Henri Christophe: The Visionary King of Haiti

‘All that real history can do is to note with wonder and reverence the tides

which have surged out from the innermost heart of man, watch the incalculable flood and ebb of such tides. Afterwards there is the deducible sequence. Beforehand there is none.’

D H Lawrence’s apt description of history perfectly states in my opinion what the study of history is. History is the relatable exploration of the impulses that drive man and the inspiration that arise from his innermost heart. The creation is an unfolding event through which we may witness expressions of impulse and movements that inspire a handful of men and women to be truly great – not necessarily good, but great nonetheless. This brings to mind the predicament of Achilles the Greek hero, when his immortal mother reveals that he could choose his destiny – to return home from war and live a long and uneventful life, in other words normal life, or he could remain at war and live a short life full of glory that would gain him immortal fame. He initially chose the first option but events unfolded and the impulse of inspiration drove him forward into timeless glory. The man I am to explore with you most certainly did not have an immortal mother but he and a few of his contemporaries were transported by a series of events and inspiration which led them to greatness.

About two weeks ago morning Professor Loncke asked if I would be interested in preparing a presentation about Haiti, I apprehensively agreed. She suggested that I look at the often overlooked Henri Christophe. I must admit I had very little knowledge of him so off I went to find out who this man was and was intrigued! That such a man could have existed and broken out of a social order characterised by extreme oppression and injustice while maintaining a spirit and ambition so intact that he would one day proclaim himself King; dream of and actually commence the creation of a society to rival America and any European country.

HENRI CHRISTOPHE

Henri Christophe was a prominent General under the command of Toussaint L’Ouverture. Formidable, highly effective in the command of civilians as well as soldiers Christophe remained one of Toussaint’s most loyal generals until he could no longer see a way forward under his command. He dreamt of a successful Haiti that would succeed as a highly developed and educated society. Henri ended the Haitian revolution along with Pieton (a mulatto who formerly fought on the side of the French in an attempt to reinstate slavery) under the command of Dessalines, a formidable ex-slave whose cruel revolutionary spirit led to the final and successful expulsion of the French. Following the death of Dessalines, we see these two men rise to prominence, Pieton takes control of the southern section of Haiti while Henri forms a republic in the north that would eventually turn into a rich, controversial and very forward thinking kingdom.

To many he is and was a crazed despot, which I will not dispute, but after researching this fascinating character I believe it is needless to mention that if his limitless vision of what Haiti could be, had come into fruition, the Caribbean would today be a very different place. His vision did not only stop at Haiti but extended to the rest of the Caribbean and also to Africa. I believe that it is for this reason that his story has been so suppressed.

He was known as a dynamic and meticulous character prone to rashness and anger to all those who encountered him, whether it was as a child, general or king. He was born on October the 6th in 1767 on the island of Grenada which for 4 years had been a British territory. Some say he was born a slave while the historian Hubert Cole states that he was born a free man. Very little is known of his childhood and young adult life.They say he was sold before the age of 10 by his father or master to a sailor who in turn could not handle his intense character and sold him to a plantation owner in Saint Domingue while others say he ran away from a his apprenticeship to a carpenter by stowing himself away on a ship bound for Saint Domingue. What is undisputed is that in 1779 he served with French Forces in a regiment describes as gens de couleur in the American revolution. It is also undisputed that he became manager of a famous hotel restaurant in Cap-Francais after working his way through the ranks. Some say he bought his freedom and married the black owners daughter- who would have been his former owner if it true that he was a slave in any case he married her and their marriage was described as happy one throughout their union.

Although illiterate he impressed many with his perfect French in which he surpassed Toussaint, who, though well educated, spoke Creole. He also spoke perfect English which he rarely every revealed. The Henri that I would like to discuss today in particular is the one whose wild ambition led him to declare himself king at a time and within a society that was barely out of the shackles of slavery. If we look at the stasis that affects modern society and the sense of helplessness in the face of obvious international corruption, it will give you an inkling of the spirit this man and his contemporaries possessed.

THE KINGDOM

The 26th of march 1811 marks the beginning of Christophe’s reign as monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti as well as it formation. When ordered by the French to denounce his royal proclamation and accept Louis XVIII as monarch in 1814 King, Henri’s determined response was

‘Faithful to our principles, to always take the people to judge in their own cause, we have put the propositions of the French under the eyes of the general council of the nation solemnly summoned for this purpose. The great, noble and magnanimous resolution that the Haitian people have taken is to be exterminated to the last, rather than renounce liberty and independence, this known to Europe and America.’

The kingdom fell in 1820 after allegedly King Henry shot himself after suffering a stroke which caused him to be partially paralysed. It is said he was distraught at how quickly his vision began dismantling itself when he lost power.

