Fish and Wildlife Service. The U. Since the Haitian Constitution of , Haiti has explicitly named "la Navase" as one of the territories it claims. It maintains that it has continuously been claimed as part of Haiti since In , Christopher Columbus , stranded on Jamaica during his fourth voyage, sent some crew members by canoe to Hispaniola for help.
En route, they landed on the island, which had no water. From to , the successive constitutions of Haiti claimed sovereignty over adjacent islands, both named and unnamed, although Navassa was not specifically enumerated until Haiti protested the annexation, but on July 7, , U. President James Buchanan issued an Executive Order supporting the American claim, calling for military action to enforce it.
Navassa Island has since been maintained by the United States as an unincorporated territory according to the Insular Cases. United States , U. Haiti's constitution maintains its claim to the island, [ 14 ] which is considered part of the department of Grand'Anse. Guano phosphate is a superior organic fertilizer that became a mainstay of American agriculture in the midth century.
In November , Duncan transferred his discoverer's rights to his employer, an American guano trader in Jamaica, who sold them to the newly formed Navassa Phosphate Company of Baltimore. Mining began in The workers dug out the guano by dynamite and pick-axe and hauled it in rail cars to the landing point at Lulu Bay, where it was put into sacks and lowered onto boats for transfer to the Company barque , the S.
The living quarters at Lulu Bay were referred to as ' Lulu Town ', as appears on old maps. Railway tracks eventually extended inland. Hauling guano by muscle power in the fierce tropical heat, combined with general disgruntlement with conditions on the island, eventually contributed to a riot in , in which five supervisors died. A black fraternal society, the Order of Galilean Fishermen , raised money to defend the miners in federal court.
