Baron de Dossou

Whilst perusing Cheesman's The Armorial of Haiti, we noticed one of Haitian kingdom's barons was named Dossou. This name, which seems to come from the area of modern Benin, survived in Haiti. We couldn't find anything else about the Baron de Dossou, but we wonder if he was another African-born dignitary of Christophe's kingdom.

Black Crown

Paul Clammer's Black Crown: Henry Christophe, the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean's Forgotten Kingdom is a meticulously researched biography of one of the central figures in the annals of the Haitian Revolution and 19th century Haiti. Based on a mixture of all available sources, Clammer, who has written travel literature on Haiti, has consulted archives, visited the sites associated with Christophe's state, and used European, Haitian, and US sources to reconstruct the life of Christophe. As one might expect, his early origins in Grenada remain shrouded in mystery. Even his participation in the struggle for US independence remains a mystery. However, Christophe, once in Le Cap, was able to establish himself and build connections. During the Haitian Revolution, he rose to positions of ever greater importance until he became one of the upper echelon of military officials under Toussaint Louverture. Joining with Dessalines, he fought for Haitian independence against Leclerc and Rochambeau. Clammer, based on surviving correspondence of Christophe and other sources, favors the argument that Christophe was not directly involved in the assassination of Dessalines, and once the deed was done, was positioning himself strategically. The conflict with Petion and the South subsequently divided Haiti into two separate states, with Christophe as the essentially uncontested leader in the Nord. By the time he declared himself king, Christophe had neutralized potential competitors (even doing so during the Haitian Revolution against maroon leader Sans Souci and others).

The most interesting chapters of the biography cover the reign of Christophe as king. Ruling the Kingdom of Haiti, Christophe sponsored the construction of beautiful palaces like Sans Souci, promoted plantation agriculture, instituted legal codes that at least, in theory, guaranteed certain rights for cultivators, and engaged in all the theatricality of power and magnificence to present an image of Haiti as a civilized land making progress for Western audiences. Clammer's deftly written and detailed accounts of Christophe's diplomatic engagements with Britain and Europe on the one hand, and the struggles he engaged with against his own subjects and the republic to the South, make for engaging and fascinating reading. Unfortunately, the surviving source are not as rich as one would like for understanding a more complete portrait of the kingdom. Surviving ledgers give tantalizing clues about sugar and coffee production, with the state-enforced plantation system falling behind on sugar. Indeed, near the end of his reign, Christophe began distributing land to soldiers, perhaps as many as 8000 in one letter cited by Clammer. However, the vast majority of the land grants were for tiny farms, although Christophe did appear to have engaged in broadening land ownership and creating more titled nobles. Sadly, Christophe was unable to suppress a revolt that began in Saint-Marc and was supported by Jean-Pierre Richard, an African-born leader of Cap Henry who had been imprisoned by Christophe at the Citadel and forced to do hard labor. 

Since his stroke appears to have inspired malcontents and rebels to take action, and once loyal subordinates chose to do nothing or join in the rebellion, Christophe knew his end was near. The black king who sought to create a strong nation, was overthrown. The North was reunified with the rest of the country and Haiti as we know was consolidated. The Christophe experiment, however, represented the last of the revolutionary era leadership who were at least somewhat successful at maintaining export-oriented plantation agriculture. Christophe's state, which sparked resistance from local cultivators (though his frequent tours of the countryside and audiences suggests he must have at least occasionally ensured the Code Henry's protections for workers were respected), represented another path for national development. More successful than the southern republic, at least for a short while, the Christophean experiment offers us a view of what Haiti could have become had Christophe been able to balance the desires of the rural majority and perhaps had not treated some of his own subordinates so harshly or capriciously. 

Unveiling the Colonial System

Although it took us several years, we have finally completed Baron de Vastey's The Colonial System Unveiled. Translated into English by Chris Bongie, whose useful endnotes and supplementary essays are a rich source of information on the author and his time, the short text is a disturbing read. Largely consisting of a catalogue of various colonists who tortured black slaves and free people of color in the colonial period, the colonial system here is one defined by slavery, exploitation, terror, and racialized hierarchy. Thus, the infamous Caradeux and Desdunes families, for instance, are listed among the colonist perpetrators of unspeakable violence and horror. The first part of the short work outlines the history of European colonialism in Hispaniola, beginning with the exploitation and destruction of the indigenous population. This, followed by the colonial system defined by chattel slavery, contain the annals of colonialism's destructive impact. Throughout the text, the Baron de Vastey drew from the colonial archive, writings by French colonists, and testimony from Haitians to illustrate the true nature of colonial rule. Unsurprisingly, Haitian independence was just, necessary, and Henri Christophe himself is praised for being the required father of the Haitian "family" to guide us toward liberty and the rule of law. 

Indeed, much of the work emphasizes how colonial laws and regulations were either ignored or used in discriminatory fashions. For example, laws and regulations limiting the dress of free people of color or laws requiring them to adopt African surnames are part of the panoply of oppressive, racist laws that are unquestionably unjust. Other laws, such as those enshrined in the Code Noir for protecting enslaved people from extreme abuse or torture, were routinely ignored. Baron de Vastey even cited the case of a free "mulatto" who was reenslaved unjustly on the instigation of a cruel planter who may have been his father! Everything this colonial system stood for and represented, therefore, required full repudiation and justified Haitian independence. Under the protective leadership of a strong monarch, Henri Christophe, Haiti could withstand the calumny and threat of the colonists. Indeed, Christophe is even compared to the famous cacique, Enriquillo, suggestive of Christophe's stature as a leader on the path to reconstituting the Haitian people. 

Nevertheless, one cannot help but notice some of the ambivalence of the Haitian intellectual of the 19th century. While condemning colonialism in Haiti and the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, our author wanted European colonialism in Africa. With Sierra Leone as perhaps the best example, Baron de Vastey appears to condone the "civilizing mission" of European colonialism as necessary in Africa. Yet, whilst drawing on the travels of Mungo Park and other sources, he acknowledged that sub-Saharan Africans were not as "barbaric" as our enemies made them out to be. Unfortunately, Baron de Vastey never drew from the testimony of the sizable African-born population in Haiti itself to counter racist narratives of Africa. It is a shame, since he even included "Bembara" as one of the African surnames free people of color were forced to adopt under racist colonial legislation. We suspect the ambivalence of the 19th century Haitian intellectual on Africa, plus the need for a nationalist, palingenesis of a new Haitian people, precluded Baron de Vastey from seriously interrogating European colonialism in Africa or the question of black African civilizations. 

