Fabre Geffrard
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Guillaume Fabre Nicolas Geffrard (; 19/23 September 1806 – 31 December 1878) was a
mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
general in the
Haitian army Originating from the Army of Saint-Domingue (1791–1803), then the Indigenous Army (1803–1915), the Haitian Army (''Armée d'Haiti'') is the Land warfare, land component of the Armed Forces of Haiti. It is the largest branch of the armed forces ...
and President 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 ...
from 1859 until his deposition in 1867. On 18 April 1852,
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 Armed Forces ...
made him Duke of Tabara. After collaborating in a coup to remove
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 Armed Forces ...
from power in order to return Haiti to the social and political control of the colored elite, Geffrard was made president in 1859. To placate the peasants he renewed the practice of selling state-owned lands and ended a schism with the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
which then took on an important role in improving education. After surviving several rebellions, he was overthrown by Major
Sylvain Salnave Sylvain Salnave (; February 6, 1827 – January 15, 1870) was a Haitian general who served as the President of Haïti from 1867 to 1869. He was elected president after he led the overthrow of President Fabre Geffrard. During his term there were c ...
in 1867. Geffrard was the first head of state of Haiti to have been born in the 19th century, as well as the first to be born after independence.


Life prior to presidency

Fabre Geffrard was born on September 19/September 23, 1806, in L'Anse-à-Veau, in southern Haiti. He was the son of General Nicolas Geffrard, a veteran 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 ...
who helped write the 1806 Constitution. The elder Geffrard, however, passed away before his birth and left him an orphan. He was later adopted by Colonel Fabre, a close associate of his father's, who had the young Geffrard receive an education in Aux Cayes. At the age of 15, Geffrard followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Haitian military, enlisting in his late father's old unit, the 13th Regiment. This was during the relatively stable rule of President
Jean-Pierre Boyer Jean-Pierre Boyer (; 15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and the 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 ann ...
(1818–1843), who had managed to unify Haiti and the eastern part of the island (modern-day Dominican Republic). Though his early military career was unremarkable, Geffrard steadily rose through the ranks. His military career gained momentum following the fall of Boyer in 1843. During the presidency of Phillipe Guerrier, (1844–1845) Geffrard was appointed to a command position in Jacmel in 1845. Jean-Baptiste Riché (1846–1847), Guerrier's successor, however, saw Geffrard as a political rival and later removed him from his post. Geffrard was then tried before a military court headed by
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 Armed Forces ...
, a rising star in the military and future emperor of Haiti. Despite the charges levied against him, Soulouque ultimately pardoned Geffrard. Upon Riché's death in 1847, Soulouque was elected as the compromise candidate to the presidency. Within two years, Soulouque's ambitions led him to proclaim himself Faustin I, emperor of Haiti, and ruler of the newly formed
Second Empire of Haiti The second (symbol: s) is a unit of Time in physics, time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the Internati ...
. Determined to reunify Hispaniola following the Dominican Republic’s independence, Geffrard - who had by then become a close general of Soulouque's - was entrusted with a military campaign against the Dominicans, and managed to score a victory at La Tabarra. The emperor was so pleased with Geffrard's victory that he named him "Duke of La Tabarra". Even though he didn’t fully embrace the title, Geffrard did not mind the fame that came from these battle successes. During Faustin's third invasion of the Dominican Republic that lasted from 1855-1856, he was thrice defeated humiliatingly and suffered heavy losses, forcing him to begrudgingly accept a truce while still asserting Haiti’s sovereignty over the eastern part of the island; only remnants of his army returned back to Haiti intact. As a result, much of the mystical authority and prestige that caused him to be feared by the nation evaporated. General Geffrard was seen as the only capable leader in the Faustin regime at the time, and both the masses and the educated elite regarded him as a harbinger of change. The appearance of a rare double-tailed comet was interpreted by the superstitious as a good omen for his success. Revolutionaries in the Artibonite Valley, plotting against the emperor, sent a delegation to Fabre Geffrard, requesting that he take command of the revolution. Sensing the growing threat, Faustin ordered for Geffrard's arrest, but Geffrard managed to narrowly escape by boat. With only a handful of men, Geffrard landed in
Gonaïves Gonaïves (; also Les Gonaïves; , ) is a commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. The population was 356,324 at the 2015 census. History The city of Gonaïves was founded around 1422 by a group of T ...
and seized the town without bloodshed. He then raised his standard and declared the republic on December 23, 1858. The revolution took immediate hold in the north, but the south and west were initially quiet. It was not until Faustin led his troops personally that the rest of Haiti erupted in armed revolt. The imperial army collapsed rapidly. By New Year's, most of Haiti was completely under republican control.


