Short answers, pulled from the story.
The French officially founded Port-au-Prince in 1749, choosing the site for its natural harbor and strategic location. The city replaced earlier contenders like Petit-Goâve and Léogâne which were deemed too malarial or difficult to defend.
Black revolutionaries attacked white plantation owners and set the city ablaze in November 1791 during the Haitian Revolution. The city was captured by British troops on the 4th of June 1794 after the Battle of Port-Républicain.
Haiti's government estimated the death toll from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the 12th of January 2010 at 230,000. The disaster destroyed most of the central historic area including the National Palace and the Cathédrale de Port-au-Prince.
High-crime zones include Croix-des-Bouquets, Cité Soleil, Carrefour, Bel Air, and Martissant. The murder rate in Bel Air reached 50 murders per 100,000 residents at the end of 2011.
The affluent suburbs of Pétion-Ville are located in the 1,000 to 1,500-foot-high hills southeast of the city. This area coexists with the squalor and neglect of the Black urban working class.