The Government of King Henri Christophe

Hénock Trouillot's Le gouvernement du roi Henri Christophe offers a broad overview of the kingdom of Haiti under Henri Christophe. Based on archival sources, newspaper accounts written in the Republic to the South, and the descriptions of travelers and writers like Dumesle, Trouillot endeavored to reconstruct the history of Christophe's state. Recognizing that most of our writings on Christophe from the Republic were authored by ideological and political opponents of the kingdom, Trouillot attempted to offer a balanced assessment of Christophe's government. Instead of seeing him as a bloodthirsty tyrant, Christophe's state was a totalitarianism avant la lettre which sought to build a modern black nation through a strong economy and well-ordered polity. One sees this through Christophe's fortifications and national defense policy, protection of national commerce and promotion of Haitian industry and labor, and economic, educational and political policies that regulated social life while creating clear hierarchies in which the rights of the cultivateur were, at least on paper, protected. 

Due to Trouillot's desire to shed a more positive light on Christophe's kingdom, one can see how every policy pursued by Christophe, even before the death of Dessalines, was connected to establishing a firm foundation for a wealthy, civilized, and well-defended state. Surrounded by slaveholding powers in a hostile world, Christophe, like Toussaint and Dessalines, believed the island's fate lied in reestablishing agriculture and industry. Christophe accomplished this with a system in which the large estates were preserved and distributed to a nobility appointed by him. Paying 1/4 of the proceeds of the estates to the state and 1/4 to the laborers, Christophe instituted a system of taxation and strict controls to ensure the recipients of land grants performed their duty of producing sugar, coffee, and other exports. Christophe's state relied on the military and police to ensure the laborers did not leave the estates without permission, too. However, the laborers were, at least in theory, the recipients had access to government redress in cases of exploitation. In addition, Christophe's state was wealthy. The successful system of production adopted in the kingdom, based on that of the earlier system used by Dessalines, Toussaint and Sonthonax, left about 30 million gourdes in the state treasury. This wealth came from sound economic policies and a system of land tenure in which the state was ever-ready to ensure consistent production and pursue international trade (most favorably with Britain). 

In addition to Christophe's system of land administration, he promoted national industry and commerce. Christophe spent dearly for foreign teachers, artisans, expertise and technicians to train local Haitians. His educational policy, which appears to have still been in a limited form by the time of his death in 1820, included an ambitious program that would have, if he had the time, probably reached all corners of the state. Nonetheless, his policies did succeed in promoting the training of a cadre of Haitian artisans and technicians. Indeed, even what at first seems like a waste of funds on Christophe's fine palaces, chateaux and monuments, was actually an expenditure that mostly employed Haitian labor and artisans. This further encouraged the development of Haitian skilled labor while also ensuring that the appointed nobility would also employ or seek the services of Haitian skilled laborers on their own projects. Christophe's success in this regard, combined with the success of higher agricultural production, ensured his state was far wealthier than the southern republic. One can see how his lavish palaces and monuments were spent in ways that could support local industry and the development of a local economy.

Sadly, the lack of additional sources, particularly on taxation and imports and exports, prohibits a deeper understanding of Christophean state's political economy. Nonetheless, with what has survived and made it into the Haitian National Archives, Trouillot's analysis affirms the kingdom's economic wealth. It was exactly the type of state which, despite its internal problems (the use of forced labor, the limitations on the movement of cultivateurs and the attempts to prohibit Vodou) was likely to build and consolidate a strong nation-state in a sea of hostile powers. Unlike the republic to the south, Christophe's kingdom was a centralized administration in which the state played a direct role in nearly every area. Christophe's success could be seen in that his treasury contained an estimated 30 million gourdes when he died, with most of it looted and pillaged by his disloyal subjects, leaving only an estimated 9 million for Boyer's government (according to Trouillot). His grandiose vision had even included a plan to recruit 40,000 African recaptives through negotiations with the British, presumably using these Africans to supplement his army. This was a brilliant strategy that, if there had been sufficient time, could have helped save Christophe from the rebels who pushed him to commit suicide. Lamentably, Christophe's regime perished and a reunified Haiti, under Boyer, agreed to the onerous indemnification of France.

Enrique's War Song

Jean Fouchard's Langue et littérature des aborigènes d'Ayti

Although it is difficult to research, we are currently obsessed with the story of a song said to come from the time of Enrique's rebellion in Hispaniola. According to Emile Nau, writers at the court of Henri Christophe wrote the song based on oral traditions and a refrain (Aya bombe). Nau is skeptical that the song is authentic yet he also implausibly believed the chica, djouba and carabinier dances of Haiti were of Amerindian origin. Unfortunately, Nau did not reproduce the song of Enrique and we have yet to find any written evidence of it from the time of Henri Christophe's kingdom. However, Henri Christophe was compared to the famous cacique and the song was likely composed by the literati of his kingdom. Whether or not it is based on any "authentic" tradition is difficult to say. Nonetheless, the refrain of Aya bombe, which sounds very African, is repeated multiple times. African words in a song celebrating Enrique are not too surprising when one considers that he had African followers or supporters. 

According to Jean Fouchard, Frederic Marcelin was the first person to publish the complete song of Henry, in 1905. Marcelin wrote that he first heard the song from an old man in the North of Haiti. This old man supposedly had worked on the construction of the famous Citadel. The elder also told Marcelin about the corpses or skeletal remains of Indians around the island. This led to the old man, who claimed to have heard the song from a grandfather of Indian blood, to recite it in a language Marcelin could understand (presumably French or Creole) instead of the original Indian language. This story is repeated in Marcelin's Au gré du souvenir, published in 1913. However, he first heard the song in the 1890s. If true, Marcelin's informant was probably someone born in the early 1800s or late 1700s. His grandfather, who was supposedly Indian and from the most powerful tribe on the island (Xaragua?), could have been someone of indigenous descent who heard something of the traditions of Enrique. Is it possible that there were people of indigenous descent, perhaps related to those from Boya, who were in Guarico (Cap-Haitien) or the northern part of Haiti, sharing an oral tradition that reached the court of Henry Christophe? Indeed, Moreau de Saint-Mery reported the presence of descendants of Enrique's community living in Banica, near Hincha. Hinche, in modern-day Haiti, would have been near Christophe's kingdom. In addition, there was a movement of people from the Cibao and other parts of the Spanish part of the island into the north. According to Johnhenry Gonzalez's Maroon Nation, captives from the 1805 campaign in the East were brought to the Haitian side. These examples show that there could have theoretically been a group of people in the northern part of the Haiti with some degree of oral traditions pertinent to Enrique. Indeed, some of these people may have been of partial descent from the band of Enrique while others, including Haitians, would have celebrated the figure of Enrique and his heroic resistance from Bahoruco. The Aya bombe refrain was perhaps just added due to the strong African influences on Haitian oral traditions and songs.

