Polish 🇵🇱 Descendants in Haiti 🇭🇹

200 Years Away From Home

🇵🇱  Polish Descendants in Haiti  🇭🇹

Mme and Monsieur Druillard. They live in Cazales alone, occasionally visited by children and grandchildren, scattered around Haiti and beyond. They are one of the last pale skin couples left.

When the French Revolution changes started to appear in St Domingue, (former name of Haiti, at that time French colony) , in 1792, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was sent to the colony by the French Legislative Assembly as part of the Revolutionary Commission. His main goal was to maintain French control of Saint-Domingue, stabilize the colony, and enforce the social equality recently granted to free people of color by the National Convention of France.

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On August 29, 1793, Sonthonax took the radical step of proclaiming the freedom of the slaves in the north province (with severe limits on their freedom). In September and October, emancipation was extended throughout the colony. On February 4, 1794 the French National Convention ratified this act, applying it to all French colonies.

However, not only white plantation owners but also mixed mulattoes and free men of colour, that were to build future elites of independent state, were opposed to abolition of slavery and fought the French force. Finally, slaves under Toussaint L'Ouverture managed to take control of the whole Hispaniola island and slavery was abolished in 1801.

In the meantime continental France was already ruled by Napoleon, and in 1802 he sent a massive invasion force under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc in order to take over the island and restore slavery when possible.

The contingent was around 40000 strong and included Polish Legion, army created according to the wishful thinking of Polish soldiers that by helping Napoleon in his wars, freedom will be won for Poland. The slogan of the time was "For yours and our freedom". However, when the Legionnaires realized that the campaign has very little to do with liberating and is actually about enslaving people fighting for their rights, they refused, deserted and in many cases joined the slave army.

The invading army perished anyway due to yellow fever and malaria, and at the same time war resumed between France and Britain, so Napoleon was forced to sell his overseas possessions to USA in Louisiana Purchase.

On January 1, 1804 independent Haiti was declared, remaining colonizers who didn't manage to flee were slaughtered and white people prohibited from possessing property in Haitian soil.

One exception were Polish soldiers, in gratitude for their actions during the war of independence they were allowed to stay and were spared the fate of other whites, which some of them choose , settling in places like Fond des Blanc or Cazales. In isolation for a long time, memory of old traditions and language started to die out, but there is still awareness of their heritage, of being different. This is portrait of Cazales, biggest of those villages, name , as locals believe , originating from popular Polish name Zalewski and creole word Kay. The home of Zalewski, the home of the Polish descendants.

This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.

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Piel Dolis is supporting Brasil, but as many Haitians from this village is living in Caracas, Venezuela, working for himself and the family left behind in Cazales. This is last day of his holiday, tomorrow he is going to Port Au Prince to catch a plane to Caracas.

Straight hair, light skin, moustache and machete replacing a sabre are reminding of old Polish soldiers from Napoleonic times.

Delice Joseph Merlo. Carpenter by trade, working occasionally once 3-4 months. 6 daughters, his wife now in the last month of next pregnancy. They are all living in 3 tiny rooms in the house he built himself. During part of our stay in Cazales he was our host and guide. Sharing life of this family for a few days we had a chance to see time expanding like a bubble gum. There is absolutely nothing significant happening, people wake up, drink some coffee, wash clothes in the river, sit on old bench, talk , sleep , walk, sit down again, go to see their neighbours, come back, play dominoes, go to have a swim in the river, work in the garden perhaps an hour a day. Eternal holidays with no alternative, no ideas what to do with time, no initiative, just waiting for the day to end. This is how large part of Haitian men in the countryside live, and it strangely reminds of rural , post-communist Poland with same kind of attitudes.

Saintelo Desmisslan ( born 1950) and Florvil Inome in the background. Saintelo is a farmer who spends most of his time between some of his fields and various village corners, where he sits shirtless and counts time going by. The way in he asked us for money any time he saw us made me more tolerant for constant Haitian "give me dollar" I heard travelling in this country. After all, in other cases it was just a skin colour that separates them from ordinary village bum one can meet in rural Poland, asking money for cheap wine. In case of Saintelo even colour was the same.

