currently it is a K-10 school and offers classes to transition from Haitian Creole to the French language but also a secondary language in English.[10] The founders of Institution Chrétienne D'Haïti are seeking to build the Université Chrétienne D'Haïti here.
Another organization is the Haitian-American Caucus (HAC), which runs the École Shalom des Frères (Peace Be With You School of Brothers) in Michaud, a small community in Croix-des-Bouquets. The school is also known as the Alpha Academy and is funded in part by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. This school was established in 2003 and as of school year 2010-2011, 75 students were enrolled. HAC is only able to accept additional students through child education sponsorships and partnerships with other organizations. Students can be sponsored for $125 a year. M.A.D.E has joined HAC in providing 3 vegetarian meals a week for students. The school also offers community English courses taught by Haitians who went through previous versions of the course, and supplemented with the help of English-speaking volunteers.[11]