Revolutionary general who burned Cap-Français and held the north, then president of the State of Haiti and King Henry I
Born in 1767 in the British Caribbean, in Grenada or perhaps Saint Kitts, he was brought as a slave to the north of Saint-Domingue. From the rising of 1791 he fought under Toussaint Louverture, becoming commander at Cap-Français and brigadier general by 1801. When Leclerc's expedition arrived in February 1802 he burned Cap-Français as ordered, submitted in April and rejoined Dessalines in October. After Dessalines' assassination he was elected president of the State of Haiti in February 1807 and in March 1811 proclaimed a kingdom, reigning as Henry I. He built the Citadelle Laferrière and the Sans-Souci Palace and drew sugar revenues from corvée labour, but lost popular support, and on 8 October 1820, ill and fearing a coup, he shot himself.
Also known as: Henry I
Activities and affiliations
- 1811–1820 Monarchs and royalty
- 1807–1811 Political and party leadership
- 1794–1802 Military command · French First Republic state institutions
Career Timeline
- 1791Joined the rising of the North
- 1794–1802Officer under Toussaint Louverture, commander at Cap-Français
- 1802–1803Commander in the war of independence under Dessalines
- 1807–1811President of the State of Haiti
- 1811–1820King Henry I of Haiti