HOW HE RULED

There is much to discuss about this monarch who is often seen as a delusional eurocentric. I would say that he should be seen as someone who was extremely current, aware and willing to accept the realities of the world in which he existed. The reality was that he was attempting to create a society governed by black people and people of colour (this distinction was important at this time), which was powerful and reputable within a European context. Some 40 years later the Japanese would be faced with a similar predicament in 1852, with the arrival upon their shores of an American military naval fleet, we would see them through legislation and sociology-political reforms systemically strip away many aspects of their traditional culture to conform to a more westernised society – we may criticise them for this, but we must appreciate that this was how they were able to survive in a rapidly changing and hostile world. In the same way we must appreciate and attempt to understand the actions of Henri Christophe King of Haiti.

Due to time constraints we shall look at four themes which I believe most convey the farsighted and ambitious vision Christophe possessed. These are:

1. Education

2. Commerce

3. Public Image

4. Architecture

King Henri Christophe on Education

‘To form good citizens we must educate our children. From our national institutions will proceed a race of men capable of defending by their knowledge those rights so long denied by tyrants. It is from these sources that light will be diffused among the whole mass of the population, teaching them how to appreciate their duties and love their country. The moral virtues which distinguish man in a civilised state will replace the ignorant and depraved manners which are the unhappy result of barbarity and slavery.’

This was part of Christophe’s New Years day address to his subjects in 1817. His absolutist position on the importance of education led him to open a multitude of schools, initially only for boys but this extended to girls in 1818. Christophe recruited teachers mainly from Britain, he correctly viewed English as being indispensable to the future of his people. Working with British abolitionists he formed a relationship with Prince Sanders, a free and highly educated american black man who had been partaking in the abolitionist movement in England. On the request of the King he returned to the UK to bring the first of the teachers who would come to benefit the people with an education by which they would be freed from the shackles of the racial construct they were oppressed by. He began the shift away from France by instituting a bilingual and mostly British syllabus.

It is reported that by 1817, which was six years into his reign, he had more than 700 children being taught in National Schools. He envisaged a 4 Tier education system starting with primary, secondary, trade and superior studies, he opened a school of medicine as well as an art school. He also made it compulsory that every school student adopt and train in a craft. This Caribbean King sought to create an elite who were well prepared to take over when the time came and further his dream of lifting the black man out of the dominating social construct of race which the world lived by. One teacher described himself as being delighted with King Henri’s ‘farsightedness’.

Christophe was no hypocrite, so his children also underwent rigorous schooling including his two daughters when he turned his attention to the education of girls. His son and heir in particular was expected to meet very high expectations as he was to lead the new generation of Haitians of whom his father dreamt. Prince Saunders records in his work called ‘The Haytian Papers’ that Christophe said:

‘Seeing my family is destined hereafter to take my place, it will be my pleasing duty to superintend their education with peculiar care, so that my children may be to me my dearest decorations, as on them one day will depend the destiny of my country.’

King Henri Christophe and Commerce

King Henry’s natural intelligence and practicality meant that he was an excellent and very savvy trader who had an incredible awareness of how to maintain the economy of his kingdom. White merchants, especially Americans, at times learnt the hard way that it was best to not attempt any trickery where he was concerned. According to Hubert Cole in 1810, a year before he declared the Republic of Haiti, he became suspicious that an American firm from Baltimore

‘had swindled him out of a cargo of coffee and bills of exchange to the value of 124,00 dollars. He demanded that the money was due to him, or the goods that should have been brought from Baltimore with it. When neither arrived, he ordered five Britons and Americans to inspect the books of all the American merchants. They reported that the total assets exceeded 130,000 dollars, which Christophe compelled the American to pay into the privy purse in settlements of the debt, telling them that they had his permission to collect the money back from Von Kapff and Brine in Baltimore.’

Hubert Cole also reports that he had large storehouses filled with produce from his own plantations built on the docks where he declared that they must be empty before other merchants could sell their produce. The demand was so great that this apparently did no harm to the other merchants, but it also meant that he was able to sell at good prices due to their being no competition on the market at the time he was selling. The question comes to mind as to whether this was entirely selfish. He lived with considerable pomp as a King is expected to, but from the developments made in education, culture and architecture within Haiti we might be able to take a well informed guess as to where much of this money went.

He instituted very strict importation laws to protect local produce which, when broken, resulted in harsh punishments for both his subjects and foreigners. He once found out that illegal cargo had been smuggled into the docks resulting in two custom officers being hung on the spot and the American merchant concerned was placed in a noose , the end of the rope was thrown over a beam in the customs-shed, the merchant was given the option of paying a fine of $20,000 or of being hung in 25 minutes. It is said that fellow American merchants raised the money within five minutes.

Evidently King Henri did not feel in anyway inferior to his white counterparts in ensuring that he and his kingdom were treated with the due respect that was deserved. As we all know, no ruler pleases everyone and we find that visionary and revolutionary leaders often face the most opposition and resentment from subjects who in essence fear change even when it is for the better!

