Henri Christophe of Haiti

Surely, Haiti must be the unluckiest of nations. Enduring one of the most devastating earthquakes the world has ever known, Haiti has been much in the news. Outpourings of aid have come from most of the countries of the world, including the US.

But natural disasters are not the only problem Haiti has been forced to endure. Cruel and corrupt leaders have plagued the Haitian people, many times triggering US involvement. In 2004 U.S. Marines were called in to keep order after the Haitian President/Dictator was deposed in February of that year. In 1935 a contingent of Marines was called upon to quell uprisings in the country.

Haiti has always been close to disaster. Haiti and the United States became sovereign nations about the same time -- the U.S. overthrew the English and Haiti overthrew the French. But while The U.S. flourished under a democratic rule, Haiti has suffered under a series of dictators. Some call Haiti a "failed state." Even Haiti's try at democracy has not been successful. Francois Aristide was the first elected ruler of Haiti when he took office in 1990. He was deposed, restored to government by the United Nations, then deposed again in 2004. His election was tainted, and his government was perceived as being corrupt -- just the latest in a long line of less than honest leaders.

So, it must be said, in the last 200 plus years Haiti has not progressed very far. At present it is one of the poorest countries in the world. The life expectancy in Haiti is 50 years, one of the lowest in the world. Even before the earthquake, there have been some noble efforts of Humanitarianism on Haiti's behalf, some spearheaded by Nebraskans, but these programs were largely discontinued. The danger to personnel is just too great.

The island of Hispanola, located between Cuba and Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Sea was one of the first landing spots (some say the very first) for Columbus, on his first trip to America in 1492. The island is divided between two countries, the Dominican Republic on the east side, with its beautiful beaches, and Haiti, on the west side. The name Haiti means "high hills." It is an apt name. Those hills are really mountains.

When Columbus and his men landed in Haiti they were met by the Arawak Indians, who greeted the Spanish adventurers warmly. Before long, however, that cordial relationship changed. When Columbus and his crew discovered gold on the eastern side of the island, they pressed the Arawaks into mining their gold. The promise of fortunes of gold soon brought Spanish settlers to the island, who mined the gold and began plantations, all on the backs of the Arawak Indians. Within 30 years they had all but abandoned the western side of the island, and virtually eliminated the Arawaks. Pirates took over what is now Haiti and preyed on the gold laden Spanish ships going back to Europe.

To replace the Indian workers, the Spanish began to import slaves from Africa to work their mines and fields. When the gold and silver mines began to fail most of the Spanish settlers moved on to more prosperous lands, in Peru and Mexico, leaving their black slaves. Though the Spanish tried to drive the pirates out of Haiti, they had little success, and by 1630 they ceded their rights to the French.

Under the French, Haiti bloomed as a French colony. By 1785 Haiti was one of the richest countries in the world, with thousands of sugar and coffee plantations. Cape Haitien, the principal city on the northwest coast, rarely saw less than 100 ships in the harbor. New York, by comparison, at the same time, was of secondary importance.

Merchants, doing business in Haiti, were astonished at the richness of the social life of the French planters. Imports from Paris -- the finest money could buy -- were on display in the chateaus. All of this was made possible by a half-million African slaves.

In 1802 the Haitian slaves, headed by an illiterate dishwasher turned General, by the name of Henri Christophe, rose up against the French, who represented the might of Napoleon, with his navy and army. After three years of vicious fighting, 50,000 French soldiers lay dead from fighting and disease and Napoleon had had enough. He pulled his troops out of Haiti, leaving scarcely a white man alive on the island.

With the withdrawal of the French, Christophe's ambitions soared. He declared himself King Henry I. He knew nothing of politics, or science, but instinctively saw that his followers must be ruled with an iron hand in order to maintain his victory.

He forced his subjects to obey, with lash and bayonet, in ways that would make the despots of a later time, Stalin and Hitler, appear weak. Laggards were shot. No one escaped his wrath and iron rule.

But he also set about to instill pride in his people, by building palaces and fortresses (for himself, as a representative Haitian), that would rival Versailles in France. His residence, Sans Souci, with 50 opulent rooms, was approached with a double staircase, where sentries stood guard. Its gardens shone with royal splendor.

Christophe emulated the French monarchy by creating a royal court, with princes, barons, and ladies in waiting for his Queen, Marie-Louise. Europe never saw such opulent and colorful uniforms. Christophe's health was guarded by a doctor from Scotland. Two American ladies came from Philadelphia to teach his daughters, the Princesses, Amethyste and Athenaire, the social graces of European royalty.

Next, he set about to make an impregnable fortress on the summit of a mountain, 3000' above San Souci, which he envisioned as invulnerable to attack, something that whites -- meaning the French and Americans, would admire and respect -- and fear!

Christophe approached this project as if it were warfare. 30,000 people, men and women, were forced to work on the walls of the citadel. The ascending and descending slaves made two continuous lines, each six miles long, as they dragged bricks, cannon balls and barrels of lime, cannons and gunpowder to the summit. Christophe was obsessed with the fort. In eight years of continuous work 20,000 workers perished. He even pressed his ministers and generals to work on the walls like ordinary slaves.

In spite of his tyranny, Christophe considered himself a devout Christian, and attended church daily. Early one morning, in 1820, while at Mass, he thought he saw the ghost of a priest that he had executed, standing before him. Horrified, he fell gasping to the floor, half of his body paralyzed with a stroke.

The news of Christophe's fall spread like wildfire throughout the land. Mobs of cheering, vengeful subjects descended on the gates of San Souci. Christophe knew from experience that these mobs could, and would, tear their victims apart. Rather than have that happen Christophe took out his favorite weapon, a silver-mounted pistol, given to him by an English Admiral. He fired one bullet straight into his heart. His wife, daughters, and one loyal servant escaped one step ahead of the angry mob, with Christophe's body, to the Citadel, where they buried him in a huge vat of liquid lime.

Today, San Souci lies in ruins. The Citadel is unused, overgrown with vines, just a memory of the first, and perhaps the most unusual, of a long line of Haitian dictators.

Source: Seven League Boots, by Richard Halliburton