When Henri Christophe and other military leaders split from the French, they asked Sans Souci to join their ranks, but he declined and particularly viewed Christophe as a traitor. He is known for constructing Citadel Henry, now known as Citadelle Laferrière, the Sans-Souci Palace, the Royal Chapel of Milot, and numerous other palaces. [8], • Gauvin Alexander Bailey Der Palast von Sans-Souci in Milot, Haiti (ca. [7] His second son was a colonel in his army. The latter was the policy of President Pétion in the South. [4] When Sans Souci arrived, Christophe's guards bayoneted him and his small band of guards to death. He was said to have gained his freedom from slavery as a young man, before the Slave Uprising of 1791. [25][26], Henry, by the Grace of God, King of Haiti, Henry Christophe spelled his first name with a 'y,' and official court documents followed the same convention, as is evidence notably in the. In Architectural Remnants and Mythical Traces of the Haitian Revolution: Henri Christophe's Citadelle Laferrière and Sans-Souci Palace, Peter Minosh examines two works of architecture related to the Haitian Revolution: the Citadelle Laferrière and Sans-Souci Palace, built under Henri Christophe, who reigned as the first king of Haiti from 1811 until his death in 1820. It was the royal residence of King Henri I (better known as Henri Christophe) of Haiti, Queen Marie-Louise and their two daughters. King Henry chose to enforce corvée plantation work, a system of forced labor, in lieu of taxes, but also began his massive building projects. In 1780, during the American Revolution, he fought in a French unit at Savanna, Georgia. It is part of the Palace of Sans-Souci, built by King Henri Christophe. Christophe was in charge of the Northern division of the country, where he notably supervised the first steps of the construction of Citadelle Laferrière. In 1805 he took part under Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the capturing of Santo Domingo (now Dominican Republic), against French forces who acquired the colony from Spain in the Treaty of Basel. The political skills he learned as a hotelier also served him well when he later became an officer in the military and leader in the country. Henri Christophe is best known as a King. Crippled by a stroke, then King Henri I committed suicide on the grounds of the palace on October 8, 1820. Christophe built for his own use six châteaux, eight palaces and the massive Citadelle Laferrière, on a mountain near Milot. Henry, by the grace of God and constitutional law of the state, King of Haiti, Sovereign of Tortuga, Gonâve, and other adjacent islands, Destroyer of tyranny, Regenerator and Benefactor of the Haitian nation, Creator of her moral, political, and martial institutions, First crowned monarch of the New World, Defender of the faith, Founder of the Royal Military Order of Saint Henry. In 1807 he declared himself "président et généralissime des forces de terre et de mer de l'État d'Haïti'" (English: President and Generalissimo of the armies of land and sea of the State of Haïti). Built in the early 1800’s for ruler Henri Christophe, Sans Souci Palace is currently in ruins as a result of and earthquake in 1842, and has never been reconstructed. Christophe. [7] His son and heir was assassinated 10 days later. Nine years later, at the end of his monarchy, Henry increased the number of designated nobility from the original 87 to 134. Christophe was a rambunctious kid. Henri Christophe was born on October 6th, 1767, in Grenada. The residence accommodated the king, his family; Queen Marie-Louise and their children, along with their royal staff of advisors. A former slave that became a key figure in the Haitian revolution, he rose to General under Jean-Jacques Dessallines, the principal leader of the revolution. The general Jean-Pierre Boyer came to power and reunited the two parts of Haiti. Construction of the palace started in 1810 and was completed in 1813. On 26 March 1811, Christophe created a kingdom in the North and was later proclaimed Henry I, King of Haïti. Christophe suspected he was also at risk of assassination in the South. With the remains of the Sans-Souci Palace, it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Alexandre Pétion was elected president in the South. Toward the end of Christophe's reign, public sentiment opposed what many considered his feudal policies of forced labor, which he intended to use to develop the country. [18] In the ensuing uproar, the nation mobilized for the expected French invasion and began an international public relations campaign. Learning of this action, Dessalines was outraged and decided to invade Santo Domingo, with his forces looting several towns, such as Azua and Moca, and finally laying siege to the city of Santo Domingo, the stronghold of the French. The Palace was built between 1810-1813 as a monument to the self proclaimed King of Haiti, Henri Christophe. St Domingo, or, An Historical, Political and Literary Sketch of the Black Republic, Travels in Trinidad During the Months of February, March, and April, 1803, The Slave Who Became King: Henri Christophe, https://login.