Dessalines (; ) usually referred to as ''Marchand-Dessalines'' (), is a commune in the Artibonite department of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. It is named after

Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent First Empire of Haiti, Haiti under th ...

, a leader of the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

and the first ruler and emperor of independent Haiti.

History

French period

During that period L'Éstère city was a major city in the Artibonite Valley. Marchand at that time was a habitation probably belonging to a French name Marchand.

Haitian Period

During the Haitian revolution, Dessalines organized most of his troops from the town of Petite Riviere de Artibonite. Dessalines asked Pétion to lay a plan for a new city that would become the capital of free Haiti over the ''habitation Marchand''. In 1804 the town was made the capital of the newly independent state of Haiti. It was renamed after

in honor of the first Haitian head of state. The imperial constitution of 20 May 1805 was proclaimed from the town of Dessalines. After the emperor's assassination in October 1806

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

was declared the new capital of Haiti.

Geography

The commune lay in the Artibonite Valley, on the north shore of the river at the bottom of the Montagne Noir mountain range. The major river of the commune is the Estère river.

Economy

Agriculture

Like much of the valley Dessalines' main economical hub is agriculture mainly rice cultivation.

Tourism

Dessalines have great potential for historical and cultural tourism.

Historical Places

* Fort Fin-du-Monde * Fort Madame * Fort Doco * Fort Innocent * Fort Culbuté * Fort Décidé * Kayloa Dessalines * Bassin Félicité

References

Populated places in Artibonite (department) Communes of Haiti {{Haiti-geo-stub