Tortuga or Isla Tortuga, officially Île de la Tortue, is a Caribbean island off the northwest coast of Haiti, constituting the commune of Île de la Tortue, Port-de-Paix arrondissement of the Nord-Ouest Department of Haiti. Its population was 22,080 in 1982.

Its name in both Spanish and French means "Turtle Island" or "Tortoise Island", and it is sometimes called that in English. In the 17th century, it was a major center of piracy.

Pirate history

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Tortuga was discovered by Europeans in 1494, during the second voyage of Christopher Columbus into the New World. Columbus' sailors called it Tortuga ("Turtle") because its humped shape resembled a turtle.

More on [ Tortuga ]

Americas - International Herald Tribune

McCain vows to end 'partisan rancor'
By ADAM NAGOURNEY AND MICHAEL COOPER Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
John McCain sought to move from a convention marked by an effort to reassure the party base to an appeal to a broader electorate.
At McCain's convention, big money still talks
By Michael Luo Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:29:59 -0000
For all of John McCain's efforts to purge big money from politics, large donors still wielded sizable influence over the RNC.
McCain's challenge: To cast Republican ticket as anti-establishment
By PETER BAKER Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
As John McCain accepted the Republican Party's nomination, he sounded a rousing insurgent's call to topple the establishment - except that he and his party head the establishment.
Foreign policy factions vie for McCain's heart
By David E. Sanger Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:31:37 -0000
Hidden from view during much of the Republican convention here, a fierce struggle has been under way to mold the foreign-policy approach of John McCain.
To counter Palin, Obama to dispatch female surrogates
By PATRICK HEALY AND JEFF ZELENY Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
With the McCain-Palin team courting female voters, the Obama camp plans to deploy prominent Democratic women.
Canada to hold early elections
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada plans to dissolve Parliament on Sunday and call early elections in hopes of strengthening his minority government's hold on power.

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