What is Navassa Island known for?

Navassa has been underwhelming visitors since 1504, when crewmen sent by Columbus arrived and promptly died from drinking contaminated water. An American sea captain claimed the mesa-shaped islet for the U.S. in 1857 for its rich deposits of bird excrement, used to make fertilizer and gunpowder.

Why does the US claim Navassa Island?

Navassa was acquired by the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. That statute granted private citizens the right to claim terra nullius under the authority of the United States government if such locations were suitable for phosphate extraction.

Who discovered Navassa Island?

Christopher Columbus
1504 to 1901. In 1504, Christopher Columbus, stranded on Jamaica during his fourth voyage, sent some crew members by canoe to Hispaniola for help. En route, they landed on the island, but it had no water. They called it Navaza (from “nava-” meaning plain, or field), and it was avoided by mariners for the next 350 years …

What is something unique about Haiti?

Haiti was the first independent black republic in the world and achieved this by defeating Napoleon and the French colonists, who were using slave labor to grow lucrative crops on the island. The Haitian people managed to overthrow the French at the Battle of Vertiéres at the end of 1803 to become a free country.

Can I live on Navassa Island?

Navassa Island, or La Navase in Haitian Creole, is a small island without anyone living on it in the Caribbean Sea. It is located ninety miles south of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Can you visit Navassa Island?

Entry into Navassa Island is heavily restricted, and requires a special-use permit to visit, often from the U.S. Military or the US Fish and Wildlife Services. This even applies to U.S. and American Samoan citizens.

Does Haiti have diamonds?

The Haitian people themselves are diamonds—hard-pressed but not hardened, and refined by many years of adversity. When they pull together, nothing is impossible to them. The local church is full of such gems, and across the country, near to and far from the disaster, they are pulling together.