Sylvain Benoit. He is one of very few rich citizens of Cazales. Having lived years in the USA he now owns huge garden , but even if it brings considerable income, his main source of cash is still pension from America. The garden is very well fenced and protected by aggressive dogs, Sylvain is also one of few car owners in the village. His daughter was in Poland once, from where she brought an icon of Black Madonna from Czestochowa as a gift for local catholic priest. She was also a former wife of Haitian president Preval and is said to have misappropriated most of 5 million USD that was donated for infrastructure in this "Polish" village by foreign donors. For this money only tin roof over local market was erected and small place near the village catholic church renovated and named John Paul II square.

Polish-Haitian Connection Part 2: Voodoo, Erzulie Dantor and the Black Madonna

Black Madonna of Częstochowa

The chromolithograph is commonly used in Haiti to depict the Loa Erzulie Dantor

 Haitian Voodoo is mostly derived from a religious system of deity and ancestor veneration widely practiced in western Africa at the time of the Atlantic slave trade. Haitian Voodoo has extra ("New World") spirits which do not exist in African voodoo. People who ended up as slaves on the Caribbean islands controlled by the Kingdom of France were forbidden (at first on an ad-hoc basis, later by the Code Noir) from practicing any religion other than Catholicism.

In light of all this a process of syncretisation took place on Haiti (or Saint-Domingue as the territory was then called) where some voodoo loa (spirits) became identified with Catholic saints and some Catholic saints became loa in their own right. It's a fascinating subject, an introduction to which should be related by those more talented than I. BoB particularly recommends Webster University professor Bob Corbett's site in this regard.

A particular syncretisation spurred me into writing about Voodoo - that between the Black Madonna of Czestochowa (Polish: Czarna Madonna Częstochowska) and the New World loa Erzulie Dantor. This is the loa of single mothers, homosexuals, justice and independence. Dantor was present at a famous voodoo ritual in 1791, where she took over the body of one of the worshippers and urged Haitians to "kill the stranger" - this precipitated the revolution which culminated in independence for the island in 1804 and the massacre of every Frenchman on the island.

For her part the Black Madonna has a special place in Polish national myth. The painting is housed in Poland's holiest monastery at Jasna Góra. Legend has it that the icon was painted by St. Luke on a tabletop belonging to Mary and Joseph and eventually brought to Poland. Her distinctive facial scars are said to have miraculously reappeared after they had been painted over following a pagan attack, an indication that the Black Madonna wanted to share in the nation's fate.

Revolutionary Haitians were not to know all of these details. The back story to the painting in Voodoo lore is of a mother fiercely protective of the daughter she carries (actually Jesus in the Catholic interpretation). She loves knives and received the facial scars fighting with her sister Erzulie Freda. The scars are a sign of Dantor's strength - she is wounded but keeps going.

It is hard to say why this particular religious painting became a popular focus for syncretisation with a "New World" spirit of Haitian Voodoo. Her black skin may have made the painting more acceptable to a black population than other white-skinned versions, much as images of saints with explicitly Black African features are popular in Africa. It is also possible that there were many more copies of this particular painting on the island than others, following the landing of 5000 Polish legionaries on the island in 1802. Many Poles to this day keep depictions of the Black Madonna in their homes, cars and wallets.

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🇵🇱  🇭🇹 🇵🇱  🇭🇹  🇵🇱  🇭🇹  🇵🇱  🇭🇹

Palais National

Palais National

Slideshow / Photos
 

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Le Marche en Fer

Le Marche en Fer

 Photos

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SLIDESHOW

https://picasaweb.google.com/102956930325904484553/LeMarcheEnFer?feat=flashalbum#slideshow/5564306906066423282

Age of Empire & Royalty III 👑 FS (1782–1867)

Age of Empire & Royalty III
 Faustin-Élie Soulouque

26 August 1849 - 15 January 1859

Faustin 1er  Emperor of Haiti

Faustin I (1782–1867) was born Petit-Goâve in 1782 as Faustin-Élie Soulouque. He was a career officer and general in the Haïtian army when he was elected President of Haïti in 1847. 

