After finally reading Harvey's Sketches of Hayti, I feel that I have a somewhat better idea of how exactly Christophe's kingdom in the northern part of Haiti collapsed. Obviously, Harvey is only one source and a European with his own biases and incomplete view, but he is more reliable in some ways than other sources on Christophe's state, such as the Baron de Vastey, who Harvey accuses of exaggeration (as well as a slew of other negative character flaws). Nevertheless, the author himself prefaces his account by alluding to a certain degree of censorship, and his own views of Africa and blacks (though he is quick to point to the barbarity of the negro being a result of slavery's effects rather than any innate racial inferiority) and the superiority of western European cultures certainly helps elucidate part of his rather defensive portrait of Christophe's state.
Indeed, until the later years of Christophe's reign, Harvey sees his kingdom as the better than the republic in the south because of Christophe's sincere interest in the welfare of the people but also his stern and direct guidance in matters of the economy, labor, and education. Though he never stepped foot in the southern half of Haiti, based on information from a European informant, Harvey concludes that the republic was weakened by the lack of a single, strong and centralized head of government and the constitution's willingness to appease the ex-slave masses (where exactly Harvey gets off concluding that despite the 1816 Constitution empowering Petion to rule as president for life is beyond me...). Basically, Christophe was the strong, paternalistic and demanding father whereas Petion's republic was characterized by a relaxed and less intensive guidance from Port-au-Prince for the populace.
Petion let the masses fall into their 'African' habits and savagery, more or less (and Harvey alludes to instances of Haitians in the republic being rude to whites because of the color of their skin and falling into vices and savagery wrought by their former conditions of slavery). Now, much of this is based on information provided by a single person, and Harvey contradicts himself by referring to the greater amount of commerce flowing through Port-au-Prince than Le Cap (or Cap Francois, as he calls it, as if it was still the same old colonial city! Interesting sidenote, Harvey says there were more American merchants and traders than any other foreigners in Christophe's state.) and some praise for the republic, but clearly, Christophe was, though about to turn tyrannical, jealous, and paranoid, did more to 'civilize' and contain false notions of liberty entertained by many ex-slaves.
As to the degree of popularity and acceptance of Christophe's rule before its end, Harvey states that Christophe was well-liked among the people, respected, and appreciated for his skills as a statesman and general. Elites were, as a part of his quasi-feudal system of governance, appointed to positions of authority and land (particularly civil officers, the military elite, and a landed aristocracy crafted by Christophe through investiture) and for the most part, qualified individuals (disproportionately mixed-race and more than a few under-educated and corrupt government officials were also part of his system of governance, but Harvey sees this as a result of their so recent conditions of slavery depriving them of education, a remedy for which Christophe was applying to much of the population through the establishment of schools based on the Lancasterian system) to execute his wishes. Naturally, one must be skeptical of how representative Harvey's views were for the lower classes, the workers, artisans, and peasants, but according to him, the peasantry were well-compensated for their work and the masses were proud to have such an able black ruler.
So what happened? Why did Christophe lose favor with his subjects? Harvey does not provide enough information, which is no surprise given his foreign outlook and lack of close enough ties to some of the elite circles to which he attributes the origin of the coup. He also mentions the incompetence of Christophe's son, though despite his ineptitude for governance, he was popular with the military. This could be a relevant facotr to the demises of Christohe's regime because his son would have succeeded him, which could have later on led to a coup or perhaps motivated some of the elite to replace Christophe during his own lifetime. Christophe's fear, justified based on French talk of reconquering the island, perhaps fed his paranoia and suspicions of his own nobility. This, in turn, could have fueled his detachment from much of his former advisors, his punishment of some by replacing them with less qualified candidates, and demotions of aristocrats who were formerly part of his inner circle. Maybe, just maybe, Christophe began to see conspiracies against his rule or perhaps French alliances with members of his government.
Thus, Christophe became increasingly tyrannical, paranoid, and cruel against his own people. Furthermore, Harvey alludes to severe laws such as restrictions on the movement of Europeans in his domains, limiting them to 3 miles into the interior, and a regulation imposed on Europeans requiring them to submit their papers and documents to government officials for surveillance and security purposes. Whether or not these excessive acts motivated the elite to turn against Christophe, his own laws targeting native Haitians seem to have been the main factor in inciting the revolt. Details are lacking, but Harvey's account begins the fall of Christophe with the story of a few mulatto women from the Cap who refused to submit themselves to some 'severe' law (Harvey does not state which), leading them to pray at a church for some disaster or death of Christophe. Word traveled through the grapevine, reaching Christophe in no time, who then ordered for their execution. The public response was one of outrage and disgust, with much of the elite (who were likely already plotting and waiting for an opportunity to depose Christophe) tapping on the negative public outcry to initiate a revolt.
Harvey makes it seem like race or color was another factor, with some of the mulatto elites being the first to organize against Christophe. Supposedly, many of these mulatto Haitians had reluctantly acknowledged the authority of Christophe, and barely hid their disdain even during the early years of Christophe's reign. Now, I am not sure how Harvey would know this or be so convinced of its accuracy, and since so many mulattoes were key in the upper posts of Christophe's government, I am skeptical of the veracity of Harvey's claim (though I am sure a handful of these folks may have held the views Harvey attributes to them).
Regardless of the 'color' question in Christophe's fall, these elites likely came together based on their mutual interest of protecting their wealth and power, and Christophe dug himself into a hole by alienating himself from many if not most of his subjects. The military elite and the common soldiers were convinced to turn against Christophe in order to protect their necks, as well as their own positions of authority. Even Christophe's guard turned against him, leaving him with no options but to either die by their swords or commit suicide, choosing the latter of the two. The degree to which much of the soldiers were actually swayed by the old titled nobility's argument that they too could become targets of Christophe's wrath is unknown, but I am sure many, like the aristocrats, saw a chance and at great risk, took it to attain more power or affluence.
That's how it all ended, according to Harvey's rather less detailed narrative. The very same group that initiated the coup could never decide upon which form of government to pursue afterwards, and reunion with Boyer's republic in the south became the most attractive proposal after the temporarily selected ruler, Romaine, became despotic. I will have to conduct more research into how it exactly all came to an end, but this certianly added some depth to my comprehension of Christophe's fall.
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