1813-00-00: (Pétion Introduces the Gourde as the Official Haitian Currency, Derived From the Spanish Gordo Meaning “Fat” or “Heavy,” a Coin That Would Remain…

1813-00-00: (Pétion Introduces the Gourde as the Official Haitian Currency, Derived From the Spanish Gordo Meaning “Fat” or “Heavy,” a Coin That Would Remain the Nation’s Currency Through Two Centuries of Political Upheaval): In 1813, Alexandre Pétion issued the first Haitian banknotes, establishing the gourde as the official currency of Haiti. The term derives from the Spanish gordo, meaning “fat” or “heavy,” a colloquial name for the large Spanish silver coins that had circulated in Cuba and Hispaniola during the eighteenth century. One gourde equals one hundred centimes. Throughout most of the nineteenth century, wealthy Haitians continued to use French banknotes while the peasantry transacted in Haitian coinage, a monetary class division that mirrored every other division in the society. The gourde was pegged to the French franc from 1881 to 1912 and to the American dollar from 1912 to 1989, when it became a floating currency. Many Haitians still refer to five gourdes as a Haitian dollar, and merchants often advertise prices in this imaginary denomination, requiring consumers to multiply by five to determine the actual cost.