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itien is now the second largest city of the country. Thanks to its historic and economic importance the city is viewed very highly. Its marvelous sites such as the historic fortresses, its beaches welcomed great numbers of tourists weekly when tourism was high in Haiti up into the mid 80s. Although the city had suffered great destruction in 1734, 1798, 1802 and 1842 (the 1842 earthquake killed half the population and destroyed Sans Souci palace), in Cap-Haitien- view of Cathedral - from Secretary of Tourism brochure some ways it still manages to provide to the visitor the feeling of a french colonial city à-la New Orleans.When Haiti was the French colony of Saint Domingue, as Cap-Parisien the city was the colony's capital. Following independence, it was briefly the capital of the monarchy established in Haiti's North by King Henri Christophe. The country was unified upon Christophe's death in 1820, and the capital moved to Port-au-Prince.