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/hmencyclwh/haiti/0?institutionId=3205, "La verdad de la Historia del autoproclamado Rey Henri Christophe, o Henri I de Haití y Jean Jacques Dessalines", Haitian American Historical Society Savannah Monument Project, Marvin T. Jones's blog "Photographing Haiti's Citadelle Henry", Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau, Philibert François Rouxel de Blanchelande, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henri_Christophe&oldid=1004963447, Haitian politicians who committed suicide, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Articles with dead external links from March 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2012, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 5 February 2021, at 08:00. It was the most important of nine palaces commissioned by the king, as well as fifteen châteaux, numerous forts, and sprawling summer homes on his twenty plantations. The church was destroyed by the 1842 earthquake, which also destroyed the nearby palace. [2] Beginning with the Slave Uprising of 1791, he rose to power in the ranks of the Haitian revolutionary military. In 1779 he may have served with the French forces as a drummer boy in the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue, a regiment composed of gens de couleur (mixed-race residents of Saint-Domingue). His son and heir, Jacques-Victor Henry, Prince Royal of Haiti was bayoneted to death by revolutionaries at the Palace on October 18, 1820. Remembered as a leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Haitian Revolution, this ex-slave served from 1807 until 1811 as President of the State of Haiti and subsequently became King of Haiti (Henry I of Haiti). Nine years later, at the end of his monarchy, Henry increased the number of designated nobility from the original 87 to 134.[15]. It is reached by continuing on the trail behind the Palace. He fought for years with Toussaint Louverture in the North, helping to defeat the French colonists, the Spanish, British, and finally French national troops, and becoming commander-in-chief at Cap-Français. Close to the Palace is the renowned mountaintop fortress; the Citadelle Laferrière, built under a decree by Henri Christophe to repel a feared French invasion that never occurred. Henri Christophe is revered as a hero among the Haitians and many within the African diaspora today. .] [19] Such broadsides and editorial interventions were accompanied by critical theoretical texts on race and colonialism such as Pompée Valentin Vastey's The Colonial System Unveiled (Le Système colonial dévoilé). He is also covered in Madison Smartt Bell's trilogy about the Haitian Revolution Henri Christophe's influence on African American theater and theater in the Antilles was the subject of a doctoral thesis by Puerto Rican author Ana Lydia Vega. After Dessalines was assassinated, Christophe retreated to the Plaine-du-Nord and created a separate government. Christophe founded a College of Arms to provide armorial bearings for the newly ennobled. [20] Simultaneously, Henry opened up communication with the most prominent English abolitionists: his letter to William Wilberforce arrived on 5 January 1815, and began a new level of engagement between Great Britain and the Kingdom of Haiti. Other scholars argue, the palace's architecture is inspired by the Boffrand's designs for the Château de la Malgrange for Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, near Nancy. It was built as the royal residence of King Henri Christophe I of Haiti, a former slave who rose through the ranks during the Haitian Revolution against French colonists to become the new nation’s monarch. [3] Under his policies of corvée, or forced labor, the Kingdom earned revenues from agricultural production, primarily sugar; but the people resented the system. [7] One popular story claims that he worked in and managed La Couronne, a hotel restaurant in Cap-Français, the first capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue and a major colonial city. On 6 April 1805, having gathered all his troops, General Christophe took all male prisoners to the local cemetery and proceeded to slit