INSURRECTION, AND DEATH OF CHRISTOPHE.
Christophe, who now might be denominated the Caligula of the blacks,
was every day adding to the discontent and terror of his subjects. His
soldiers were treated with extreme severity for every real or fancied
fault, and they sought for nothing so earnestly as for an occasion
to abandon his service, and gain an asylum within the territories
of his rival; or to attempt, what they scarcely dared to meditate,
the dethronement of a tyrant who caused them to pass their lives in
wretchedness. Christophe possessed a knowledge of this disaffection
entertained towards him, and instead of seeking to assure and
perpetuate the allegiance of his army, to the bayonets of which he was
indebted for his power, his vengeance became every day more watchful
and more terrible, until his conduct exceeded in cruelty even that
which had already spread hatred and misery throughout the nation.
Christophe determined to rule through the inspirement of fear alone,
and he practised no arts of conciliation to preserve to his interests
those even who were necessary to the maintenance of his power.
His despotism was thus carried beyond the limits of endurance. So
far from seeking to attach his great officers to his own person, by
lavishing upon them the favors of his government, his suspicions had
become alarmed at the growing wealth of his nobles, in consequence
of the immense incomes drawn by them from the estates placed under
their control, within the districts of which they were the titulary
lords. To prevent this inordinate increase of wealth among a class of
persons who, it was thought, might one day employ it against the throne
and dignity of the sovereign, an institution was formed, called the
Royal Chamber of Accounts, which, by a sort of star-chamber process,
appraised the estates of the nobility, and disburdened them of so
much of their wealth as the king deemed a matter of superfluity to
them. Several of the black nobles had already been subjected to the
jurisdiction of this royal court; and, actuated by secret indignation
for this arbitrary spoliation of their property, they sought only for
an opportunity to drive Christophe from his power, in the hope to share
the same authority among themselves.
In the month of August, 1820, Christophe, while attending mass, was
attacked with paralysis, and was immediately carried to his palace at
Sans Souci, where he remained an invalid for many months, to the great
satisfaction of his subjects.
This event, so favorable to the treacherous designs of the discontented
chiefs of his government, furnished an occasion for the formation of a
dangerous conspiracy, at the head of which were Paul Romaine, Prince
of Limbe, and General Richard, the governor of the royal capital.
The conspirators designed to put Christophe to death, and after the
performance of a deed so acceptable to the nation, to form a northern
republic, similar in its structure to that which existed in the South,
at the head of which was to be placed General Romaine, with the title
of president.
But before this scheme could be carried out, a division of the royal
army, stationed at St. Marks, and consisting of a force of six thousand
men, exasperated at the cruelties practiced upon them, seized upon
this occasion to revolt. The commanding general was beheaded, and a
deputation of the mutineers was dispatched to carry the head of the
murdered officer to the president of the republic at Port au Prince.
The intelligence of this revolt was carried quickly to Christophe’s
capital, and it produced an explosion of popular feeling that betokened
the speedy downfall of the black monarchy. The troops of the capital
immediately put themselves under arms, and assumed a threatening
attitude. On the evening of the 6th of October, the inhabitants of the
capital were startled at the noise of drums beating to arms.
The streets were soon filled with soldiers, obeying or resisting the
authority of their officers, as the latter happened to favor or hate
the power of the king. The governor of the capital, who did not wish
for such a dénouement to his plans, undertook measures to subdue the
mutinous spirit of the troops; but though he sought for support on
every side, he found no readiness, either on the part of the army or
of the people, to assist him in his attempt. The tumult increased
every moment, and spread by degrees to every part of the town, until
the whole population became united in the rebellion. The army took the
lead, and the whole body of the inhabitants followed the example of
the soldiers. It was decided by acclamation to march upon Sans Souci,
and seize upon Christophe within his own palace, but this movement was
deferred until the following day.
Meantime, Christophe had been informed of these proceedings, so ominous
to the preservation of his power, if not of his life. He had not yet
recovered from his malady, but his unconquerable energy of soul had
not been paralyzed by disease, for he leaped immediately from his bed,
demanding that his arms should be brought to him, and that his horse
should be ordered to the door. But if his bold spirit did not quail
before the calamities which were impending over him, his bodily frame
proved unequal to the activity of his mind, and he was compelled to
rest satisfied with sending forward his guards to subdue the rebellious
troops of the capital, while he remained within his palace to await his
destiny.
