Polish Haitians

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Polish Haitians are Haitian people of Polish descent, dating to the early 19th century; a few may be Poles of more recent native birth that have gained Haitian citizenship, such as refugees fleeing the Holocaust. Cazale, a small village in the hills about 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from Port-au-Prince, is considered the main center of population of the ethnic Polish community in Haiti; however, there are other villages with prominent Polish communities such as Les Cayes and Saint-Jean-du-Sud. Cazale has descendants of surviving members of Napoleon's Polish Legionnaires which were forced into combat by Napoleon but later joined the Haitian slaves during the Haitian Revolution. Some 400 to 500 of these Poles are believed to have settled in Haiti after the war. They were given special status as naturalized Haytians sic (legally considered to have the same legal status as black people, who were then the only ones able to hold Haitian citizenship, despite being white) and full citizenship under the Haitian constitution by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of an independent Haiti.