Black Crown & Henri Christophe

Paul Clammer's Black Crown: Henry Christophe, the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean's Forgotten Kingdom is a meticulously researched biography of one of the central figures in the annals of the Haitian Revolution and 19th century Haiti. Based on a mixture of all available sources, Clammer, who has written travel literature on Haiti, has consulted archives, visited the sites associated with Christophe's state, and used European, Haitian, and US sources to reconstruct the life of Christophe. As one might expect, his early origins in Grenada remain shrouded in mystery. Even his participation in the struggle for US independence remains a mystery. However, Christophe, once in Le Cap, was able to establish himself and build connections. During the Haitian Revolution, he rose to positions of ever greater importance until he became one of the upper echelon of military officials under Toussaint Louverture. Joining with Dessalines, he fought for Haitian independence against Leclerc and Rochambeau. Clammer, based on surviving correspondence of Christophe and other sources, favors the argument that Christophe was not directly involved in the assassination of Dessalines, and once the deed was done, was positioning himself strategically. The conflict with Petion and the South subsequently divided Haiti into two separate states, with Christophe as the essentially uncontested leader in the Nord. By the time he declared himself king, Christophe had neutralized potential competitors (even doing so during the Haitian Revolution against maroon leader Sans Souci and others).

The most interesting chapters of the biography cover the reign of Christophe as king. Ruling the Kingdom of Haiti, Christophe sponsored the construction of beautiful palaces like Sans Souci, promoted plantation agriculture, instituted legal codes that at least, in theory, guaranteed certain rights for cultivators, and engaged in all the theatricality of power and magnificence to present an image of Haiti as a civilized land making progress for Western audiences. Clammer's deftly written and detailed accounts of Christophe's diplomatic engagements with Britain and Europe on the one hand, and the struggles he engaged with against his own subjects and the republic to the South, make for engaging and fascinating reading. Unfortunately, the surviving source are not as rich as one would like for understanding a more complete portrait of the kingdom. Surviving ledgers give tantalizing clues about sugar and coffee production, with the state-enforced plantation system falling behind on sugar. Indeed, near the end of his reign, Christophe began distributing land to soldiers, perhaps as many as 8000 in one letter cited by Clammer. However, the vast majority of the land grants were for tiny farms, although Christophe did appear to have engaged in broadening land ownership and creating more titled nobles. Sadly, Christophe was unable to suppress a revolt that began in Saint-Marc and was supported by Jean-Pierre Richard, an African-born leader of Cap Henry who had been imprisoned by Christophe at the Citadel and forced to do hard labor. 

Since his stroke appears to have inspired malcontents and rebels to take action, and once loyal subordinates chose to do nothing or join in the rebellion, Christophe knew his end was near. The black king who sought to create a strong nation, was overthrown. The North was reunified with the rest of the country and Haiti as we know was consolidated. The Christophe experiment, however, represented the last of the revolutionary era leadership who were at least somewhat successful at maintaining export-oriented plantation agriculture. Christophe's state, which sparked resistance from local cultivators (though his frequent tours of the countryside and audiences suggests he must have at least occasionally ensured the Code Henry's protections for workers were respected), represented another path for national development. More successful than the southern republic, at least for a short while, the Christophean experiment offers us a view of what Haiti could have become had Christophe been able to balance the desires of the rural majority and perhaps had not treated some of his own subordinates so harshly or capriciously. 

