Jacques Nicolas Léger on Haiti in the Mid-19th Century

While perusing Haiti, Her History and Her Detractors by Jacques Nicolas Léger (accessible here on Google books!), I couldn't help but take note of Léger's take on the fall of Boyer, the Piquets, and the rise of Soulouque's empire. He is more favorable toward Boyer's rule than I would like, particularly on the point of the 1825 and 1838 negotiations with France for recognition, something he believed Boyer stood up valiantly for Haiti. Below is a summary and some commentary on Léger's account of the this crucial era where the collapse of the Haitian political system, the disintegration of territorial unity, and the beginning of a long wave of instability began.

Léger attributes much of the beginning of the opposition to Hérard Dumesle, a representative from Cayes, and other younger members of the elite interested in having more say in the government (190). In his opinion, Boyer, after securing the fate of Haiti in 1838 with French official recognition, should have met some of the demands of the opposition, such as opening government posts to others besides his old collaborators (190). The opposition movement only grew after the 1842 earthquake, which was used by critics of Boyer's regime to reveal how little he cared about the suffering of the masses, which led to Major Charles Charles Rivière-Hérard taking up arms on the Praslin plantation near Cayes. Unsurprisingly, the South immediately threw their support behind him and Boyer was unable to supress the insurrection. Recognizing the end of his presidency, he resigned and went to Jamaica in exile (191). 

However, Charles Rivière-Hérard was a soldier and abused the powers of the interim government established after Boyer due to his lack of interest in civilian government. Indeed, gives the credit for discontent and secession of the Dominican Republic to his abuse of power in 1843-1844, as well as a decree by the provisional government in Port-au-Prince that banned foreign commerce in the East, for reasons not clarified (193). Basically, the provisional government which produced the 1843 Constitution, which banned presidency for life, made the first step for a transition to civilian rule by instituting municipalities led by mayors instead of military authorities, weakened the power of the president, and set up  many other essential aspects of a republican form of government, was ruined by the excesses of Rivière-Hérard. 

In fact, the secession of the East became easy since Rivière-Hérard was removed from office in Haiti while campaigning against the rebels, beginning first in Cap-Haitien and spreading to other regions of the country (195). If you buy what Léger wrote, the independence of the Dominican Republic only became possible because Rivière-Hérard was en route to Santo Domingo and just about to crush the secessionist movement as he was recalled and replaced by Guerrier (195). Simultaneously, the Army of Sufferers, led by Acaau, seizes Cayes and peasants elsewhere in the South demanded promises given to them by the anti-Boyer elites, such as land, education, and an end to usurious practices by urban merchants (196).

Unfortunately, Guerrier soon passed away due to his advanced age (87 when he took office!). His successor, Pierrot, endeavored to go to war with the Dominican Republic because of Dominican border attacks and naval raids (the Dominicans elected General Santana at the time), but Léger claims the Haitian people had no interest in pursuing war with their neighbors (197). In addition, Pierrot conferred military rank onto the peasants of the South to appease and win their loyalty, but urban elites of the region feared another peasant uprising and conspired against Pierrot, who was replaced by Riché, another old black general of the Revolutionary wars expected to be a figurehead (198). In no time, Acaau, still a player in the politics of the South, resisted Riché but was unsuccessful and committed suicide while Riché restored presidency for life and attempted to install a civil government (198).

As an old man holding the presidency, Riché died in office. The Senate chose to elect Faustin Soulouque, who was not one of the candidates, because neither Souffrant or Paul received a majority of votes (199). Just imagine how different the course of 19th century Haitian politics would look had they not chose Soulouque, expecting a malleable, figurehead-type. As with Pierrot, Soulouque had Dominican border and coastal raids to contend with, and led an initially successful 1849 raid but ended early to ensure his rule would continue in Haiti before taking Santo Domingo. His 1855 invasion was poorly prepared and equipped, and a complete failure. The 1855 invasion, however, was a response to continued Dominican raids, such as one plundering and burning of Dame-Marie on the Haitian coast (202). The reason I find this interesting is that it shows how complex the "imperial" invasions of the the Dominican Republic were for mid-19th century Haiti, since raids and plundering from the east precipitated the conflict. Soulouque just believed that imposing Haitian unification was the only way to terminate the conflict, which eventually led to an armistice under the gaze of Britain and France to cease hostilities (202). 

Overall, Léger's account of a crucial period where Haiti's political system began to unravel sheds some light on the complexities of a Haitian national body or state. The creation of a separate "Dominican" identity can be traced to the abuses of the Boyer and Rivière-Hérard, facilitated by general Haitian opposition and unrest to these aforementioned leaders, culminating in a relatively quick and easy secession. For a brief moment, however, hope in the unseen triumphed as the revolution of 1843, the 1843 Constitution, and peasant resistance aligned to challenge the previous order. The transition to civilian rule, the downsizing of the military after the 1838 agreement with France never materialized, as Candler noted. Boyer, in the spirit of Haitian authoritarianism, established a pattern over 2 decades for governmental practices 

I need to read Madiou and Ardouin (and many other sources) for a better understanding of this era, particularly the pattern of a predatory and exclusionary state initiated under Boyer (well, probably under Petion, but close enough).