Gonaives

Gonaives is a commune in northern Haiti and the capital of the Artibonite department. Taino settlers founded it around 1422 under the name Gonaibo, and it earned the name La Cite de l'Independance because Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti's independence from France there on January 1, 1804. The 2015 census recorded 356,324 residents. The city has also been the site of serious unrest, including the start of the 2004 Haitian rebellion, and of severe hurricane damage, most notably when Hurricane Hanna killed 529 people there in 2008.