The other interesting part of the song's history is Edgar la Selve's reproduction of Caonabo's war song. Supposedly chanted right before he destroyed La Navidad, Caonabo delivered a lengthy war chant that includes some of the same imagery as Enrique's song. While Edgar de la Selve's work, a history of Haitian literature, was published in 1875, he does not clearly indicate his source for Caonabo's war song. Thus, Fouchard is inclined to think that the French author made some major changes to the text. Is it possible that Caonabo's song was based on the song for Enrique that was written in the court of Henri Christophe? It is difficult to say, but Edgar de la Selve or whoever wrote Caonabo's song was evidently familiar with the several important words and concepts to the Taino and Kalinago languages and cultures. Caonabo's song references several Kalinago spirits, words, and even claims he was from the island of Ayay, in the Lesser Antilles. Oviedo also believed Caonabo was a "Carib" but if this song is authentic, then Caonabo was probably from the Lesser Antilles instead of the Bahamas. However, was Caonabo's song, which spoke of using European skulls as drinking dishes just a riff on the song of Enrique pledging to use the skin of Europeans for hammocks? It is difficult to say, but the more explicitly Kalinago words and allusions in the text lead us to think that it is perhaps less authentic. Although it is possible that, since other learned Haitians of the time sometimes saw the Taino as being very similar to the Lesser Antilles Indians, they merely copied names of spirits or words like karbet into a Taino context? 

Overall, we are inclined to believe that the Song of Enrique, though definitely "edited" and transmogrified over time and space, may represent an authentic tradition or song. It also features undeniable African influences in the refrain, and we lack anything like a Spanish or Taino text to work with. Yet the song could have been based on a popular tradition that appealed to Haitians who celebrated the maroon ideal represented by Enrique and the Africans in Bahoruco. And free people of color, especially people from the Spanish-speaking part of the island, may have found a common hero who they already possessed oral traditions for. Indeed, Christophe's court even included a Cibao native, Jose Campos Tavarez, a mulatto former slave who could have shared traditions of Enrique that were current in his region. In addition, we have the testimony of Marcelin's informant, an old man who claimed his grandfather knew the song in another language, presumably an Indian tongue. If the song was around before the rise of Christophe's kingdom, in some form at least, then it could potentially be a remnant of an areito. An areito, nonetheless, already creolized over the centuries and including African elements. And, as indicated by Nau, probably set to European-styled music by Henri Christophe's court. 

Sangosse Between the Spirits and the Powers

A member of the Sangosse family

Trying to trace the lives of prominent Vodou priests and associated figures across Haitian history is a difficult endeavor. Take Louis Sangosse, or Sangos, an eminent religious leader affiliated with Henri Christophe. According to Gaspard Théodore Mollien, Sangosse was the "supreme pontiff" of Vodou in Haiti. Despite the prominence associated with him by Mollien and the mention by Thomas Madiou, finding information on Sangosse is an arduous task. With the few known sources available on this remarkable figure, let us see what we can conclude about the role of Vodou in Haiti and the tight relationship between power and the lwa. 

To begin with, the origins of Louis Sangosse conflict in our two main textual sources. According to Mollien, he was the only "black" son of an Arada mother, herself a slave owned by a wealthy entrepreneur of le Cap, Arnaud. This same source indicates his mother as the one who initiated him. Haitian historian Thomas Madiou, who we suspect had more reliable information than Mollien, characterized Sangosse as a homme de couleur. Part of the reason for this disagreement may have been due to differences in the perception of what constituted the various "colors" in Haiti's population. Mollien devised an entire theory of race and the intermixture of the three principal stocks. He saw evidence of this in Haiti, and his perceptions of "race" in Haiti were undoubtedly shaped by this larger, global view. Perhaps he also believed that an Arada woman would not have taught her mixed-race son la science hounganique due to his own theories about race and color distinctions in post-independence Haiti. Alternatively, Madiou could have assumed Sangosse was mixed-race because of his mixed-race relatives who served in the military of Christophe and their Port-au-Prince branch. However, Madiou was also honest enough to acknowledge the strong "Guinean" influences among Haitian "mulattoes."

One can also detect some confusion on the part of Mollien when it comes to other matters related to Haitian moeurs. For instance, his use of the word griffe for what Haitians define as marabou, may indicate some misunderstandings on his part. In addition, there his conflation of the simbi with vien-viens. Madiou, on the other hand, obviously had his own biases and limitations on the subject of Vodou or Haitian popular religion. Nonetheless, a careful reading of Mollien and Madiou indicates Sangosse was probably the child of an Arada mother and likely mixed-race. Because of the close association between Vodou and the snake cult, it does appear likely that Sangosse's mother was "Arada." Certainly the description of Sangosse's temple by Mollien suggests one very close to the "original" Arada sect or rites. 

The rest of Sangosse's career is briefly summarized by Mollien and Madiou. According to Mollien, after receiving his religious education from his mother and then experiencing her death, Sangosse established a renowned Vodou center at la coupe-à-David. Becoming well-known, and by this time Henri Christophe reigning as king in the north, Christophe allegedly sent the Duke of Dondon to arrest Sangosse. Madiou described Christophe as an opponent of Vodou, although he occasionally exploited its priests for political purposes. Sangosse was able to maneuver himself into a similar position with Christophe. Mollien attributes part of this to the beautiful "mulatto" sister Sangosse brought with him to the court of Christophe. Political concerns were perhaps just as important as his seductive sister. As our reliable friend Madiou reports, Sangosse's status as a reputed religious leader was used by Christophe to support his political goals. Sending gifts to Sangosse and allowing him to maintain his houmfort facilitated Christophe's aims of cultivating popular support and attracting divine assistance to his military conflicts with the southern Republic. Undoubtedly, the political aspects of Vodou as well as the religious appealed to Christophe and shaped state policy. 