In 1849 he was proclaimed Emperor of Haïti under the name of Faustin I. He soon purged the army of the ruling elite, installed black-skinned loyalists in administrative positions, and created a secret police and a personal army. 
In 1849 he created a black nobility.

However, his unsuccessful attempts to reconquer the Dominican Republic undermined his control and a conspiracy led by General Fabre Nicolas Geffrard forced him to abdicate in 1859.

He was freed by Léger-Félicité Sonthonax in 1793.

As a free citizen he enlisted in the black revolutionary army and fought as a private during the Haïtian Revolution between 1803–1804. During the conflict Soulouque became a respected soldier and as a consequence in 1806 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army of Haïti and made Aide de Camp to General Lamarre. In 1810 he was appointed to the Horse Guards under President Pétion. During the next four decades he continued to serve in the Haïtian Military, rising to the rank of Colonel under President Guerrier, until finally promoted to the highest command in the Haïtian Army, attaining the rank of Lieutenant General and Supreme Commander of the Presidential Guards under then President Jean-Baptiste Riché.

Reign:

In 1847 President Riché died. During his tenure he had acted as a figurehead for the Boyerist ruling class, who immediately began to look for a replacement. Their attention quickly focused on Faustin Soulouque, whom the majority considered to be a somewhat dull and ignorant man. At the age of 65 he seemed to be a malleable candidate and was subsequently enticed to accept the role offered him, taking the Presidential Oath of Office on 2 March 1847.

At first Faustin seemed to fill the role of puppet well. Within a short time however, he overthrew his backers and made himself absolute ruler of the state. Supported by a gang of highly loyal militia known as "zinglins", Soulouque continued to consolidate his power over the government, a process which culminated in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies proclaiming him Emperor of Haïti on 26 August 1849. His reign was marked by a violent restrictions towards opposition and numerous murders. 

In December 1849 Faustin married his long time companion Adélina Leveque. 

On 18 April 1852 at the capital Port-au-Prince, 

both emperor and empress were crowned in an immense and lavish ceremony, in emulation of the coronation of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

During his subsequent reign, Faustin attempted to create a strong centralized government, which while retaining a profoundly Haïtian character, borrowed heavily from European traditions, especially those of the First French Empire. 

One of his first acts after being declared emperor was to establish a Haitian nobility.  By September, 1850, Faustin had granted Letters Patent creating 4 Princes of the Empire, 59 Dukes, 2 Marquis, 99 Counts, 215 Barons, and scores of Hereditary Chevaliers and lesser nobles.  

In order that he might reward loyalty to his regime as well as add to the prestige of the Haitian Monarchy, on 21 September 1849 he established the Military Order of St Faustin and the Civil Order of the Haïtian Legion of Honor. Later, in 1856 he created the Orders of St. Mary Magdalene and the Order of St. Anne. That same year he founded the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Faustin's foreign policy was centered on preventing foreign intrusion into Haïtian politics and sovereignty. The independence of the Dominican Republic (then called Santo Domingo) during the Dominican War of Independence from Haïti was, in his view, a direct threat to that security. Faustin launched successive invasions into Dominican territory, in 1849, 1850, 1855 and 1856, each with the objective of seizing the eastern half of the island and annexing it to Haïti. However, all of the attempts ended in defeat for the Haïtian Army.

During his reign, Faustin also found himself in direct confrontation with the United States over Navassa Island which the U.S. had seized on the somewhat dubious grounds that guano had been discovered there. Faustin dispatched warships to the island in response to the incursion, but withdrew them after the U.S. guaranteed Haïti a portion of the revenues from the mining operations.