Unveiling the Colonial System

Although it took us several years, we have finally completed Baron de Vastey's The Colonial System Unveiled. Translated into English by Chris Bongie, whose useful endnotes and supplementary essays are a rich source of information on the author and his time, the short text is a disturbing read. Largely consisting of a catalogue of various colonists who tortured black slaves and free people of color in the colonial period, the colonial system here is one defined by slavery, exploitation, terror, and racialized hierarchy. Thus, the infamous Caradeux and Desdunes families, for instance, are listed among the colonist perpetrators of unspeakable violence and horror. The first part of the short work outlines the history of European colonialism in Hispaniola, beginning with the exploitation and destruction of the indigenous population. This, followed by the colonial system defined by chattel slavery, contain the annals of colonialism's destructive impact. Throughout the text, the Baron de Vastey drew from the colonial archive, writings by French colonists, and testimony from Haitians to illustrate the true nature of colonial rule. Unsurprisingly, Haitian independence was just, necessary, and Henri Christophe himself is praised for being the required father of the Haitian "family" to guide us toward liberty and the rule of law. 

Indeed, much of the work emphasizes how colonial laws and regulations were either ignored or used in discriminatory fashions. For example, laws and regulations limiting the dress of free people of color or laws requiring them to adopt African surnames are part of the panoply of oppressive, racist laws that are unquestionably unjust. Other laws, such as those enshrined in the Code Noir for protecting enslaved people from extreme abuse or torture, were routinely ignored. Baron de Vastey even cited the case of a free "mulatto" who was reenslaved unjustly on the instigation of a cruel planter who may have been his father! Everything this colonial system stood for and represented, therefore, required full repudiation and justified Haitian independence. Under the protective leadership of a strong monarch, Henri Christophe, Haiti could withstand the calumny and threat of the colonists. Indeed, Christophe is even compared to the famous cacique, Enriquillo, suggestive of Christophe's stature as a leader on the path to reconstituting the Haitian people. 

Nevertheless, one cannot help but notice some of the ambivalence of the Haitian intellectual of the 19th century. While condemning colonialism in Haiti and the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, our author wanted European colonialism in Africa. With Sierra Leone as perhaps the best example, Baron de Vastey appears to condone the "civilizing mission" of European colonialism as necessary in Africa. Yet, whilst drawing on the travels of Mungo Park and other sources, he acknowledged that sub-Saharan Africans were not as "barbaric" as our enemies made them out to be. Unfortunately, Baron de Vastey never drew from the testimony of the sizable African-born population in Haiti itself to counter racist narratives of Africa. It is a shame, since he even included "Bembara" as one of the African surnames free people of color were forced to adopt under racist colonial legislation. We suspect the ambivalence of the 19th century Haitian intellectual on Africa, plus the need for a nationalist, palingenesis of a new Haitian people, precluded Baron de Vastey from seriously interrogating European colonialism in Africa or the question of black African civilizations. 

Haiti in c.1818

Whilst perusing references on 19th century Haiti, we recently encountered De la République d'Haïti: île de Saint-Domingue, considérée sous ses différents rapports, ses forces, ses moyens physiques et moraux, et le caractère national de ses habitants by A. Rouzeau. Published in 1818, the author, Rouzeau, wrote a brief work on economic, political and social conditions in Haiti at the time. According to Rouzeau, it would have been impractical, expensive and unsuccessful for France to try to reconquer Haiti militarily. Instead, he focused on an alternative that would foment France's economic advantages in Haiti. 

Part of this included a rather grandiose idea of France freeing its colonies in the Americas and promoting a federation arrangement that would encourage trade with the metropole. Obviously, things did not quite work out according to Rouzeau's proposition to the French king, but it is important for recognizing how unfeasible a French military conquest of the island would be. Even with a lengthy blockade, France might still lose the conflict if other European powers drew their attention to other affairs. Moreover, the mountainous terrain and climate would make things difficult for French troops. Even against barefoot Haitian soldiers, which would have included over 30,000 in Petion's state (and about 30,000 in Christophe's kingdom), the French would have struggled to hold the island. Once the conflict ended, all that would be left is ruins, and France would have had few means of rebuilding the colony's agriculture. 

