Boclos-Martinette - Haiti Observer Blog

Roche-à-Bateau is a township located in the Côteau Arrondissement, under the Sud Department, with a population of 13,336 residents. It is located on the southwest part of the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti. Three communes comprise it: Rose-Beaulieu, Renaudin, and Boclos-Martinette.

The lore of the name Roche-a-Bateau has two versions. In the first, it is said an exploring sailor chanced upon Roche-à-Bateau port. Learning the topography of the village, his imagination saw it resembled the shape of a boat, or bateau in French. In the second version, the harbor teemed with sea vessels from foreign shores, all bringing exports to market. In order to keep boats from hitting each other, the merchantmen placed rocks in the bottoms of the boats, and the name of the village, Bateau, then became Roche-à-Bateau, or boat of rocks in English.

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