Faustin's marriage to Empress Adélina produced one daughter, Princess Célita Soulouque.   The emperor also adopted Adelina's daughter, Olive, in 1850. She was granted the title of Princess with the style Her Serene Highness. She married Jean Philippe Lubin, Count of Petion-Ville. The emperor had one brother, Prince Jean-Joseph Soulouque, who in turn had eleven sons and daughters. Jean-Joseph's eldest son, Prince Mainville-Joseph Soulouque, was created Prince Imperial of Haïti and heir apparent upon the succession of his uncle to the throne, he later married Marie d'Albert.

Adélina Soulouque, née Leveque, Empress Consort of Haiti, was the daughter of Marie Michel Lévêque, a Haitian of mixed-race heritage. She had a long-term relationship with Faustin Souloque for many years before the marriage ceremony. In December 1849, Adelina married emperor Faustin, she was given the title of Empress of Haiti with the style of Her Imperial Majesty, and crowned with her husband at the capital Port-au-Prince 18th April 1852. Her sister was styled H.S.H. Princess Clélia.

Exile and death
In 1858 a revolution began, led by General Fabre Geffrard, Duc de Tabara.  Geffrard defeated the Imperial Army and seized control of most of the country. As a result the emperor abdicated his throne on 15 January 1859. Refused aid by the French Legation, Faustin was taken into exile aboard a British warship on 22 January 1859. Soon afterwards, the emperor and his family arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, where they remained for several years. 

Allowed to return to Haïti, Faustin died at Petit-Goâve on 6 August 1867 and was buried at Fort Soulouque.

 

Citadelle Laferrière

Citadelle Laferrière

The hilltop fortress of  King Henri I, built at the time of his rule in 1811 as a citadel housing 10,000 soldiers.  

Henri was one was one of four key generals to liberate Haiti from the French during the Haitian Revolution.

Haiti Citadelle Louis Mercier Video

The Citadelle Laferrière or, Citadelle Henri Christophe, is a large mountaintop fortress located in northern Haiti, approximately 17 miles (27 km) south of the city of Cap-Haïtien and five miles (8 km) uphill from the town of Milot.

It is the largest fortress in the Americas and was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site in 1982—along with the nearby Sans-Souci Palace.

The massive stone structure was built by up to 20,000 workers between 1805 and 1820 as part of a system of fortifications designed to keep the newly-independent nation of Haiti safe from French incursions. The Citadel was built several miles inland, and atop the 3,000 ft (910 m) Bonnet a L’Eveque mountain, to deter attacks and to provide a lookout into the nearby valleys. Cap-Haïtien and the adjoining Atlantic Ocean are visible from the roof of the fortress. Anecdotally, it is possible to sight the eastern coast of Cuba, some 90 miles (140 km) to the west, on clear days.

The Haitians outfitted the fortress with 365 cannon of varying size. Enormous stockpiles of cannonballs still sit in pyramidal stacks at the base of the fortress walls. Since its construction, the fortress has withstood numerous earthquakes, though a French attack never came.

Henri Christophe initially commissioned the fortress in 1805. At the time, Christophe was a general in the Haitian army and chief administrator of the country's northern regions. In 1806, along with co-conspirator Alexandre Pétion, Christophe launched a coup against Haiti's emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Dessalines's death led to a power struggle between Christophe and Pétion, which ended with Haiti divided into northern and southern compartments, with the north under Christophe's presidency by 1807. He declared himself king in 1811.

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The Citadel was part of a system of fortifications that included Fort Jacques and Fort Alexandre, built on the mountains overlooking Port-au-Prince. Dessalines ordered those forts built in 1805 to protect the new nation against French attacks.

In the event of an invasion, Christophe planned to have his military burn the valuable crops and food stocks along the coast, then retreat to the fortress, setting ambushes along the sole mountain path leading to the Citadel.

Christophe suffered a stroke in 1820, and some of his troops mutinied. Shortly afterwards, he committed suicide, according to legend, by shooting himself with a silver bullet. Loyal followers covered his body in quicklime and entombed it in one of the Citadel's interior courtyards to prevent others from mutilating the corpse.