Besides his ideas about France's future in the Americas and how to increase their economic advantages in Haiti, there are a number of details here on Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes, Jacmel, Leogane, and the exports of each area. Throughout, one finds allusions to the conflict with Christophe in the Nord. Although Rouzeau was not able to visit Christophe's kingdom, which he dismissed as a barbaric despotism, he did note that people fleeing the Nord for the republic was a constant factor. Indeed, some of the officers in Petion's guard were said to have been individuals who fled Christophe's kingdom. While the Republic lacked proper regulations and laws to encourage agriculture and worker-proprietor relations, and sucreries (about 70 in the Cul-de-Sac plain) were not as productive as they could be, Christophe's kingdom did not pay ouvriers on the estates enough. In fact, Rouzier hypocritically referred to Christophe's treatment of the masses as a horror unequaled in the annals of Saint Domingue. This is rich, since the history of slavery was so recent. 

Henri Christophe's Government

Hénock Trouillot's Le gouvernement du roi Henri Christophe offers a broad overview of the kingdom of Haiti under Henri Christophe. Based on archival sources, newspaper accounts written in the Republic to the South, and the descriptions of travelers and writers like Dumesle, Trouillot endeavored to reconstruct the history of Christophe's state. Recognizing that most of our writings on Christophe from the Republic were authored by ideological and political opponents of the kingdom, Trouillot attempted to offer a balanced assessment of Christophe's government. Instead of seeing him as a bloodthirsty tyrant, Christophe's state was a totalitarianism avant la lettre which sought to build a modern black nation through a strong economy and well-ordered polity. One sees this through Christophe's fortifications and national defense policy, protection of national commerce and promotion of Haitian industry and labor, and economic, educational and political policies that regulated social life while creating clear hierarchies in which the rights of the cultivateur were, at least on paper, protected. 

Due to Trouillot's desire to shed a more positive light on Christophe's kingdom, one can see how every policy pursued by Christophe, even before the death of Dessalines, was connected to establishing a firm foundation for a wealthy, civilized, and well-defended state. Surrounded by slaveholding powers in a hostile world, Christophe, like Toussaint and Dessalines, believed the island's fate lied in reestablishing agriculture and industry. Christophe accomplished this with a system in which the large estates were preserved and distributed to a nobility appointed by him. Paying 1/4 of the proceeds of the estates to the state and 1/4 to the laborers, Christophe instituted a system of taxation and strict controls to ensure the recipients of land grants performed their duty of producing sugar, coffee, and other exports. Christophe's state relied on the military and police to ensure the laborers did not leave the estates without permission, too. However, the laborers were, at least in theory, the recipients had access to government redress in cases of exploitation. In addition, Christophe's state was wealthy. The successful system of production adopted in the kingdom, based on that of the earlier system used by Dessalines, Toussaint and Sonthonax, left about 30 million gourdes in the state treasury. This wealth came from sound economic policies and a system of land tenure in which the state was ever-ready to ensure consistent production and pursue international trade (most favorably with Britain). 

In addition to Christophe's system of land administration, he promoted national industry and commerce. Christophe spent dearly for foreign teachers, artisans, expertise and technicians to train local Haitians. His educational policy, which appears to have still been in a limited form by the time of his death in 1820, included an ambitious program that would have, if he had the time, probably reached all corners of the state. Nonetheless, his policies did succeed in promoting the training of a cadre of Haitian artisans and technicians. Indeed, even what at first seems like a waste of funds on Christophe's fine palaces, chateaux and monuments, was actually an expenditure that mostly employed Haitian labor and artisans. This further encouraged the development of Haitian skilled labor while also ensuring that the appointed nobility would also employ or seek the services of Haitian skilled laborers on their own projects. Christophe's success in this regard, combined with the success of higher agricultural production, ensured his state was far wealthier than the southern republic. One can see how his lavish palaces and monuments were spent in ways that could support local industry and the development of a local economy.

