Florvil Hyppolite
Florvil Hyppolite | |
---|---|
15th President of Haiti | |
In office 17 October 1889 – 24 March 1896 | |
Preceded by | François Denys Légitime |
Succeeded by | Tirésias Simon Sam |
Minister of Agriculture and Police | |
In office 1 September 1888 – 5 October 1888 | |
President | Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal |
Preceded by | Morin Montasse |
Succeeded by | François Denys Légitime |
Member of the Provisional Government of Haiti | |
In office 24 August 1888 – 5 October 1888 | |
President | Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal |
President of the Provisional Government of Haiti | |
In office 3 October 1879 – 26 October 1879 | |
Preceded by | Joseph Lamothe |
Succeeded by | Lysius Salomon |
Personal details | |
Born | Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite 26 May 1828 National Party |
Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite (French pronunciation: [lwi mɔ̃dɛstɛ̃ flɔʁvil ipɔlit]; 26 May 1828 – 24 March 1896) was a Haitian general and politician who served as the President of Haiti from 17 October 1889 to 24 March 1896.
Early life and career
Hyppolite was born in 1827 at Cap-Haïtien to a Haitian family of mixed French and African descent.[1] He was well educated and entered politics in the presidential campaign of Faustin Soulouque.[1] During the revolution of 1865 he distinguished himself as a soldier.[1] After the war he went back to local politics and did not figure in public life until the overthrow of President Lysius Salomon by General François Denys Légitime in 1888.[1] He then was a leader under General Seïde Thélémaque in the northern part of the republic. In 1889 he headed a revolt against President Légitime.[1]
President of Haiti (1889–1896)
On 9 October 1889, Hyppolite was elected to a seven-year term as president of Haiti by the Constituent Assembly, which met at
As soon as he assumed the presidency, he had to deal with the
The Môle Saint-Nicolas affair once disposed of, Hyppolite's government had to come to an understanding with the French legation at Port-au-Prince concerning its recent practice of granting naturalizations on Haitian territory.[2] Natives of Haiti who claimed to be of French descent would go to the legation and have themselves registered as French citizens.[2] The Haitian Secretary of State of Foreign Relations undertook to put an end to this practice.[2] After drawn-out negotiations, France at last yielded; it ordered its Minister at Port-au-Prince to cancel the names of all those who had not had the right to have them registered.[2]
Former president François Denys Légitime, who had fled to Jamaica, instigated a number of uprisings against Hyppolite, which Hyppolite successfully repressed.[1] To prevent future uprisings, he executed their leaders.[1] It was his policy to exclude foreigners from the island as he claimed they stirred up insurrections.[1]
Nonetheless, Hyppolite held friendly intercourse with all foreign powers.[2] In 1892 the Vatican proved its good will toward the Republic of Haiti in accrediting a Delegate and Envoy Extraordinary to Port-au-Prince.[2] Wanting to extend its commerce and make its products known abroad, Haiti took part in the Chicago Exposition, where it won many high prizes.[2]
President Hyppolite devoted his earnest attention to the public works of the country.[2] Wharves were built in several ports; large markets were erected in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien. In several towns canals were constructed for the distribution of water to private houses.[2] Telegraph lines connected the principal towns in the Republic at about the same time that the telephone was first introduced.[2] The roads were kept in good repair; agriculture and commerce flourished.[2] It now became possible for Haiti to redeem its internal debt, upon which it was paying interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum; for this purpose a loan of 50,000,000 francs at 6 per cent per annum was floated in Paris in 1896.[2] That was the last important act of Hyppolite's government.[2]
Death
By the time he was 67 years old, Hyppolite had not been in good health for some time.[2] Nonetheless, he refused to rest as he had been advised to do.[2] Against the advice of his doctor he decided to undertake a long journey to Jacmel to put down an uprising there.[2][3] He started on 24 March 1896, at three o'clock in the morning, but before he even had time to leave Port-au-Prince he fell from his horse dead, in a "fit of apoplexy", at a short distance from the Executive Mansion.[2] His funeral took place on the 26 March.[2]
Because President Hyppolite's strong personality rather than his party kept his government in power, it was feared that his death would precipitate a revolution.[1] However, the Council of Secretaries of State took charge of the affairs of the Government until the election of his successor.[2] The new president, Tirésias Simon Sam, was elected to the vacancy on 1 April by the Senate and House of Representatives, and was installed without the feared revolution coming to pass.[1]
References
- ^ The Chautauquan. XXIII: 238. May 1896. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Léger, Jacques Nicolas (1907). Haiti, her history and her detractors. New York; Washington: The Neale Pub. Co. pp. 245–247. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- The Independent. 54: 1181.