Presidency

His first act as president was to cut the army in half from 30,000 to 15,000. He also formed his own presidential guards called '' Les Tirailleurs de la Garde'', who were trained under him personally. In June 1859, Geffrard founded the National Law School and reinstituted the Medical School that Boyer began. His ministers of Education, Jean Simon Elie-Dubois and François Elie-Dubois, modernized and established many lycea in
Jacmel Jacmel (; ) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula, and ...
,
Jérémie Jérémie (; ) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in Haiti. It had a population of about 134,317 at the 2015 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the city. ...
,
Saint-Marc Saint-Marc (; ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in western Haiti in Artibonite (department), Artibonite departement. Its geographic coordinates are . At the 2015 Census the commune had 266,642 inhabitants. It is one of the biggest cities ...
, and
Gonaïves Gonaïves (; also Les Gonaïves; , ) is a commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. The population was 356,324 at the 2015 census. History The city of Gonaïves was founded around 1422 by a group of T ...
. On 10 October 1863, he reintroduced the colonial law that required roads to be built and maintained. He also revived the policy of former rulers
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 ...
,
Alexandre Pétion Alexandre Sabès Pétion (; 2 April 1770 – 29 March 1818) was the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. One of Haiti's founding fathers, Pétion belonged to the revolutionary quartet that also includes ...
and
Jean-Pierre Boyer Jean-Pierre Boyer (; 15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and the 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 ann ...
of recruiting African Americans to settle in Haiti. In May 1861, a group of African Americans led by
James Theodore Holly James Theodore Augustus Holly (3 October 1829 in Washington, D.C. – 13 March 1911 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) was the first African-American bishop in the Protestant Episcopal church, and spent most of his episcopal career as missionary bishop o ...
settled east of
Croix-des-Bouquets Croix-des-Bouquets (, ; or ) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Port-au-Prince ea ...
. However, by 1862, Geffrard began to examine the constitution and eliminated the legislature to his own benefit. He first gave himself a raise, 2
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
s, and paid for his personal luxuries with hospital funds and army funds. In 1863, he reformed the monetary system to that of the present day. Geffrard was a Catholic, which made him renounce any form of the Voodoo faith. He gave orders to demolish altars, drums, and any other instruments used in ceremonies. In 1864, a twelve-year-old girl was allegedly killed by Voodoo practitioners in a gruesome fashion and cannibalized. Geffrard ordered a deep investigation and a public execution was held. This case became the famous ''Affaire de Bizoton'', a sensationalized account of which was featured in British minister Sir Spenser St. John's best-selling book, ''Hayti, or the black republic.''Webb, Jack Daniel. “Hayti, or, the Black Republic.” Haiti in the British Imagination: Imperial Worlds, 1847–1915, Liverpool University Press, 2020, pp. 139–88. Accessed 28 Oct. 2023. In 1859, Geffrard made the first attempt in negotiating with the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
under the regime of Pedro Santana. Unfortunately, in March 1861, Pedro gave his country back to Queen Isabella II of Spain, thus making Haitian officials nervous about having a European power back on their borders. In May of that year, guerilla war broke out in
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
against Spain. Geffrard sent his personal guards and men to help out the rebels against Spanish troops, but in July 1861, following the execution of
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...
, Spain gave Haiti an ultimatum for participating and supporting the Dominican rebels. In the end, Geffrard agreed to surrender to Spanish demands and dropped all intervention within Spanish territory in the east. This episode left many Haitians humiliated and angry at Geffrard because he backed down to a European nation while
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 Armed Forces ...
would have never accepted it. Geffrard, like many Haitians, supported the
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...
movement in the United States and held a state funeral for the abolitionist John Brown, who was hanged for leading an armed insurrection against the United States government in 1859. With the secession of the slave-owning Southern states in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Haiti was granted diplomatic recognition by the United States. During the war, Spanish and British colonial officials in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, the Bahamas and neighboring
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
which was occupied by Spain, passively sided with the Confederacy, harboring Confederate commerce-raiders and blockade-runners. By contrast, Haiti was the one part of the Caribbean (with the exception of Danish St. Thomas) where the United States Navy was welcome, and
Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ; "Haitian Cape") is a List of communes of Haiti, commune of about 400,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Departments of Haiti, department of Nord (Haitian department), Nord. Previously named ''Cap‑Fran ...
served as the headquarters of its West Indian Squadron, which helped maintain the Union blockade in the
Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait () is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys (U.S.) ...
. Haiti also took advantage of the war to become a major exporter of cotton to the United States, and Geffrard imported gins and technicians to increase production. However, the crops failed in 1865 and 1866, and by that point the United States was again exporting cotton.