Besides Mollien and Madiou, Milo Rigaud, presumably drawing on local traditions, also mentioned Louis Sangosse. In  La tradition voudoo et le voudoo haïtien, Sangosse's experience with Christophe is remembered somewhat differently. Rigaud's account concurs with Mollien on the initial arrest of Sangosse, but the encounter with the Haitian king allegedly involved the appearance of lwa Papa So-sih Baderre, who issued a warning to Christophe. Upon orders by Christophe, Rigaud claimed Sangosse associated with Dede Marguerite to build Nan Kanpech, the famed religious center visited by various Haitian heads of state. Marguerite Jean Vodou, or Dede Marguerite, was unfortunately unknown to Mollien. The term dede, however, was associated with aged women. Perhaps she was an older woman whose initiation, believed to have occurred directly with a lwa, enhanced her status. Associations with her may have contributed to the esteem of Sangosse.

What became of Sangosse after the fall of Christophe? Did he align himself with other politically powerful figures in the North? As a famous papa-loi whose own temple survived until the 1940s, did his descendants carry on the role? To what extent can one create an accurate biography of Sangosse? Our failure to locate colonial-era documents identifying Louis Sangosse or his Arada mother forced us to look at the early 19th century. Surprisingly, we easily found a record identifying what may be a son of Sangosse. In 1843, in Cap-Haitien, Louis Isaac Sangosse married Rose Calixte. Louis Isaac was probably born in around 1813 in Cap-Haitien, making it perfectly possible that his father, Louis Stanislas Sangosse, was our man. Moreover, Louis Isaac Sangosse lived in L'Acul du Nord, the very same region in which la coupe-à-David can be located today. The 1843 marriage record also reveals that Louis Stanislas Sangosse was dead before the marriage. Nonetheless, judging from the description of Louis Isaac's occupation as a spéculateur en denrées, maintaining the Vodou temple started by Sangosse may have encouraged business or served to further consolidate business ties. 

Overall, our main sources do corroborate Sangosse's ties to Christophe. Indeed, they suggest Sangosse played an important political and social role in Christophe's state, one that may have been carried on by descendants or relations like Louis Isaac. Despite their limitations, these sources do support the idea  that Sangosse was an exceptional figure whose career demonstrates how inextricably linked Vodou and political power were in 19th century Haiti. Sangosse was consulted for the military needs of Christophe and benefitted from the Haitian leader's patronage. The Arada origins of Sangosse no longer enter the picture in traditions recounted by Milo Rigaud in the 20th century, but by then the Arada were one of many nations assimilated into the pan-African Vodou tradition. This illustrates quite well how Vodou, far from static or perennial, transformed over time and, after the period observed by Mollien, absorbed the other traditions and spiritual beliefs not originally associated with the Arada or the snake cult. Sangosse's life also reveals the significant role the so-called "traditional" papa-lwa played in political affairs, in a time before the rise of the houngan as we nowadays conceive them or the prominent houngan characters described by Rigaud and other ethnographers in the 20th century.

Sources Consulted

Laguerre, Michel S. Voodoo and Politics in Haiti. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.

Madiou, Thomas. Histoire d'Haïti. Editions Henri Deschamps, 1988.

Mollien, Gaspard Théodore. Moeurs d'Haïti: Précédé du naufrage de la Méduse. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2006.

Rigaud, Milo. 1953. La Tradition Voudoo et le Voudoo Haïtien: son temple ses mystères sa magie. Paris: Niclaus.

The Tragedy of King Christophe

"There's the situation: Christophe and Pétion , two great fighting cocks, two calojies, as they say in the islands."

Aimé Césaire's The Tragedy of King Christophe,  translated by Ralph Manheim, is a dense play for its 96 pages. Clearly taking from Shakespeare to write a tragedy inspired by the historical Henri Christophe of Haiti, the play also reflects Aimé Césaire's leftist sympathies and Négritude writtings. For instance, Africans appear in the play multiple times and there are Diasporic calls for black pride and unity, the symbolism of Haiti as a way for all 'black girls to never feel ashamed of their skin,' to paraphrase Vastey. The author also toys with history (for example, Christophe knows how to read in this play) but manages to still adhere to the facts on the literary and political achievements of Christophe's state (the humorous play by Juste Chanlatte about rum as the national beverage clearly adheres to developing the Haitian nation, a national poetry or literary identity) while creating a nuanced portrait of the Haitian leader. 

Unlike some of Walcott's Haitian Trilogy, Césaire successfully creates a nuanced vision of Christophe, Vastey, and numerous historical actors in his retelling of Christophe's fall. Moreover, the play begins after the assassination of Dessalines, thereby removing Dessalines and Toussaint Louverture from the play entirely, and solely focusing on Christophe (with only brief scenes for Pétion and his republic in the South, also described as lacking true democracy in a powerful scene with the Senate in Port-au-Prince). Moreover, both Césaire and Walcott clearly use the metaphor of the citadel and the symbolism of the Haitian earth itself when describing the rise and fall of Christophe, with Walcott's Haitian Earth  coming closest to matching the diversity of social classes and interests of the peasants versus elites that Cesaire encapsulates so brilliantly. 

The peasants want to take the earth as a wife as their recompense for driving the whites to the sea during the Haitian Revolution, they want to nurture and love the earth whereas Christophe only sees dust, nothing permanent to erect a strong, proud people, thereby driving his need to complete the citadel as a symbolic and physical defense. This ties in with the author's main assertion that, despite Christophe becoming tyrannical, placing himself above religion, and pushing the laborers too hard, he wanted to build a strong, stone foundation for Haiti, for the black race, to help Haiti become a powerful state like those of the West. Thus, noble in his vision and long-term plans, Christophe ultimately alienates the lower class by refusing to place their worldview and vision for Haiti with that of his own, comparing peasant farming to anarchy. Therein lies the ultimate tragedy, the inability of Christophe to synthesize his vision of Haiti with those of the ex-slaves who made it possible, to combine European tradition with that of the local (despite a few references to Vodou by Christophe himself, it is only associated with the peasantry and Hugonin, who later reveals himself to be Baron Samedi, lwa associated with death).

As a reader, I particularly enjoyed the author's familiarity with Haitian culture and religion, incorporating Baron Samedi into the story as a source of humor and spirituality (with consistent critiques of Christophe through song and proverb). Hugonin, appointed as Minister of Public Morality, certainly speaks to the sense of humor that is pervasive in this tragedy, but also a rejection of Christianity as Christophe has Archbishop Brelle murdered and places himself above the Virgin Mary, thereby placing himself above God. In the same manner, even Hugonin's character changes to conform to Christophe's model and expectations of his court (which, in some hilarious scenes, is clearly satirical of monarchies and the fact that Europe would only send a Master of Ceremonies instead of technicians to help build a new Haiti). 

