President who reunited Haiti, ruled all of Hispaniola and agreed to pay France an indemnity for recognition
Born in Port-au-Prince in 1776, the son of a French tailor and a formerly enslaved mother from the Congo, he was educated in France. In 1793 he fought for the republican commissioners against the planters and royalists, sided with Rigaud in the War of the South and escaped to France with Rigaud and Pétion. He returned with Leclerc's expedition in 1802 but, when the French moved to restore slavery, joined the patriots under Pétion and Dessalines. Chosen by Pétion as his successor, he became president of the Republic of Haiti in 1818, reunited the country without a battle after Christophe's suicide in 1820, and in February 1822 annexed Santo Domingo, ruling all of Hispaniola. By the treaty of 1825 he agreed to pay France 150 million francs for recognition of independence, a crushing burden on Haiti. Overthrown by a rising in 1843, he died in Paris in 1850.
Activities and affiliations
- 1818–1843 Political and party leadership
- 1793–1800 Military command · French First Republic state institutions
- 1802–1803 Military command
Career Timeline
- 1793Fought for the republican commissioners against the royalists
- 1799–1800Sided with Rigaud in the War of the South; exile in France
- 1802–1803Left the Leclerc expedition to join the rebels
- 1818–1843President of the Republic of Haiti
- 1822Annexed Santo Domingo
- 1825Indemnity treaty with France