The walls of the fortress itself rise up 130 feet (40 m) from the mountaintop, and the entire complex, including cannonball stocks, yet excluding the surrounding grounds, covers an area of 108,000 square feet (10,000 m2). The large foundation stones of the fortress were laid directly into the stone of the mountaintop and fastened using a mortar mixture which included quicklime, molasses, and the blood of local cows and goats.

Large cisterns and storehouses in the fortress's interior were designed to store enough food and water for 5,000 defenders for up to one year. The fortress included palace quarters for the king and his family, in the event that they needed to take refuge within its walls. Other facilities included dungeons, bathing quarters, and bakery ovens. The Citadel's appearance from the trail leading up to its base has been likened to the prow of a great stone ship, jutting out from the mountainside. The structure is angular, and assumes different geometric forms based on the viewer's orientation. Though most of the fortress has no roof as such (the interior top is a latticework of stone walkways), some slanted portions are adorned with bright red tiles. The fortress has been repaired and refurbished several times since its construction, including in the 1980s with help from UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund, though little of it has been replaced, and its design remains the same.

Visitors are encouraged to rent a horse for the uphill trek. The first portion of the seven-mile (11 km) trail is navigable by 4WD vehicle. The entire seven-mile-trail starting in Milot, almost completely uphill, can be walked by experienced hikers who carry plenty of water. Most of the interior of the Citadel fortress itself is accessible to visitors, who may also climb the numerous staircases to the fortress's roof, which is free of guardrails. On a clear day, the city of Cap Haitien and the Atlantic Ocean can be seen to the north.

 

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Age of Empire & Royalty II 👑 Faustin I (1847-1859)

When Haiti was Ruled by an Emperor
Faustin I
The Last Emperor of Haiti

 

Faustin Élie Soulouque  (B. 1785; D. 1867)
President of Haiti (1 March 1847–28 August 1849)
Eemperor of Haiti (29 August 1849–15 January 1859)

Faustin Soulouque (1782-1867) was actually one of the last Haitian head of states to have been born a slave. He originated from the city of Petit Goave, and was one of the fighting soldiers of the slave uprising of 1791 and of the Haitian Revolution of 1804. When president Jean-Baptiste Riché died, historians maintain that Soulouque became the favorite of the Haitian elite, to take over because he seemed to be (at least in appearance) a knucklehead who could be easily controlled, and shortly before the Spring of 1842 he was made president. 

Seven years later, he was crowned Faustin I. According to several history books that detail that period of Haiti’s history though, it was more like an order (as in President Faustin threatened another one of his infamous mulatto elite massacres, and legislators fearing for their lives, came equipped with emperor crowning swag to appease him). 

Volumes 5 and 6 of John Saunders and Westland Marston’s The National magazine (published in 1859) stated the kingdom consisted of 4 princes, 59 dukes, 90 earls, 30 lady knights (but no male knights), 250 barons, and 2 marchionesses. 

 
William Chambers, a traveling historian from the 19th Century would in 1860 write in Volume 31 of his famous journal about the emperor: 

“The new president was a man of about sixty or sixty-two, but who did not look above forty, was remarkable for his timidity, but timidity of a particular kind. He had an unconquerable fear of magic and of ridicule; and to this weakness must be attributed to this bloodshed to which he has waded from the presidential chair to the imperial throne.” According to the book A Continent Of Islands: Searching For The Caribbean Destiny by Mark Kurlansky: “He organized a private militia, the Zinglins, and proceeded to arrest, kill, and burn out anyone who opposed him, especially mulattoes.” 

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Legba, Gangan, Dantor's food

 The song sends a series of warnings to Soulouque.

The song warns him that Legba is behind him, is watching him.  And it calls on several important people to pass along the message that he should stop: Brother Paul, a local leader and Saint Elange, one of the most powerful houngan at the time. Saint Elange, the song notes, holds the key to the tradition that Soulouque was trying to destroy.