Meantime, General Richard, the governor of the capital, had put himself
at the head of the insurgents, the number of whom amounted to ten or
twelve thousand, and the column took up its march directly for Sans
Souci. On Sunday, the 8th of October, the insurgents encountered
on their way the detachment of body guards which the monarch had
dispatched against them.
The two forces quickly arranged themselves in order of battle, and a
brisk fire commenced between them. It continued, however, but a few
minutes. The cry of the insurgents was, “Liberté, liberté,” and the
utterance of this magical word soon became contagious in the ranks of
the royal guards. The latter had even less predilection for their
monarch than the other corps of the army, for their situation and
rank bringing them in nearer contact with the royal person, they were
frequently exposed to the terrific explosions of the royal vengeance.
Thus the watchword of the mutineers was answered with redoubled
enthusiasm by the household troops, and they passed over in a body to
join the forces of the insurgents. The whole military power of the
kingdom was now united in a vast column of mutineers, burning for
vengeance upon Christophe, and pressing onward to the palace of Sans
Souci.
The king was soon informed that his guards had declared against him,
and that the forces of the insurgents were already in the immediate
vicinity of his palace. At this astounding intelligence he exclaimed in
despair, “Then all is over with me!” and seizing a pistol, shot himself
through the heart.
Thus perished a man who had succeeded in maintaining his authority over
the blacks for a longer time than any of the chiefs of the revolution.
This he accomplished through the single agency of the extraordinary
energy of his character. The unshrinking boldness and decision of his
measures made terror the safeguard of his throne, until his excessive
cruelty drove his subjects to a point at which fear is changed into
desperation. His policy at first was that of Toussaint, but he carried
it to an access of rigor which made his government a despotism.
Like his great predecessor, he possessed such intimate knowledge
of the African character, as enabled him to succeed completely in
controlling those placed under his sway, and, in spite of the national
propensities, to make his plans effectual for developing the resources
of the country. While the territory was still a neglected waste, and
its population poor, the lands of Christophe were in a condition of
high productiveness, and the monarch died, leaving millions in the
royal treasury.
But the salutary restraints imposed upon his disorderly subjects at the
commencement of his reign, had been augmented by degrees to correspond
to the demands of an evergrowing jealousy, until they had become
changed to a rigorous severity of discipline, or vengeance, such as
has been practised in few countries upon the globe. The dungeons of
the Citadel Henry were almost as fatal to human life as the Black Hole
at Calcutta, and it has been asserted, that amidst the pestiferous
exhalations and suffocative atmosphere of these abodes of misery, the
prisoners were almost sure to perish after a short confinement. With
less truth it has been alleged, that fifty thousand persons lost their
lives in these living tombs, while thirty thousand others perished
of fatigue, hunger, and hardship of those who had been condemned for
offences of a lighter nature, to labors upon the public works of the
kingdom, all of which were performed under the lash and bayonet of the
soldiery.[41]
These estimates are probably beyond the truth, though the number
is incredible of those who perished under the severe exactions of
Christophe’s tyranny, by hardship, imprisonment, military execution, or
the infliction of sudden death, executed amidst a burst of ferocious
vengeance in the despot. Christophe failed of giving perpetuity to his
government through the mere abuse of his power.
The king was fifty-three years of age at his death, having reigned nine
years. With a mind little capable of continuous thought, Christophe
possessed a strong and obstinate will. When once he had gained an
elevated position, he manifested great energy of character. Anxious
to augment by commerce the material strength of his dominions, and to
develop its moral power by education, he imposed on the emancipated
people a labor not unlike that of the days of their servitude. Many
hundreds of lives were sacrificed in erecting the palace of Sans Souci,
and grading its grounds. The schools put in operation in his time,
surpassed anything of the kind ever introduced in that part of the
Island before or since.
FOOTNOTE:
[41] Malo.