Failed coups against Geffrard

By the eighth month of Geffrard's presidency,
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 Armed Forces ...
's minister of interior, Guerrier Prophète, began to lay out his plan to overthrow Geffrard. Fortunately for Geffrard, his plan was picked up by Geffrard's guards and Prophète was exiled. In September 1859, Geffrard's daughter Madame Cora Manneville-Blanfort was assassinated by Timoleon Vanon. In 1861, General Legros tried to take over the weaponry storage but was detained by government forces. In 1862, Etienne Salomon tried to rally the rural community to revolt against Geffrard, but was instead shot and killed. In 1863, Aimé Legros gathered troops to overthrow Geffrard, but his troops betrayed him, and he was shot. In 1864, the elite community in
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 ...
tried to take over the weaponry storage, but the conspirators were later prosecuted and sentenced to jail. In 1867, Geffrard's bodyguards, ''Tirailleurs'', betrayed him and tried to assassinate him inside the national palace.


Overthrow

In 1865, Major
Sylvain Salnave Sylvain Salnave (; February 6, 1827 – January 15, 1870) was a Haitian general who served as the President of Haïti from 1867 to 1869. He was elected president after he led the overthrow of President Fabre Geffrard. During his term there were c ...
began his takeover of the North and Artibonite part 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 ...
. By 15 May both Geffrard and his government troops clashed with Salnave's Northern troops. After using the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
for gunboat diplomacy with Salnave, the Geffrard regime was in ruins, especially financially. He re-opened old wounds among North, West, and South Haiti and brought foreigners into domestic affairs. In 1866, a huge fire engulfed hundreds of houses and businesses in Port-Au-Prince. In March 1867, Geffrard and his family disguised themselves and fled to
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, where he died in
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
in 1878.


Family

Geffrard, with his wife Marguerite Lorvana McIntosh, had several children: * Laurinska Madiou * Celimene Cesvet * Cora Manneville-Blandfort (d. 1859) * Marguerite Zéïla Geffrard * Claire Geffrard * Angèle Dupuy * Charles Nicholas Clodomir Fabre Geffrard (1833–1859)


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geffrard, Fabre Presidents of Haiti 1806 births 1878 deaths Haitian military leaders People of the Dominican War of Independence People of the Dominican Restoration War Mulatto Haitians Haitian exiles Haitian emigrants to Jamaica People from Nippes Haitian Roman Catholics Geffrard family