their throats, among them Presbyter Vásquez and 20 more priests. Christophe was a former slave of Bambara ethnicity in West Africa, and perhaps of Igbo descent. Before the construction of Sans-Souci, Milot was a French plantation that Christophe managed for a period during the Haitian Revolution. Monument to the first King of Haiti The statue of King Henri Christophe is in a small park, a short walk east of the Milot Cathedral. Born a slave, Henri Christophe originally came from the British island of St. Christopher (St. Kitts), from which he took his name. [13], After Napoleon abdicated in April 1814, King Louis XVIII attempted to take back St Domingue. A Negro born into a slave family on the island of Grenada, he never went to school and was illiterate his whole life. He was an African slave who may have taken his name from the quartier near the parish of Grande Rivière where he first led troops in guerrilla fighting against the French in 1791. [22] Ill and infirm at age fifty-three, King Henry committed suicide by shooting himself with a silver bullet rather than risk a coup and assassination. The French deported Toussaint Louverture to France, and brought in more than 20,000 new troops under the Vicomte de Rochambeau in an effort to regain control of the colony and re-establish slavery. It is located in the Sans Souci Palace in Haiti. Home to the country's most famous king and leader Henri Christophe, the majestic palace was built in European style as a symbol of Haiti's prowess and power of the black race. He made an agreement with Britain that Haiti would not threaten its Caribbean colonies; in return the British Navy would warn Haiti of imminent attacks from French troops. He was also famous for building numerous forts, sprawling summer’s homes, and fifteen châteaux. By 1802 Louverture had promoted him to general. Christophe had to choose whether to enforce a version of the slave plantation system to increase agricultural production, or to subdivide the land into parcels for peasants' subsistence farming. Unfortunately Sans-Souci lived just 30 short years until it was destroyed in a major earthquake. On 17 February 1807, he was elected President of the State of Haiti, as he named that area. Before the construction of Sans-Souci, the town of Milot was a French plantation that he was in charge of during the Haitian revolution. As leader, Dessalines declared the independence of Saint-Domingue with its new name of Haïti in 1804.[8]. After the war, he returned to Saint-Domingue, and worked many service jobs. But old men who still live in Haiti [. [17] The Treaty of Paris, ratified on 30 May, gave Spanish San Domingo back to newly restored Bourbon France, and granted an extra five years of slave trade in which to recoup losses entailed by abolition of slavery. [5] It is claimed that Christophe was wounded in this battle. The African pride in the construction of the king's palace was captured by the comment of his advisor and architect, Pompée Valentin Vastey (Baron Valentin de Vastey), who said that the palace and its nearby church, "erected by descendants of Africans, show that we have not lost the architectural taste and genius of our ancestors who covered Ethiopia, Egypt, Carthage, and old Spain with their superb monuments."[7]. In 1982, the UNESCO designated Sans-Souci Palace and the Citadelle as World Heritage Sites. Read More His son and heir was assassinated 10 days later. [24], Michèle Bennett, who married Jean-Claude Duvalier and served as First Lady of Haiti during his administration (1980 to 1986), is Christophe's great-great-great-granddaughter. … The Sans-Souci Palace. He also created a nobility and named his legitimate son Jacques-Victor Henry as prince and heir. [13] Pétion became President of the "Republic of Haïti" in the south, where he was backed by General Jean-Pierre Boyer, a personne de couleur who controlled the southern armies. Though he is mostly remembered for the Citadelle, the fortress he built, equally impressive was his organizational genius, which created a prosperous and solvent Haiti. [13], He renamed Cap-Français as Cap-Henry (later renamed as Cap-Haïtien). With the remains of the Sans-Souci Palace, it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Palace of Sans-Souci (French: Palais Sans Souci) was the principal royal residence of Henry I, king of Haiti, better known as Henri Christophe. [5] Sans Souci Palace was built only a few yards away, or perhaps even exactly over, the place where the man himself was killed by Christophe. [6], As an adult, Christophe may have worked as a mason, sailor, stable hand, waiter, or billiard maker; if so, most of his pay would have gone to his