Henri Christophe
Henri Christophe (born October 6, 1767 in Grenada , † October 8, 1820 in Milot , Haiti ) was King of Northern Haiti from 1811 to 1820 as Henri I (German: Heinrich I) .
Life
Christophe was born a slave in Grenada and came to Saint Domingue early , where he worked in a hotel restaurant and won freedom. He took part in the Haitian Revolution against the French in 1793 and worked his way up to brigadier general by 1802. Together with Alexandre Pétion he led the uprising against Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1805 ; In 1806 he had Dessalines murdered. He then fought with Pétion for sole rule until they divided the country in 1808 in such a way that Christophe received the northern part, which was inhabited by the predominantly black population. He transformed this into a hereditary monarchy in 1811 and was proclaimed King Henry I in 1811, the south became a mulatto republic under President Pétion.
Christophe tried to create a feudal state by erecting magnificent buildings, above all his residence Sans Souci , and establishing a nobility appointed by him . Although his focus was on promoting education and creating a legal system, the Code Henry, he remained an unpopular ruler. He anticipated a coup by shooting himself with a silver bullet on October 8, 1820. After his death he was of loyal followers in the Citadelle Laferrière brought, where he met with quicklime was covered and buried in the courtyard, a desecration to prevent.
family
Henri Christophe married Marie-Louise Coidavid (1778-1851) in 1793. They had five children:
- François-Ferdinand Christophe (1794–1805)
- Françoise-Améthyste (1798–1831)
- Anne-Athénaïre (1800–1839)
- Jacques-Victor Henri , Prince Royal (1804-1820)
- one son (* / † 1805)
literature
- Alejo Carpentier : The Empire of This World . Suhrkamp, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-518-24013-7 (The 1st German edition was published in 1964).
- Cyril LRJames : The Black Jacobins. Toussaint L'Ouverture and the independence revolution in Haiti (= Small Library. Vol. 341). Pahl-Rugenstein et al., Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-7609-0911-6 .
- Erwin Rüsch: The Revolution of Saint Domingue (= Übersee-Geschichte. Vol. 5, ZDB -ID 531186-x ). Friederichsen et al., Hamburg 1930, (At the same time: Hamburg, University, dissertation, 1930).
- Franz Sundstral: From the black republic. The Negro uprising in Santo Domingo or the history of the origins of the state of Haiti. Haessel, Leipzig 1903, digitized .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Christophe, Henri |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Heinrich I (as king) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of Northern Haiti (1811-1820) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 6, 1767 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Grenada |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 8, 1820 |
| Place of death | Milot , Haiti |