This part of the song is a mainly a warning.
It was Dantor that invoked not Ogou.

The Emperor and his forces, fearing that Spain was going to gain control of the other side of Hispaniola, also tried to regain control of the Dominican Republic, three times during his tenure, but failed all three times. During his reign, the United States took over Navassa Island, an island that was part of Haiti where they had discovered phosphate deposits, and initially Emperor Faustin rallied his forces to fight this, but retreated because France and Spain were backing his opponent for the island.

This is what Haiti was looking like on the day of Faustin the First’s glorious coronation. It is apparent that the cream of Haitian society was there that day in their best get-ups. The well-decorated carriages lined up the streets. 

Oh, what elegance! What beauty.

And the actual coronation…

These two men Prince Mainville Joseph and Prince Jean Joseph were nobles in Emperor Faustin’s royal court.

All hail the queen Adélina Lévêque Soulouque, or as she was known to her subjects. Her Imperial Empress Adélina, Empress of Haiti. This is a portrait of her, as she looked in 1853.

 Here is Adélina in full royal regalia. 

This gorgeous beauty is Olive, Faustin the 1st’s daughter, and princess of the royal court (or shall we say adoptive daughter? She was actually his wife’s daughter from a previous relationship). With her glorious pearls, and stylish hat, she looks rather chic. She was known as the Her Serene Highness, until she became the wife of Count Lubin of Pétionville, and upgraded to the title of Countess. Emperor Faustin and the Empress had a daughter Clélia, who was barely a teen at the time of his coronation.

Historians have maintained that Soulouque was a running private joke among the elite Haitians. Here is a newspaper comic at the time, poking fun at him (this one is from Europe, however, as the Haitian newspapers—including Le Moniteur, one of Haiti’s foremost newspapers at the time—were heavily censored by the emperor, would never dare to do such a thing). Some history books about Haiti have hinted that the Emperor was probably illiterate. 

The Emperor and a couple of his ministers in 1859. The Emperor is the man being handed the paper (and who knows, perhaps a proclamation).

This elegant gentleman was none other than Faustin the First’s brother Jean Joseph, the Duke of Port-de-Paix. This portrait was obviously done years before the one above, in which he is side by side with Prince Mainville Joseph, for in this one here, he looks younger, more debonair. He must have made a lot of heart palpitate in his day. Oh, the handsomeness! And is that a pierced left ear I see? Paran Ayisyen nou wè?

Fabre Géffrard, the Duke of Tabara (seen above), rose against the Emperor, causing him to run for cover along with his family in Kingston, Jamaica (where ironically Géffrard himself would seek refuge when he too was disposed later) aboard the British boat Melbourne. According to the Saunders and Marston account cited above, upon arriving in Kingston, the emperor had to face other Haitians in Kingston, who had gone to Jamaica to flee him, and was threatened with violence by them.
Some records claim that he died in Kingston, Jamaica. But, according to Haitian historian Jacques Nicolas Léger in his book Haiti, her History and her Detractors, Emperor Faustin actually died in Petit-Goave in August of 1867, having had returned to Haiti at some point.

A portrait of Soulouque done in 1914, decades after his death. I do try to be as color-blind as possible, but clearly there is a huge contrast between the sketch above done decades after his death, and the portrait done during his lifetime. This one makes him look lighter (or it could be the lighting from the painter’s brush strokes!). But in 1914, Haiti was going through an internal identity crisis, so that kind of explains it all. Let’s not forget that around 1914, men like Jean Price-Mars were trying to emphasize the ties to Africa, while others were wanting to tighten the bonds with Europe and France, this photo bearing blatant evidence of the latter.

Image Credit: The Schomberg Research Center, NY

Age of Empire & Royalty II 👑 HC (1811–1820)

Age of Empire and Royalty II

Henri Christophe

King Henri I

Reign:  28 March 1811 – 8 October 1820

The first and only King of Haiti

Coronation    2 June 1811

Consort          Marie Louise 

Kingdom of Haiti flag (1811)

Henri Christophe was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution, winning independence from France in 1804.   On 17 February 1807, after the creation of a separate nation in the north, Christophe was elected President of the State of Haiti.

