First Empire of Haiti
This article has an unclear citation style. (September 2016) |
Empire of Haiti Empire d'Haïti ( Haitian Creole ) | |||||||||||
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1804–1806 | |||||||||||
Motto: Liberté ou la Mort! (French) "Liberty or Death!" | |||||||||||
Haitian | |||||||||||
Government | Unitary elective absolute monarchy | ||||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||||
• 1804–1806 | Jacques I | ||||||||||
Historical era | 19th century | ||||||||||
1 January 1804 | |||||||||||
• Proclamation of Jean-Jacques Dessalines as Emperor Jacques I | 22 September 1804 | ||||||||||
• Assassination of Emperor Jacques I | 17 October 1806 | ||||||||||
Currency | Haitian livre | ||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | HT | ||||||||||
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Today part of | Haiti |
The First Empire of Haiti,
Jacques I was assassinated on 17 October 1806.[7] Two members of his administration, Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe, then assumed power, which led to a split in the country – with Pétion leading the southern Republic of Haiti and Christophe leading the northern State of Haiti (later Kingdom of Haiti).[8] Some 43 years later, on 26 August 1849, President Faustin Soulouque re-established an Empire in Haiti that lasted until 15 January 1859.[9]
History
Fearing the return of the French to the island, Dessalines built forts.
On 8 October 1804, he was crowned Emperor under the name of Jacques I of Haiti, in Cap-Haïtien under the title His Majesty Jacques I, Emperor.
At the end of February 1805, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and his troops left in two directions: one part towards the north (Dajabón-Santiago-La Vega-Saint Domingue) commanded by Henri Christophe, and another towards the south (Hinche-San Juan de la Maguana-Azua-Baní-Saint-Domingue) commanded by Dessalines himself.
On 25 February 1805, Dessalines at the head of 30,000 men captured
Three days later, three
The French kept the eastern part until the Spanish victory at Palo Hincado on 7 November 1808, and the surrender of Santo Domingo on 9 July 1809; the Spanish emerged victorious thanks to assistance from the British.
At the same time, Dessalines officialized the French language, even though the vast majority of the population spoke only Creole.
He confiscated the settlers' lands and gave the best to his officers. To revive the economy, he decreed forced labor for farmers with a regulation harder than that of Toussaint. The people took up arms again against this dictatorship.
It was in Marchand, on 16 October 1806, that Dessalines learned of the
On 17 October 1806, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was assassinated in Pont-Rouge, north of Port-au-Prince, by his collaborators, Alexandre Pétion, Jean-Pierre Boyer, André Rigaud and Bruno Blanchet.
After Dessalines' assassination, the country split in two under the authority of his former generals: Henri Christophe, elected president with limited powers, tried to impose himself, but clashed with Alexandre Pétion, who defended the capital Port-au-Prince. Christophe returned to Cap-Haïtien, in the north, where he became president for life. In the south, the senate elected Pétion as president of the Republic.
See also
References
- ^ The Augustan Society Omnibus. The Society. 1986.
- ^ "Haiti: 1805 Constitution". faculty.webster.edu. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4798-0215-9.
- ^ Aux hommes impartiaux, sur les attaques dont l'empire d'Haiti et les Haitiens ont été l'objet. [Signed: "Un Haïtien.] (in French). Charpentier. 1850.
- ISBN 978-2-9802405-5-3.
- ^ "Haiti: 1805 Constitution". faculty.webster.edu. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ "Jean-Jacques Dessalines – Death, Facts & Life – Biography". www.biography.com. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "King's Collections : Online Exhibitions : A divided Haiti". kingscollections.org. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- S2CID 210429049.