Charlemagne Péralte was born 141 years ago in Hinche
141 years ago, on October 10, 1885, Charlemagne Péralte was born in Hinche into a wealthy and cultured family. Educated at the Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague, he became a soldier, politician, and a major figure of the armed resistance against the American occupation of Haiti.
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By NAGO News
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The defiance at Léogâne
In 1915, United States troops landed in Haiti, occupying the country until 1934. In Léogâne, where he was in command of military security, Charlemagne Péralte refused to surrender his weapons and the flag without an official order from the Haitian authorities. With his career shattered, he resigned and returned to Hinche to manage his family's land.
Leading the Cacos
In 1918, the imposition of forced labor for road construction triggered a peasant revolt. The armed insurgents, known as "cacos," numbered up to 40,000. Charlemagne Péralte became one of their leaders, alongside Benoît Batraville. Armed with old rifles and machetes, his men harassed the American forces, who were forced to increase their troop numbers and resort to aviation. In 1919, he proclaimed a provisional government in the North, and in October of the same year, the Cacos attacked Port-au-Prince.
A death turned symbol
Betrayed, Charlemagne Péralte was killed by the Americans on November 1, 1919, near Grande-Rivière-du-Nord. The occupiers photographed his body tied to a door, next to the two-toned flag, and distributed the image by the thousands across the country. For Haitians, his end took on the dimension of a martyrdom. Following the departure of the American troops in 1934, his remains were exhumed, identified by his mother, and then buried with honors in the Cap-Haïtien cemetery.
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