In 1492, Christopher Columbus founded an island in the western Atlantic Ocean and named it Hispaniola. Hispaniola was inhabited by the Arawaks, and it was they who later gave its name to Haiti. Haiti quickly became one of the most prosperous French colonies in America, and it also became one of the world's leading producers of coffee and sugar. Around the 18th century, colonies began to expand here and Haiti was settled by Creoles, slaves, French and freed blacks. At that time, Haitian society was going through difficult times and a debate about power was beginning. Concern for governmental authority was a major problem, and before long a revolt for independence had broken out and destroyed the entire society. Over time, the revolt continued, but in 1804 Haiti was able to achieve complete independence (Infoplease.com). Haitian society today is in very poor and horrible conditions. The country of Haiti still faces many government issues and much violence still occurs due to differences of opinion regarding the president and other forms of leadership. To add to the chaos, this country is filled with many other economic problems such as health, employment and unemployment problems, and the biggest problems are related to natural disasters. Over the past two years, Haiti and its neighboring countries have experienced four natural disasters, all of which have cost thousands of lives. For Haiti, the most disastrous event was the earthquake that struck in January 2010. This earthquake completely ruined Haiti and, in addition to killing thousands of people, those who survived were left homeless . Because Haiti is ranked o......middle of paper......these two books that have such a huge impact on the world today. Even though these two authors were from two different countries and wrote about two different eras, they both had a huge impact on the world and are considered very successful. , 2000-2006, on Infoplease. © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. May 19, 2010. Shah, Anup. Global Issues, updated: February 1, 2010. Accessed: May 19, 2010. Bone Culture: Author Biography. Literature from developing countries for students. Ed. Marie-Rose Napierkowski. Flight. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. May 19 2010. .