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 An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and t ...

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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

before declaring independence on 1 January 1804. The Governor-General of Haiti,

Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines ( Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Under Dessalines, Haiti be ...

, 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 Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

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 Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

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 ...

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

Alexandre Pétion Alexandre Sabès Pétion (; April 2, 1770 – March 29, 1818) was the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. He is acknowledged as one of Haiti's founding fathers; a member of the revolutionary quartet tha ...

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 wit ...

, 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). 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 French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in the southern region of Valdesia. The town is located 65 km south of the capital city Santo Domingo. Baní is the headquarte ...

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 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 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 Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. 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 agr ...

, 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 Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

, by his collaborators,

, Jean-Pierre Boyer,

André Rigaud Benoit Joseph André Rigaud (17 January 1761 – 18 September 1811) was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haitian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti. Ea ...

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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

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