Port-au-Prince <<pawrt oh PRIHNS>> is the capital and largest city of Haiti. It is on Haiti’s southwest coast, on the Gulf of Gonave. In 2010, a powerful earthquake struck southern Haiti and destroyed most of Port-au-Prince.
French planters founded Port-au-Prince in 1749. In 1804, Port-au-Prince became the capital of the new nation of Haiti.Since then, the city has been the site of a number of political disturbances. It has also been damaged by a number of earthquakes, hurricanes, and tropical storms.