L'Ile d'Haiti / Island of Haiti - Who renamed it Hispaniola? Shocking Discovery...

Growing up in Haiti, you probably heard of l'Ile d'Haiti. The whole island was called "The Island of Haiti". So how exactly did the name change from "Island of Haiti" to "Hispaniola"?

The Island Of Haiti - Renamed Island of Hispaniola?
The Island Of Haiti - Renamed Island of Hispaniola?

How did the whole world end up calling the Island that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic Hispaniola?

Read this...

The entire island was originally called Haiti, Quisqueya or Bohio meaning "Mountainous Land" or "Great Land."

Here is what I found out:

In 1930, to avoid confusion between the name of the "Republic of Haiti" and the namd of the entire island, The United States Geographic Board (USGB) decided, unilaterally, to name the island "Hispaniola" in homage to the Spanish colonizer, thereby erasing all traces of the Amerindians who occupied the island before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

Unfortunately, Haitian and Dominican authorities of the time did not protest this decision with enough force or perseverance, nor did they mobilize any interested parties against this assassination of the island's Amerindian past.

Also read Isle d'Hayti, old Haiti Island and the History behind the name change Isle d'Hayti, old Haiti Island and the History behind the name change

This is from an article by Odette Roy Fombrun, Rename the Island: Quisqueya, not Hispaniola, a plea to the USGB to give the island back to this West Indian name

Question:

If the United States of America changed the name of the Island of Haiti to Hispaniola to avoid confusion, why is this continent still known as America?

Things that make you go HMMMMM.....

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Read more: island of Hispaniola, Dominican Republic, Odette Roy Fombrun, Dominican Republic, History

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Responses

Maggy G says...

Replying to The Island of Haiti, Who named it Island of Hispaniola? It's not Columbus, Ayiti means "Land of Mountains" a Iroquois word comes more »

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Sarah Ortiz says...

Centered on The Island of Haiti, Who named it Island of Hispaniola? It's not Columbus, Are sure of that information... It sounds like A more »

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Tml says...

Re: The Island Of Haiti Who Named It Island Of... It's strange, Haiti has never been in charge of it's destiny.Are we willing to do the hard work more »

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