In addition, Vodou themes are important for the peasantry, who cling to the land as a source of life and decry the harsh working conditions (although, one must mention Christophe's principles, since he has Bazin punished for working the peasants like slaves, showing nuance). Even Madame Christophe seems to align with the peasantry in her vision of a proper monarchy, which provides shade like the mombin tree in the savannah and allows others to grow, not a fig tree that drains the life out of nearby vegetation (this is a central conflict in many African historical kingdoms, such as the Kongo, where scholars like John K. Thornton have explained how royal power worked in that society along a continuum between absolute monarchy and democratic or decentralized authority). For his principles and tough rule, the African page in the play's concluding scene compares Christophe to Shango, the Yoruba orisha associated with thunder (relevant to the section of the play indicating how unrealistic Christophe is, forcing the laborers to continue working on the citadel during a thunderstorm), showing how Christophe was perhaps too much like thunder and lacked the levity of Baron Samedi or Eshu to show the people through the crossroads of national identity. In this regard, the fact that this play functions on so many levels reveals how it surpasses most of Walcott's Haitian Trilogy which is, at times, too harsh, or pessimistic. 

Overall, a short but ideologically dense work exploring history, the symbol of Haiti, African Diasporic ceremonies, and how power and the vision of a hero can isolate one from the masses the hero claims to protect. Christophe veers too far to the side of Shango, and certain 'forms' (again, paraphrasing Vastey) of rule along European models, which, combined with the various political intrigues of his court, the lack of support from Europe, and the central contradiction of his style of leadership with the rural masses he aims to build, provide a root for, Christohe's utter complexity as a full-fleshed out human being shines throughout this work. 

Favorite Quotes

Christophe: "Freedom, yes, but not an easy freedom. Which means that they need a State. Yes, my philosophjer friend, something that will enable this transplanted people to strike roots, to burgeon and flower, to fling the fruits and perfumes of its flowering into the face of the world, something which, to speak plainly, will oblige our people, by force if need be, to be born to itself, to surpass itself."

Christophe: Poor Africa! Poor Haiti, I mean. Anyway, it's the same thing. There: tribes, languages, rivers, castes, the jungle, village against village. Here: blacks, mulattoes, quadroons, witchdoctors and heaven knows what else, clans, castes, shades of color, distrust and competition, cock fights, docgs, fighting over bones, flea fights! (Roaring) Dust! Dust! All dust. No stone. Dust! Shit and dust!

Chanlatte: 

Oh sweet reeds ripening in the yellow plain!

Far off I hear a hundred presses sigh

Crushing the nectar fromt he knotted cane

Transformed to sugar, it glitters to the eye

Or trickling golden from the spigot hole

It bubbles up and overflows the bowl.

Second Peasant: But here's what I've been saying to myself: when we threw the whites into ht sea, it was to have this land for ourselves, not to slave for other people, even if they're as black as we are, but to have the land for ourselves like a wife.

Christophe: My court is a theatre of shadows.

Chanlatte:

Ye haughty foe of our triumphant rights

Abjure your errors and renounce your plans.

What can avail the poison of your helpless

Fury against the rock that bears this isle?

Vainly the winds rile up against King Neptune

One glance from him and all the oceans smile.

Henri Christophe: A Chronicle in Seven Scenes

"The cycle will never end. Blood grows where blood is uprooted..."

Derek Walcott's Henri Christophe: A Chronicle in Seven Scenes is an enjoyable tragedy that tells the fall of Henri Christophe's kingdom in northern Haiti. While not historically accurate (Boyer does not appear at all, and the author places most of the blame for the assassination of Dessalines on Christophe), the play uses verse and Shakespearean tragedy to explain the 'ruin' of Haiti at the beginning of independence. 

Greed, ambition, love of self, or whatever else you may call it, brings upon the inevitable end of Dessalines and Christophe as both declare themselves king and place themselves above their subjects. Vastey also appears in the text as a scheming figure who plots for Christophe, and the massacres of the remaining whites in Haiti by Dessalines is also presented as a horrible bloodbath of excessive vengeance. Indeed, Walcott subtly critiques the notion of racial divisions in the multicultural Caribbean, yet the characters in the play are never able to transcend color divisions, even in the grave (a particularly powerful scene near the play's conclusion includes a discussion of this between Vastey and Christophe). 

Thus, greed, ambition, and the conflict for suzerainty over the nation, and the failure to reverse the decay wrought by 13 years of war after the fall of the 'noble' Toussaint Louverture trap Haiti in a cycle of political conflict as generals plot intrigue. In truth, the author romanticizes Louverture as someone who would never declare himself king, and dies gracefully in the Jura Mountains, thereby leaving Haiti bereft of a leader who would allegedly espouse democratic principles and interracial harmony (again, Walcott uses history to suit the ethos of his time, Caribbean decolonisation in the 20th century). Furthermore, religion is presented in an interesting way in this text, as Christophe rejects Christianity and Vodou while Brelle, his archbishop, dies by Christophe's hand. 

Favorite Quotes

"Christophe loves Haiti, like himself, cruelly.

But like a well-intentioned physician, he bleeds

It too much."

"In death, Henri, the bone is anonymous;

Complexions only grin above the skeleton;

Under the grass the dust is an anthology of creeds and skins."

Black Majesty: The Life of Christophe, King of Haiti

Vandercook's biography of Henri Christophe, Black Majesty: The Life of Christophe, King of Haiti is an outdated text ruined by the author's racial biases. Although very readable and beautifully illustrated, the 1928 publication is weakened by a lack of detail, racial stereotypes of blacks in the tropics as lazy, and false statements (Dessalines was not born in Africa, but Vandercook believes that to be the case). One gets the impression from reading Vandercook that blacks wanted an out from Christophe's rule because of their innate idleness.

Emperor Jones (1933)

. 

Watch Paul Robeson in Emperor Jones, a play loosely inspired by Henri Christophe. The film is nothing special, but certainly worth watching because of Robeson's talent. The jazz is also worth checking out for those interested in such things. The Public Archive has written more about Robeson's relationship with Haiti here while Charles Forsdick and Christian Høgsbjerg have written extensively about an important Russian filmmaker's unfinished project about the Haitian Revolution that included like-minded leftist Robeson.

Henri Christophe, Part 2

The follow up to Kreyolicious's first video special on Henri Christophe is a useful overview of Christophe's rule. Check it out. 

