The First Empire of Haiti, officially known as the Empire of Haiti (french: link=no, Empire d'Haïti; ht, Anpi an Ayiti), was an elective monarchy in North America. Haiti was controlled by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

before declaring independence on 1 January 1804. The Governor-General of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, created the empire on 22 September 1804. After being proclaimed emperor by the Generals of the Haitian Revolution Army, he held his coronation ceremony on 6 October and took the name Jacques I. The constitution of 20 May 1805, set out the way the empire was to be governed, with the country split into six military divisions. The general of each division corresponded directly with the emperor or the general in chief appointed by the emperor. The constitution also set out the succession to the throne, with the crown being elective and the reigning emperor having the power to appoint his successor. The constitution also banned

white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

, with the exception of naturalised

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

, from owning property inside the empire. Jacques I was assassinated on 17 October 1806. Two members of his administration, Alexandre Pétion and

Henri Christophe Henri Christophe (; 6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti. Christophe was of Bambara ethnicity in West Africa, and perhaps of Igbo descent. Beginning with ...

, then assumed power, which led to a split in the country – with Pétion leading the southern

Republic of Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and so ...

and Christophe leading the northern

State of Haiti The State of Haiti (french: link=no, État d'Haïti; ht, Leta an Ayiti) was the name of the state in northern Haiti. It was created on 17 October 1806 following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I and the overthrow of the First Empire of Hai ...

(later

Kingdom of Haiti The Kingdom of Haiti (french: Royaume d'Haïti; ht, Wayòm an Ayiti) was the state established by Henri Christophe on 28 March 1811 when he proclaimed himself King Henri I after having previously ruled as president of the State of Haiti, in th ...

). Some 43 years later, on 26 August 1849, President

Faustin Soulouque Faustin-Élie Soulouque (15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Haitian Army w ...

re-established an

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

in Haiti that lasted until 15 January 1859.

History

Fearing the return of the French to the island, Dessalines built forts. Jean Jacques Dessalines

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

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

. On the southern road, the Haitian emperor realized that the inhabitants of

San Juan de la Maguana San Juan de la Maguana is a city and municipality in the western region of the Dominican Republic and capital of the San Juan province. It was one of the first cities established on the island; founded in 1503, and was given the name of San Juan ...

and Baní had evacuated their city to protect themselves, so he reckoned that the indigenous population did not deserve his clemency. On March 6, while approaching the capital, he ordered to set fire to the city of San Carlos on the outskirts of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

and to begin the siege of the city. On March 25, Dessalines ordered the total extermination of the population under his control. These populations were then deported to the large cities of Haiti where they were killed in public places by being crushed (by horses or beasts of burden) and quartered. Three days later, three

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

and two French brigantines arrived in Santo Domingo. Dessalines abandoned the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

of Santo Domingo and retreated to Haiti. In April 1805, Dessalines, Christophe and their troops razed Santiago, Moca, La Vega, Azua, San Juan de la Maguana, Baní, among others, and massacred the inhabitants who had not fled to the Central Cordillera. Approximately 10,000 people were thus killed. These

massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

laid the foundation for two centuries of animosity between the two countries. The French kept the eastern part until the Spanish victory at

Palo Hincado Palo Hincado is a barrio in the municipality of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 4,587. History Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and ...

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 revolt. Unaware that Christophe had been proclaimed head of the insurrection, he wrote to him to be ready to enter the countryside. To General Pétion, who also took part in the

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

, he gave the order to march on

Les Cayes Les Cayes ( , ), often referred to as Aux Cayes (; ht, Okay), is a commune and seaport in the Les Cayes Arrondissement, in the Sud department of Haiti, with a population of 71,236. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capita ...

at the head of the troops of the Second Western Division. 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 Jean-Pierre Boyer (15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annexed ...

, André Rigaud and Bruno Blanchet. After Dessalines' assassination, the country split in two under the authority of his former generals:

, 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 Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previousl ...

, in the north, where he became president for life. In the south, the senate elected Pétion as president of the Republic.

References

External links

Flags of the World: Haiti
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Empire of Haiti History of Haiti History of Hispaniola 1800s in Haiti 1804 establishments in Haiti Former countries in the Caribbean Former empires in the Americas Titles of nobility in the Americas States and territories established in 1804 States and territories disestablished in 1806

History

See also

References

External links