master. After the war was won in 1804, he conspired to assassinate Dessalines, and shared Haiti with his co-conspirator, Alexandre Pétion. The two parts of Haiti struggled to increase agricultural production to recover from the expensive and damaging wars. To the west of the church, in a small park, is a statue of King Henri Christophe. The Haitian general Henry Christophe (referred to as Enrique Cristóbal in Spanish-language accounts), under Dessalines, attacked the towns of Moca and Santiago. Its sheer walls are stained red with lichen, its three hundred cannons […] The 1 April 1811 edict gave his full title as. He created a noble class and appointed four princes, eight dukes, 22 counts, 37 barons, and 14 chevaliers. It is located in the town of Milot, approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the Citadelle Laferrière, and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southwest of the Three Bays Protected Area. Sans-Souci Palace shares a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Citadelle Laferriere. [9] The conspiracy involved the majority of Dessalines' senior officers, including Dessalines' Minister of War and Navy Etienne Elie Gérin, General Alexandre Pétion, commander-in-chief of the second division in the West, General Nicolas Geffrard and many others. 1806–1813): Das vergessene Potsdam im Regenwald / The Palace of Sans-Souci in Milot, Haiti (ca. [23], His descendants continued to be among the powerful of Haiti. The Royal Chapel of Milot (also known as Cathedral of Milot), is a religious establishment built by Henry Christophe, the first King of Haiti. [citation needed], Christophe built six châteaux, eight palaces and the massive Citadelle Laferrière, on a mountain near Milot. In Henry Christophe …country, he shot himself at Sans-Souci palace (the citadel and palace were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1982), and his kingdom became part of the Haitian republic in 1821. On 16 October 1806, they signed a Proclamation entitled “Resistance to Oppression,” that declared the necessity to overthrow Dessalines' government and proclaimed Christophe head of the provisional Haitian government. On his way out he took along, fashioned like a herd, 249 women, 430 girls and 318 boys, a steep figure considering the relatively low population of the town at that time. During his reign, Northern Haiti was despotic but the sugar cane economy generated revenue for government and officials. The Encyclopedia of World History, edited by Peter N. Stearns, and William L. Langer, Houghton Mifflin, 6th edition, 2001. In 1811 Christophe proclaimed himself king as Henri I. On a mountain peak 600 metres above the jungle-covered plain of North Haiti stands a grim fortress, even larger than the Tower of London. After the nation won its independence from France, revolutionaries including Christophe began to clamor for power over it. Proud of its magnificence, the Palace of Sans-Souci was an important step in Henri Christophe's plan to demonstrate to foreigners, particularly Europeans and Americans, the power and capability of the black race. Jul 9, 2012 - This July we are celebrating Milot, Haiti, home of Hôpital Sacré Coeur! Construction of the Palace Sans-Souci started in 1810 and finished in 1813, and served as a residence for the self-made monarch until the end of his life. Pierre Nord Alexis, President of Haiti from 1902–1908, was Christophe's grandson. The sculpture shows the King leaning Under his reign, the palace was the site of opulent feasts and dances. Jean Jacques Dessalines led the fight to defeat French forces. The French withdrew their 7,000 surviving troops in late 1803. As king, Christophe created an elaborate Haitian peerage (nobility), originally consisting of four Princes, eight Dukes, 22 Counts, 40 Barons, and 14 Knights ("chevaliers"). He was subsequently buried in the Citadelle. His reign was tyrannical, but he improved the economy of the country, ensuring its annuity and stability for … King Henry was buried within the Citadelle Laferriere. Credo Reference. After years o… The palace was built in the early nineteenth century by Henri Christophe, who took control of the northern part of the country in a civil war that broke out after independence from France. Later he set on fire the whole town along with its five churches. He reached agreement with Great Britain to respect its Caribbean colonies in exchange for their warnings to his government of any French navy activity threatening Haiti. In October 1814, Henry I's ministers made public evidence of French schemes to try and recover its former colony, in the form of letters carried by French agents captured on the island.