Henri Christophe

Check out Kreyolicious's short video on Henri Christophe. This is much better than the previous videos in the series and features superior narration. This is a useful introduction to a complex and important figure in Haitian history. 

Sans Souci

Source

Though the author's description of Henri Christophe lacks nuance (and contains factual errors), it certainly contains some fascinating pictures from different angles of Sans Souci, the finest palace of Henri Christophe (I have blogged about the Citadel here, too). 

Trouillot claims the name may have come from an African slave leader during the Haitian Revolution who was killed under orders of Christophe, but regardless of the exact origins of the name and inspiration for the palace, it's certainly an example of what de Vastey called our memory of African architectural genius when we covered Egypt, Ethiopia, Carthage, and Old Spain with impressive ruins. Check out the rest of the pictures in the article! 

Harvey On the Collapse of Christophe's Kingdom

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. 

The Citadel of Haiti and Architectural Wonders of Christophe

While perusing an old article I found lying around the house, "The Forgotten Eighth Wonder of the World," by Victor-Emmanuel Roberto Wilson, I realized I had to do a quick introductory post to the famous Citadel in the north of Haiti. Based on that article, here are some key points and interesting facts about this famous structure as well as other wondrous architectural pieces across Christophe's kingdom.

1. The Citadel lies 3000 feet atop Mount Bonnet-a-l'Eveque,  an altitude where one can see for a distance of almost 50 km the entire valley, the city of Cap-Haitien, and the northwest shoreline as far as Monte-Christi and the border with the Dominican Republic. The strategic military importance is obvious then, since such a height would allow Haitians to defend themselves in the mountains while also having the advantage over French incursions since they could see them coming from miles away.

2. Construction of the Citadel began in 1804 under Dessalines. Christophe's reign as king of the northern part of Haiti led to a continued effort in completing the Citadel as well as other structures. The city of Cap-Haitien was rebuilt, the gourd established as currency, total exports from Haiti added up to more than 130 million pounds of various local goods between 1811-1820, and  he ordered the construction of several castles and palaces. Reading about this era, it's no surprise Haitian folktales contain allusions to castles, kings, and other aspects of what must have been a fascinating period to live in.

3. Dessalines had a French architect who drew up the original plans, La Ferriere. When Christophe was crowned, he commissioned a Haitian architect, Henri Barre. The author of the article claims that all bricklayers and able-bodied men were recruited for the project. The amazing part about the construction of the Citadel is the lack of evidence for the use of ramps. But without ramps, how else would these estimated 200,000 workers have been able to carry tons of material and cannons to the top of a mountain on narrow paths? Without ramps how would the guns have been set in place? Much like the ancient pyramids of Egypt, how was this Citadel built? I am skeptical of claims for as many as 200,000 men working on this project, as well as the other claim that 20,000 died doing so, especially since Wilson does not provide citations for his figures. Regardless, thousands of workers were necessary to complete this wonder of the world, and undoubtedly some perished in the process.

4. More than half a million tons of material were needed to finish construction. The interior of the Citadel is a mix of galleries, halls, target practice areas, rooms, powder magazines, barracks, supply rooms, prison cells and water tanks. It included a small palace for the king. According to Wilson, as many as 2300 men could easily live at the Citadel. Christophe's original plan was for 1500 men to be the garrison, capable of withstanding a siege for 3 years. By 1817, the Citadel was complete.

5. Wilson's "educated guess" is that Christophe built 9 palaces and 15 castles. Sans Souci, built near Milot, is the most well-known. The palace included a fountain, classical style, a terrace, gardens nearby where tropical plants were grown, decorated rooms, paintings, tapestries, banquet and reception halls, marble statues, collection of rainwater for water reserves, and air conditioning.

6. In addition, Christophe had all the streets of the capital paved and built roads. Christophe's desire to rebuild Haiti and show the architectural genius and capability of descendants of Africans worked, although lacking the recognition and appreciation it deserves from the rest of the world.

Pompée Valentin de Vastey Part 2: Essai sur les Causes de la Révolution et des Guerres Civiles en Haïti (1819)

So far, the only English translation of one of his texts I've uncovered, Essai sur les Causes de la Révolution et des Guerres Civiles en Haïti (An Essay on the Causes of the Revolution and Civil Wars of Haiti), 1819, translated by W.H. and M.B. It can be found here and is in public domain. The text best illustrates the truth the Ishmael Reed's "writin' is fightin,' since Vastey is fighting for Haiti and people of African descent the world over in his essays and pamphlets, which Dubois asserts were read and discussed in European newspapers. His venom toward Petion for the latter's unfavorable negotiations with France are scathing, too! Check this out, from page 8, in the introduction:

Vastey accuses Petion and his followers of treason for these deals! Unsurprisingly, Vastey also writes about the ex-colonist lobby in the French government, and the ill-informed, racist French news, which sought to paint Haitians as savages and push France to go to war (11). Basically, fake journalism and interests of ex-planters portraying Christophe's rule in negative light have led to Vastey's essay, which begins the first chapter explaining the background to the Haitian Revolution and why Haitians sought independence. His basic statements on Saint Domingue are brief but accurate. In fact, 20th and 21st century accounts of the preamble to the Haitian Revolution sound much like this account. Here is an example of Vastey's succinct description of colonial society from page 17: 

Oge and Chavanne are given their due for helping to ignite the Haitian Revolution, the exploitation and manipulation of black and colored generals and warriors for France, Spain, and used by France against each other (Toussaint Louverture and Rigaud, the latter encouraged by Hedouville). He's also critical of Toussaint for only nearly declaring the independence of Saint Domingue, as well as some harsh words for the south of Haiti for so easily accepting Napoleon's troops on page 27: 

Apparently Toussaint's brother, Paul surrendered the Spanish-speaking portion of the island to the French without a fight, falling prey to the ideas of Bishop Mauviel and Kerverseau (28). On the issue of color and divisions among generals during the Haitian Revolution, on page 39 Vastey clearly leans toward the Black Generals, who he claims never fell for the lies of the whites as much as the men of color:

Such statements add needed nuance to claims about race and color in Haitian identity, since Vastey, a member of the mixed-race ancien libre, who studied in France, so strongly identified with Christophe and 'black' generals. Subsequently, the chapter on Dessalines defends the leader as favorably disposed toward men of color (45):

