Cap Haitien is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti.

Previously named Cap‑Français and Cap‑Henri, Cap Haitien was historically nicknamed the Paris of the Antilles, because of the wealth and sophistication expressed through its architecture and artistic life.  .

Today, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Haiti's Carnival is one of the largest Mardi Gras carnivals in the Caribbean and North America. The celebrations are funded by the government, businesses and wealthy Haitian families.

The carnival is celebrated with music, bands and parades. Parades have floats, sometimes with children participating in the celebrations. The floats typically have sound systems set up on trucks to play music to the crowds. Food stands selling barbecued treats and rum are a popular part of celebrations. There are also comedy plays put on by the carnival participant in masks and costumes.

Nearby, Columbus founded his first community in the New World, the short-lived La Navidad. 

But the Spanish weren't in charge for long. The French occupied roughly a third of the island from the Spanish in the early eighteenth century. They established large sugar cane plantations on the northern plains and imported tens of thousands of African slaves to work them. Because of this, Cap Haitien became an important port city of the French colonial period and the colony's main commercial center.