These are for instance referred to as Haiti's "independence city" because it was there that Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti's independence on January 1, 1804.

24 population were flushed inside Gonaïves around 1994 in an army massacre of supporters of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Late, Gonaïves was a scene of real riot & violence primarily motivated by oppositiin to Aristide, & on February 5, 2004, a class action calling itself a Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front seized control of the city, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.

Inside September 2004, Hurricane Jeanne caused major flooding & mudslides in the city. 1,650 population come confirmed dead around Haiti, & a dying toll around Gonaïves is required to top 2,000. Each building in the city was damaged per storm, & 250,000 humans were left homeless.