Unfortunately for Dessalines and Haiti, Vastey writes that by placing his capital not in Port-au-Prince, Dessalines was less cautious of the south and west of the country, and therefore more suspectible to defeat in civil wars or coups (45). He also admits the glaring contradictions of the emperor's constitution, and states that it was pardonable given the youth of the nation, suggesting in retrospect that a constitutional monarchy would have been better (47). Vastey's hositility toward Petion, a traitor to the Haitian cause, is seemingly justified if Vastey is correct to note that Petion plotted with Haitians from abroad (who were allowed to return by Dessalines) to make Petion the head of government (49). Petion's role in assassinating Dessalines, a man who fully trusted him, is beyond disgusting. To quote Vastey, "Thus did Petion accomplish the destruction of his Sovereign, his friend and benefactor, in order to seize the reins of government, and kindle anew the flames of civil war" (56). He also provides an excellent character analysis with obvious bias in the fourth chapter:

(58)

The rest of the text focuses on the various civil wars and conflicts, such as that of Goman versus Petion, Christophe and the North versus Petion's South, Goman's relationship with Rigaud (his godfather), and hurls criticism toward reductionist stereotypes of the color complex in Haitian society (93). There's also room for criticism of Rigaud's regime in the South-west: 

(119)

 Meanwhile, Christophe saw to the uplift, safety, and governance of the North ofHaiti while Petion engaged in battles and political conflict with Rigaud and others (100). He goes on to defend the monarchical form of government, and how representative constitutional monarchies can evade tyrants (he cites the example of Robespierre for an example of how a republican form of government can turn tyrannical, 106). In addition, the reality of French plots against Haiti does seem to be a constant presence in the writings of Vastey, even if an actual French military invasion was unlikely and too costly for France in the first decades of the century. After several pages of descriptions of the conflicts between the warring generals and officials, Vastey drops an appropriate, 'Afrocentric' claim on p. 137: 

The rest of the essay merely argues over and over again how Petion fomented civil war and disunity among Haitians, was a savage, ruthless and ineffective ruler who faced an assassination attempt. His pseudo-republican title combined with despotic rule are also up for criticism to Vastey (205). Ultimately, his criticism of Petion and even Boyer near the end for succeeding like Roman emperors through the Praetorian Guard, endeavors to vindicate the state of Christophe as a better representative of Haitian independence, liberty, and black progress through schools, constitutional monarchy that is stable, and a strong stance on resisting French plots against Haitian sovereignty and freedom. Whether or not one believes all of Vastey's critiques is another question, since, like the apologists of Petion's regime, he was expected to paint Christophe and the North in a positive light. Unfortunately for this significant figure in Haitian intellectual thought and political writings, Vastey found his end in a rather nasty way after Christophe's death and Boyer's regime, which carried on the practices of Petion while closing down Christophe's schools. But the overall message of the text is that the causes of the civil wars of Haiti in this period were due to French white interference and manipulation, men of color such as Petion or Rigaud willingly making or negotiating deals against Haitian independence and black generals, and their despotic, exclusivist rule that led to further conflict along color and ideological lines. Based on what happened after Petion's death and the regressive rule of Boyer for over 20 years, one definitely sides with Vastey in some ways.

Pompée-Valentin de Vastey and the Kingdom of Henri Christophe, Part 1

After reading Daut's fascinating essay on the early life and poetry of Vastey, I decided to read some of Vastey's political tracts and writings on Haiti. First of all, of his early life, not much is known, but his mother was a mixed-race woman and relative of Marie-Cesette Dumas, the same African grandmother of Alexandre Dumas (Daut 36). According to Daut, Vastey's work was known in Europe, too. The publishing of "Le système colonial dévoilé, Vastey’s damning exposé of the inhumanity of the “colonial system,” was so well known across the nineteenth-century atlantic World that upon its publication it was immediately reviewed in French, US, German, and British journals and newspapers" (35). However, according to Daut, “Of a few things we can be absolutely certain: someone using the name Pompée Valentin Vastey was living in Paris and publishing poetry in the leading French journals in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries" (37). Daut claims that there is some ambivalence regarding Vastey leaving France and a French identity behind in some of his poetry, but also suggests that the worsening conditions for people of color in France may have been another push for him to return to what would be known as Haiti (39).

According to Gordon K. Lewis's Main Currents in Caribbean Thought: The Historical Evolution of Caribbean Society In Its Ideological Aspects, 1492-1900, Vastey's pamphlets and books dealt with 2 things: defense of the Haitian Revolution and defense of the Black race in world history (Lewis 255). This defense argues that Haitian Revolution more important than the American Revolution since the latter was a political revolution and the former a social revolution that reshaped property ownership and property relations in the Haitian economic structure (255). Moreover, he goes back into history to show Africa as crade of civilizations: Carthage, Egypt, Ethiopia (256). Gerarde Magloire-Danton suggests that Vastey may have claimed Egypt as proof of black civilization and capacity due to a notion that Upper Egypt had been a colony of black Ethiopians, based on travel literature and writings of James Bruce and Constantin-Francois Volney, which could have been an influence (Magloire-Danton 157).

Furthermore, David Nicholl's insightful analysis of Vastey's royalist and revolutionary tendencies (though the two are not mutually exclusive) demonstrates how political actions and loyalties in revolutionary Saint Domingue and early Haiti were shaped often more by region than race, since Vastey, from the north, supported Christophe while someone like Goman supported Rigaud's regime (Nicholls 132). Moreover, Vastey saw it as fit for a majority black country to be ruled by a black, and criticized Petion's republic to the south for excluding blacks from official positions, except as cosmetic effect to pretend color prejudice did not dominate the highest posts in the republic (134). Intriguingly, despite becoming a kingdom by 1811 with feudal titles, visitors to Christophe's kingdom remarked upon the egalitarianism of the society, where workman and government minister could chat on a bench and servants would invite themselves into conversations at the dinnertable, which would support Vastey's ideals of a limited monarchy as a more stable government with a monarch ruling by consent of the people (135). According to Nicholls, Vastey, like Christophe, was enraged how the southern republic would entertain talks with France of reestablishing some form of colonial rule or even slavery, although he is quick to note how unlikely it was for Petion to accept a form of colonial rule from France, although he was open to compensation for dispossessed slaveholders (137). Recognizing the integral role of racial slavery and racial theory to cruel and barbaric European colonialism, Vastey declared all humanity equal, asserted the African origins of civilization, and argued that the color prejudice of whites caused their own downfall (138). He also saw to the need for self-sufficiency to ensure Haitian independence would last while taking issue with Dessalines's prohibition of white foreigners from owning property in Haiti (139-140).