Sadly, the lack of additional sources, particularly on taxation and imports and exports, prohibits a deeper understanding of Christophean state's political economy. Nonetheless, with what has survived and made it into the Haitian National Archives, Trouillot's analysis affirms the kingdom's economic wealth. It was exactly the type of state which, despite its internal problems (the use of forced labor, the limitations on the movement of cultivateurs and the attempts to prohibit Vodou) was likely to build and consolidate a strong nation-state in a sea of hostile powers. Unlike the republic to the south, Christophe's kingdom was a centralized administration in which the state played a direct role in nearly every area. Christophe's success could be seen in that his treasury contained an estimated 30 million gourdes when he died, with most of it looted and pillaged by his disloyal subjects, leaving only an estimated 9 million for Boyer's government (according to Trouillot). His grandiose vision had even included a plan to recruit 40,000 African recaptives through negotiations with the British, presumably using these Africans to supplement his army. This was a brilliant strategy that, if there had been sufficient time, could have helped save Christophe from the rebels who pushed him to commit suicide. Lamentably, Christophe's regime perished and a reunified Haiti, under Boyer, agreed to the onerous indemnification of France.

Sangosse Between the Spirits and Powers

A member of the Sangosse family

Trying to trace the lives of prominent Vodou priests and associated figures across Haitian history is a difficult endeavor. Take Louis Sangosse, or Sangos, an eminent religious leader affiliated with Henri Christophe. According to Gaspard Théodore Mollien, Sangosse was the "supreme pontiff" of Vodou in Haiti. Despite the prominence associated with him by Mollien and the mention by Thomas Madiou, finding information on Sangosse is an arduous task. With the few known sources available on this remarkable figure, let us see what we can conclude about the role of Vodou in Haiti and the tight relationship between power and the lwa. 

To begin with, the origins of Louis Sangosse conflict in our two main textual sources. According to Mollien, he was the only "black" son of an Arada mother, herself a slave owned by a wealthy entrepreneur of le Cap, Arnaud. This same source indicates his mother as the one who initiated him. Haitian historian Thomas Madiou, who we suspect had more reliable information than Mollien, characterized Sangosse as a homme de couleur. Part of the reason for this disagreement may have been due to differences in the perception of what constituted the various "colors" in Haiti's population. Mollien devised an entire theory of race and the intermixture of the three principal stocks. He saw evidence of this in Haiti, and his perceptions of "race" in Haiti were undoubtedly shaped by this larger, global view. Perhaps he also believed that an Arada woman would not have taught her mixed-race son la science hounganique due to his own theories about race and color distinctions in post-independence Haiti. Alternatively, Madiou could have assumed Sangosse was mixed-race because of his mixed-race relatives who served in the military of Christophe and their Port-au-Prince branch. However, Madiou was also honest enough to acknowledge the strong "Guinean" influences among Haitian "mulattoes."

One can also detect some confusion on the part of Mollien when it comes to other matters related to Haitian moeurs. For instance, his use of the word griffe for what Haitians define as marabou, may indicate some misunderstandings on his part. In addition, there his conflation of the simbi with vien-viens. Madiou, on the other hand, obviously had his own biases and limitations on the subject of Vodou or Haitian popular religion. Nonetheless, a careful reading of Mollien and Madiou indicates Sangosse was probably the child of an Arada mother and likely mixed-race. Because of the close association between Vodou and the snake cult, it does appear likely that Sangosse's mother was "Arada." Certainly the description of Sangosse's temple by Mollien suggests one very close to the "original" Arada sect or rites. 

The rest of Sangosse's career is briefly summarized by Mollien and Madiou. According to Mollien, after receiving his religious education from his mother and then experiencing her death, Sangosse established a renowned Vodou center at la coupe-à-David. Becoming well-known, and by this time Henri Christophe reigning as king in the north, Christophe allegedly sent the Duke of Dondon to arrest Sangosse. Madiou described Christophe as an opponent of Vodou, although he occasionally exploited its priests for political purposes. Sangosse was able to maneuver himself into a similar position with Christophe. Mollien attributes part of this to the beautiful "mulatto" sister Sangosse brought with him to the court of Christophe. Political concerns were perhaps just as important as his seductive sister. As our reliable friend Madiou reports, Sangosse's status as a reputed religious leader was used by Christophe to support his political goals. Sending gifts to Sangosse and allowing him to maintain his houmfort facilitated Christophe's aims of cultivating popular support and attracting divine assistance to his military conflicts with the southern Republic. Undoubtedly, the political aspects of Vodou as well as the religious appealed to Christophe and shaped state policy. 