In order to maintain and increase the economy he instituted a strict system of agricultural labour called fermage which some said was reminiscent of slavery. There were many cases of defection to the South where life was seen as easier. Although the system was difficult, workers had benefits such as receiving access to lodging, nurses, midwives, weekly visits from a doctor – all of which came out of the plantation owners earnings! There was a part of the military police that were responsible for ensuring owners upheld the obligations towards workers and that workers upheld their responsibilities. Often we find that we as people expect situations to be resolved by someone else’s efforts and resent being made to actively play our parts and sacrifice in order to provide solutions that repair broken situations.

King Henri Christophe public image

‘Gentlemen, I am an Englishman and accustomed to express my feelings freely. I have seen all the sovereigns of Europe and the troops of all nations. I have observed the laws and customs of the people of all the countries I have visited. Well, gentlemen, I can honestly say this: I have seen the King of Haiti at the head of his troops; I have examined the richness of the uniforms, the bearing and discipline of the Haitian army; I have observed the morals and studied the laws of this country. And I have not seen anywhere in Europe any Sovereign of better presence, any troops better dressed or better disciplined, nor any better order, regularity and justice that in this Kingdom. In your present situation, gentlemen, you need fear no enemy- you are invincible!’

This statement made by a Mr White a retired soldier who had visited some 4 years before pleased many at one of the state celebrations which were renowned for being extravagant affairs intended to impress foreign entities as well as his own subjects. The royal family would make grand processions in individual carriages drawn by up to eight horses. King Henri understood that he could not simply declare himself king – he had to look as well as act the part. He said:

‘We will confound the calumniators of our race by proving ourselves in no respect inferior in moral and physical powers to the other inhabitants of the Globe, and by showing that we are capable of acquiring and practising the sciences and the arts and attaining to an equal degree of improvement and civilization with Europeans.’

King Henri’s farsightedness and passion allowed him to see beyond personal benefit, unlike Pieton, the torn and contradicted mulatto in the south, who governed with the bias of benefitting his equally contradicted and torn race. Christophe made several attempts to persuade Pieton to unite with him, but the social construct of race was so imprisoning that unfortunately Pieton could not see what was before him!

Public image was extremely important as talent from Europe and America needed to be imported to support and develop his vision, he understood the importance of Haiti to foreign powers as it was one of the largest producers of many sought after commodities. As reported by two female teachers he recruited from America:

‘We rose and made profound salut; he desired us to be seated; we knew better, and stood while he remained; not in the least intimidated by the appearance of his sable majesty.’

From the accounts I have read it seems that one could have been as biased or as racist as one liked but there was no denial of what the Kingdom of Haiti was and fast becoming. Its public image must have deeply disturbed those whites governed by the social construct of race which existed during this time and still in many cases exists until this day.

King Henri Christophe and Architecture

Christophe’s relationship with architecture is also something to note. He understood that it contributed to his public image in addition to the long lasting protection of his house and people. He built many palaces and chateaux as well as the famous and iconic mountaintop fortress Citadelle La Ferriere which was intended to guard against French invasion. Nearby the Citadel he constructed his most famous palace Sans-Souci from which he ran his royal court.

Throughout the country he had stores of weapons and food in the event of a French invasion and was constantly building and improving defences throughout his kingdom which meant that white merchants had very restricted movements outside of the cities. He was meticulous in his plans, the German military engineers he recruited to construct the Citadel were in fact never permitted to leave it. Under his rule architecture flourished in Haiti but for the purposes of time I shall have to move on to my conclusion

Conclusion

As I said in my introduction creation is an unfolding event. We are given the possibility of seeing patterns unfold themselves and by the study of history we may begin to see pattern forms repeating themselves on nanoscales and macro scales and supposedly be better equipped to evade non beneficial outcomes. I found myself beginning this research with the question in my mind

‘Was Henri Christophe a bad or a good leader?’

Now I see that I was attempting to look at this through my own personal lense of morality, which is not for me to decide. It is for me to look at what this man did in his lifetime and to attempt to see what pattern was playing out. What impulse was driving him? And then I have to ask the question: ‘Was Henri Christophe a Leader?’ The answer is absolutely – yes! He was a man with great faith in his people and dreams that were even bigger, wherefore he understood the need for the preparation of his people. He was a man of great intelligence and power, who was hated by some and loved by others, who chose to cast off the chains of the then social construct of racism. Perfection was denied him as it is for so many of us. He was after all only a man. I choose to not be blinded by my moralistic standpoint like Pieton was by his prejudice, and instead attempt to see what made this man truly great, without forgetting to acknowledge what made him equally as weak.

Written by Khadijah Carberry and presented on the 7th of January, 2018 at Merryman’s Mall Georgetown, Guyana