Surprisingly, Vastey took issue with the southern republic's upholding of an article in the constitution allowing Africans, Indians and their descendants to settle in Haiti and earn citizenship in 12 months, which he saw as enticing people from other parts of the Americas to settle in Haiti and therefore constitutive of an interference in the affairs of other states (140). That said, he saw Haiti as proof of the capability of African independence and civilization, and revealed some understanding of recent travels into the interior of Africa, from the likes of Mungo Park and others, which proved Africa was not as barbarous or uncivilized as commonly believed in Europe (141). Yet he approved of British colonial policy in Africa and the creation of Sierra Leone, revealing the complexities of his conception of Africa and colonialism's so-called positive aspects (142). To make things even more paradoxical, Vastey foresaw the union of former colonized peoples around the world rising up against European imperialism.

Prince Saunders and the Haytian Papers (1816)

"Descendants of Africans, my brethren, the friends of humanity have asserted that we are susceptible of improvement like the Whites; our traducers affirm the contrary; it is for us to decide the question; it is by the wisdom of our conduct, our success in the arts and sciences, that we shall secure the triumph of our respected and illustrious patrons, and confound, forever, the malice and unfounded assertions of our implacable enemies" (223).

Perusing the Haytian Papers, translations of Haitian edicts and documents under King Henri Christophe by Prince Saunders, an African-American educator, one comes across in Saunder's introductory comments allusions to the remarks of white racists that none of the kingdom's writings were penned by blacks or men of color! To white supremacists and pro-slavery folks, the very idea of an independent black state with literate people of color writing their own laws was impossible! The Code Henri immediately also goes into detail the progressive, anti-oppressive laws regarding labor relations: "The proprietors and farmers of land are bound to treat their respective labourers with true paternal solicitude; an obligation which it is greatly for their own interest to fulfil in its utmost extent." Code Henri includes requirements for hospitals on plantations, medical service, and the right of government officials to mediate conflicts between workers and landholders. Chapter II's Art. XVII. also empowers the state to force one into labor: "The law punishes the lazy and vagabond, among whom are comprehended labourers of both sexes who shall quit the habitations in which they have domiciled, in order to reside in towns or other places where they are forbidden to settle: penalty, Art. 114. Titre 8." Although perhaps a little too confining in the movement of ex-slaves, and setting them to a work schedule from daylight to sundown may have been too reminiscent of slavery, clearly the laws (at least written laws, how they were enforced would be an even more interesting question) were far more progressive and interested in the welfare of the majority of the population.

Other documents contained therein include correspondence between Christophe and Leclerc, the former stating he cannot recognize the authority of a person he does not know and lacks recognition from governor Toussaint Louverture (8). Another, Narrative Of the Accession Of Their Royal Majesties To The Throne Of Hayti," endeavors to explain how Christophe rose to position of king. It includes a scathing comment on the French as "Vandals who have ravaged every country into which their well-known footsteps have strayed" (55). As one would expect, such a document is full or propaganda and hyperbole, which comes out strongly its it description of the Haitian navy as the "terror of tyrants" or whitewashes the dark collaborations of Christophe with others against Dessalines. The document also alludes to Citadel Henry and Sans Souci as a beautiful town built to great expense. The writer apparently thinks highly of Abbe Gregoire, too, particularly for his Literature of the Negroes and openly avenging the blacks for their wrongful suffering because of the racist beliefs of France (84). The short-lived return of Rigaud and internal dissension against Petion naturally occupies a lot of pages, as well as the latter's willingness to entertain compensation for France come into the propaganda.

Additional documents provide another look at how the kingdom of Christophe was conceived, with a royal family, Grand Council, Privy Council, Great Officers, the four ministers, etc. The document also endeavor to justify a monarchy with allusions to the "paternal monarchial government" associated with Montesquieu, while simultaneously recognizing the federative system of government of the United States as another model. Praise for Haiti and the land and people as sufficient for a kingdom also comes out through great lines such as this, "We say nothing as to the same martial valour and heroic character of the Haytian people: its glory is known throughout the world!" The "Manifesto" of Christophe also has some things to say about Toussaint Louverture:

Always intent upon the work of restoration, the Governor, Toussaint Louverture under his paternal administration, had reinstated, in full force, law, morals, religion, education, and industry; agriculture and commerce were flourishing. He favoured the white colonists, particularly the planters. Indeed, his attentions and partialities had been carried to such a length, that he was loudly blamed for entertaining more affection for them than for those of his own colour. Nor was this reproach without foundation; for, a few months before the arrival of the French, he immolated his own nephew, General Moyse, who had disregarded the orders he had given for the protection of the colonists. That act of the governor, added to the great confidence he had placed in the French authorities, was the principal cause of the feeble resistance the French encountered in Hayti (158).

Christophe's state also declared, "We solemnly declare, that we will never become a party to any treaty, to any condition, that may compromise the honour, the liberty, or the independence of the Haytian people; that, true to our oath, we will sooner bury ourselves beneath the ruins of our native country, than suffer an infraction of our political rights" (182).

Finally, the "Reflections of the Editor" has some rather strong words for Petion, who is accused of negotiating Haitian independence for a colonial relationship with France (certainly not true), while later documents allude to the ancient Egyptian, Ethiopian and other black ancestors of Africa whitewashed by racist detractors of the blacks and proponents of slavery (219). The documents end on a rather high note, calling for education in the arts and sciences to improve Haiti and in the process prove again the equality of the black race to the whites. Unfortunately, though such government records are revealing of the atmosphere of Christophe's court at the time (in particular, their interests, priorities, and propaganda), they reveal too little about the lives of the subaltern masses in Christophe's kingdom, though evidence from Dubois and other secondary sources indicates the spread of education, among thousands of Haitian children in Christophe's kingdom. Prince Saunders, clearly compiling these documents to show the British and other readers the progress Haiti made under Christophe, was a firm believer in Haiti as the paradise for blacks in the hemisphere, choosing to live in Haiti even after the fall of Christophe and Boyer closed all the schools, according to this. That he was an educator and helped to establish Christophe's schools, oversaw them and assisted in bringing British teachers and specialists (Saunders also introduced vaccination into Haiti, beginning with Christophe's children) adds credibility to his Haytian Papers, as well as revealing to depths to which he himself would later identify as Haitian instead of choosing a life of 'freedom' in the antebellum US. Indeed, Fanning's research reveals the extent to which many free blacks of the US looked to Haiti as a model and potential home, so Prince Saunders was not alone in settling in Haiti or serving to spread education and uplift the people.