François Denys Légitime

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François Denys Légitime

François Denys Légitime (born November 20, 1841 in Jérémie , † July 29, 1935 in Port-au-Prince ) was a Haitian politician and President of Haiti .

Life

Military and political career

After school he began a military career, during which he was promoted to colonel in 1874 .

This was followed by a political career, which initially led to membership in the Senate . During the tenure of President Lysius Salomon in 1880 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Minister in his cabinet. After the fall of Salomon on August 10, 1888, he belonged to silk Thélémaque , E. Claude, C. Archin, U. Saint-Armand and Florvil Hyppolite of a provisional government chaired by Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal . The main task of the Provisional Government was to prepare for the presidential elections.

President 1888 to 1889

«  Insensé qui croit pouvoir remonter le courant populaire ou le refouler!  »(Quotation from Légitimes)

Fight for the presidency

General Thélémaque, the then army commander in the arrondissement of Cap-Haitien, also applied for the presidency . The elections were fiercely fought and on September 17, 1888 the election of the members of the Chamber of Deputies to elect the President was completed. The majority of MPs seemed to be on the side of the Legitime. On September 28, 1888, there was an unfortunate incident between the partisans of the two presidential candidates. General Thélémaque, who went among his soldiers to end the incident, was hit by a stray bullet and died a few hours later. This sad event led to serious consequences.

The representatives of the departments Nord , Nord-Ouest and Artibonite believed Légitime to be responsible for the death of his rival and asked him to renounce the presidential candidacy. The deputies of the departments of Ouest and Sud expressed their support for Légitime, as, in their opinion, Légitime could not have been involved in a crime, especially in a serious crime. For this reason, they called on Légitime to refrain from assigning the blame for Thélémaque's death.

The Protestants, as the supporters of General Thélémaque were called, established a Provisional Government of the Republic of North Haiti in Cap-Haitien, of which General Hyppolite was named, while the electors of the departments of Ouest and Sud after a meeting in Port-au- Prince Légitime elected on October 14, 1888 chairman of the Executive Committee.

After they saw that the MPs from the departments of Nord, Nord-Ouest and Artibonite were distant from this election, they nevertheless elected Légitime as President of Haiti on October 16, 1888 .

Presidency and overthrow

His opponents protested against this election because the MPs at the meeting in Port-au-Prince did not have a legitimate quorum . However, Legitimes' authority was recognized by the European powers, while the US was undecided about its future support. However, the intimacy between the new president and the Comte de Ses Maisons, the French envoy to Haiti at the time, made them insecure , so that trust in General Hyppolite grew on the US side.

However, this partiality soon led to serious complications. On October 22, 1888, the Haitian warship Dessalines captured the American steamship Haytian Republic as it sailed from the port of Saint-Marc . On board the steamship was a commission attempting to undermine Légitime's authority in several ports in southern Haiti. In addition, soldiers, weapons and ammunition for General Hyppolite's troops were on board the Haytian Republic . In order to settle the crisis there was an appeal to a prize court , in which the US State Department intervened . After several lengthy negotiations, the Haitian government released the previously confiscated steamship Haytian Republic and on December 20, 1888, it was handed over to the American Rear Admiral Stephen Luce . In the period that followed, there were repeated incidents in Haitian waters or ports.

Quite soon, however, regional tensions arose, which led to the fact that the politicians from northern Haiti around Hyppolite and Anténor Firmin formed their own government. However, Légitime was unable to maintain his power. Due to this and because of intrigues within his own friends, he was dismissed on August 22, 1889. The following day, General Monpoint Jeune was appointed acting president as his successor.

He then went into exile in New York City and shortly afterwards to France . After he returned to Haiti in 1896, he spent the next forty years of his life in Port-au-Prince, without, however, making a new political appearance. Nonetheless, he was still politically interested and has authored essays on political subjects such as Some General Considerations On The People And The Government Of Haiti (1911).

Web links

Wikisource: Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors / Part I: Chapter XXI  - Sources and full texts (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ “It is nonsensical who believes that they can go with the flow of the people or push them back!” Légitime, in: Quotes from Haitian personalities
  2. ↑ Recognition Of Légitime . (PDF) In: New York Times , February 6, 1889
  3. ↑ Haytis Rival claimants; Hyppolites Offer To The United States . (PDF) In: New York Times , April 4, 1889
  4. ^ Légitimes Act Illegal; The Steamer Haytian Republic Must Must Be Released . (PDF) In: New York Times , December 5, 1888
  5. ↑ Hayti Was Easily Cowed; The Galena And Yantic Looked Very Warlike . (PDF) In: New York Times , December 30, 1888
  6. ↑ Légitimes Poor Blockade; Admiral Gherardi Forces Confessions Of His Uselessness . (PDF) In: New York Times , April 24, 1889
  7. ^ Very Lazy Warfare; Engineer Nelsons Experiences In The Navy Of Légitime . (PDF) In: New York Times , June 28, 1889
  8. ↑ Hayti Still In Hot Water; Deplorable Condition Of Her People . (PDF) In: New York Times , February 2, 1889
  9. ^ Hyppolite Claims Victory . (PDF) In: New York Times , June 1, 1889
  10. ^ The News From Hayti; A General Belief That Hyppolite Has Vanquished Légitime . (PDF) In: New York Times , June 2, 1889
  11. ↑ Legitimate Coming Here; Expected In New York This Week . (PDF) In: New York Times , September 1, 1889
  12. ↑ Ferdinand Tönnies: Complete Edition Volume 9 - 1911-1915. 1998, ISBN 3-11-015842-6
predecessor Office successor
Pierre Théoma Boisrond Canal President of Haiti
October 16, 1888 - August 23, 1889 		Monpoint Jeune
personal data
SURNAME Légitime, François Denys
BRIEF DESCRIPTION President of Haiti
DATE OF BIRTH November 20, 1841
PLACE OF BIRTH Jérémie (Haiti)
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1935
Place of death Port-au-Prince