- published: 17 Nov 2015
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Jacmel, (Jakmèl in Kréyòl) also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality (commune) of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.
The buildings are historic and date from the early nineteenth century; the town has been tentatively accepted as a World Heritage site and UNESCO reports that it has sustained damage in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
The town was founded in 1698 as the capital of the south eastern part of the French colony Saint-Domingue. The area now called Jacmel was Taíno territory of the Xaragua chiefdom ruled by cacique Bohechio. With the arrival of the French, and the later establishment of the town, the French renamed Yaquimel as Jacmel.
The town has not changed much since the late 19th century when it was inhabited by wealthy coffee merchants, who lived in gracious mansions that adorned it. These mansions would later come to influence the home structure of much of New Orleans; the town's architecture boasted cast-iron pillars and balconies purchased in France. Today, many of these homes are now artisan shops that sell vibrant handicrafts, papier-mâché masks and carved-wood animal figures. In recent years, efforts have been made to revitalize the once flourishing cigar and coffee industries. The town is a popular tourist destination in Haiti due to its relative tranquility and distance from the political turmoil that plagues Port-au-Prince.
Cayes-Jacmel (Creole: Kay Jakmèl) is a municipality in the Jacmel Arrondissement, in the Sud-Est Department of Haiti. It has 21,374 inhabitants. Cayes-Jacmel is down the road from Cyvadier and home to a lovely public beach and has a remarkable farmers market (Wednesdays and Saturdays). The town is also home to amazing artists and artisans, including work in meticulously created miniature ships. The region's hydroelectric plant (running on a stream only a few inches deep) is nearby.