Kingdom of Haiti

Kingdom of Haiti
Royaume d'Haïti
Ini an Ayiti

1811–1820


Flag

Motto
Dieu, Ma Patrie Et Mon Épée (French)
"God, my fatherland, my sword"
Capital Cap-Henri
Languages French, Haitian Creole
Religion Roman Catholic
Government Monarchy
King
   1811–1820 Henri I
History
   Established 28 March 1811
   Disestablished 8 October 1820
Currency Haitian livre, Haitian gourde (as of 1813)
Today part of  Haiti

The Kingdom of Haiti (French: Royaume d'Haïti, Haitian Creole: Ini an Ayiti) was the state established by Henri Christophe on 28 March 1811 when he was self-proclaimed as King Henri I after having previously ruled as president. This was Haiti's second attempt at monarchial rule, as Jean-Jacques Dessalines had previously ruled over the Empire of Haiti. Following the assassination of Emperor Jacques, the country was split. Henry ruled over the north of the country as President of the State of Haiti and Alexandre Pétion, a free person of color, ruled as President of the Republic of Haiti in the south.

During his reign, Henry built six castles, eight palaces (including the Sans-Souci Palace and the Citadelle Laferrière fortress, built to protect the Kingdom from possible French invasions. He created a noble class and appointed four princes, eight dukes, 22 counts, 37 barons and 14 chevaliers.

Following a stroke and with support for his rule waning, Henry I committed suicide on 8 October 1820. He was buried at the Citadelle Laferrière. His son and heir, the Jacques-Victor Henry, Prince Royal of Haiti, was assassinated 10 days later at the Sans-Souci Palace by revolutionaries.

The general Jean-Pierre Boyer was named the successor to Alexandre Pétion in the southern Republic of Haiti. He became President, reunited the two parts of the country and ruled until 1843.

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, December 13, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.