On 26 March 1811, he was proclaimed Henri I, King of Haïti.  He is also known for constructing the Citadelle Laferrière.

In 1811 Henri made the northern state of Haïti a kingdom, and was ordained Emperor by Arch Bishop of Milot Corneil Breuil. The edict of 1 April 1811 gave his full title as:

Henri, par la grâce de Dieu et la Loi constitutionelle de l'État Roi d'Haïti, Souverain des Îles de la Tortue, Gonâve, et autres îles adjacentes, Destructeur de la tyrannie, Régénérateur et bienfaiteur de la nation haïtienne, Créateur de ses institutiones morales, politiques et guerrières, Premier monarque couronné du Nouveau-Monde, Défenseur de la foi, Fondateur de l'ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Henri.

Henry, by the grace of God and constitutional law of the state, King of Haiti, Sovereign of Tortuga, Gonâve, and other adjacent islands, Destroyer of tyranny, Regenerator and Benefactor of the Haïtian nation, Creator of her moral, political, and martial institutions, First crowned monarch of the New World, Defender of the faith, Founder of the Royal Military Order of Saint Henry.

He renamed Cap Français Cap-Henri.   It is now called Cap-Haïtien.

Christophe named his legitimate son, Jacques-Victor Henry, heir apparent with the title Prince Royal of Haïti. Even in documents written in French, the king's name was usually given an English spelling. He had another son who was a colonel in his army.

Prince Jacques-Victor Henry (Henri Christophe's Son)

Christophe built for his own use six châteaux, eight palaces and the massive Citadelle Laferrière, still considered one of the wonders of the era. Nine years later, at the end of his monarchy, he had increased the number of designated nobility from the original 87 to 134.

Politically, in the North, Christophe was caught between reinforcing a version of the slave plantation system in an attempt to increase agricultural production, or handing out the plantation land for peasant cultivation (the approach taken by Alexandre Petion in the South). King Henri took the route of enforcing corvee plantation work on the population in lieu of taxes alongside his massive building projects. As a result, Northern Haiti during his reign was despotic but relatively wealthy.

He preferred trading with English merchants and American merchants than both French and Spanish merchants which did not recognize Haiti as independent country, he ordered that extra Africans be brought to Haiti to work on his vast projects instead of being traded to other Caribbean countries where they would be held as slaves. As a result, numerous Africans who were originally brought by the French as slaves came to Haiti. He made an agreement with Britain that Haiti would not be threat to their Caribbean colonies in return that the British Navy would warn the Kingdom of Haiti of any imminent attack from French troops, in 1807 the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade of 1807 which did not outlaw slavery, but abolishing the importation of African slaves in British territory, because of this increased bilateral trade, he had gathered an enormous sum of British pounds for his treasury. By contrast, Petion's Southern Haiti became much poorer because the land-share destroyed agricultural productivity.

Nobility and heraldry -

One of Christophe's first acts as king was to create a Haïtian Peerage, with four princes, seven dukes, 22 counts, 40 barons and 14 chevaliers. Christophe also founded a College of Arms to provide armorial bearings to the newly ennobled.

Christophe's kingship was modelled in part on the enlightened absolutism of Frederick the Great.

Thomas Clarkson, the English slave abolitionist, held a long written correspondence with Christophe which gives insights into his philosophy and style of government.

Thomas Clarkson

 The king sought an education for his children along the lines of the princelings of Enlightenment Europe.

 

Predecessor:    Jacques I (as Emperor of Haiti)                                            Monarchy Abolished
Successor:   Jean Pierre Boyer (as President of Haiti)

Correspondance de Henry Christophe général de brigade au citoyen Toussaint Louverture

Born    October 6, 1767 

SLIDESHOW Below:

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