Besides Mollien and Madiou, Milo Rigaud, presumably drawing on local traditions, also mentioned Louis Sangosse. In  La tradition voudoo et le voudoo haïtien, Sangosse's experience with Christophe is remembered somewhat differently. Rigaud's account concurs with Mollien on the initial arrest of Sangosse, but the encounter with the Haitian king allegedly involved the appearance of lwa Papa So-sih Baderre, who issued a warning to Christophe. Upon orders by Christophe, Rigaud claimed Sangosse associated with Dede Marguerite to build Nan Kanpech, the famed religious center visited by various Haitian heads of state. Marguerite Jean Vodou, or Dede Marguerite, was unfortunately unknown to Mollien. The term dede, however, was associated with aged women. Perhaps she was an older woman whose initiation, believed to have occurred directly with a lwa, enhanced her status. Associations with her may have contributed to the esteem of Sangosse.

What became of Sangosse after the fall of Christophe? Did he align himself with other politically powerful figures in the North? As a famous papa-loi whose own temple survived until the 1940s, did his descendants carry on the role? To what extent can one create an accurate biography of Sangosse? Our failure to locate colonial-era documents identifying Louis Sangosse or his Arada mother forced us to look at the early 19th century. Surprisingly, we easily found a record identifying what may be a son of Sangosse. In 1843, in Cap-Haitien, Louis Isaac Sangosse married Rose Calixte. Louis Isaac was probably born in around 1813 in Cap-Haitien, making it perfectly possible that his father, Louis Stanislas Sangosse, was our man. Moreover, Louis Isaac Sangosse lived in L'Acul du Nord, the very same region in which la coupe-à-David can be located today. The 1843 marriage record also reveals that Louis Stanislas Sangosse was dead before the marriage. Nonetheless, judging from the description of Louis Isaac's occupation as a spéculateur en denrées, maintaining the Vodou temple started by Sangosse may have encouraged business or served to further consolidate business ties. 

Overall, our main sources do corroborate Sangosse's ties to Christophe. Indeed, they suggest Sangosse played an important political and social role in Christophe's state, one that may have been carried on by descendants or relations like Louis Isaac. Despite their limitations, these sources do support the idea  that Sangosse was an exceptional figure whose career demonstrates how inextricably linked Vodou and political power were in 19th century Haiti. Sangosse was consulted for the military needs of Christophe and benefitted from the Haitian leader's patronage. The Arada origins of Sangosse no longer enter the picture in traditions recounted by Milo Rigaud in the 20th century, but by then the Arada were one of many nations assimilated into the pan-African Vodou tradition. This illustrates quite well how Vodou, far from static or perennial, transformed over time and, after the period observed by Mollien, absorbed the other traditions and spiritual beliefs not originally associated with the Arada or the snake cult. Sangosse's life also reveals the significant role the so-called "traditional" papa-lwa played in political affairs, in a time before the rise of the houngan as we nowadays conceive them or the prominent houngan characters described by Rigaud and other ethnographers in the 20th century.

Sources Consulted

Laguerre, Michel S. Voodoo and Politics in Haiti. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.

Madiou, Thomas. Histoire d'Haïti. Editions Henri Deschamps, 1988.

Mollien, Gaspard Théodore. Moeurs d'Haïti: Précédé du naufrage de la Méduse. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2006.

Rigaud, Milo. 1953. La Tradition Voudoo et le Voudoo Haïtien: son temple ses mystères sa magie. Paris: Niclaus.