Henri Christophe, the first king of Haiti, was born 259 years ago.

From Savannah to the Revolution

The son of an enslaved mother and a free man, he was brought as an enslaved person to northern Saint-Domingue. In 1779, he served as a drummer in the Saint-Domingue volunteer hunters corps and participated in the siege of Savannah. As an adult, he worked successively as a mason, sailor, waiter, and billiard maker.

During the 1791 revolt, he distinguished himself and became an officer, fighting for four years in the north alongside Toussaint Louverture. He was named general in 1802. During the French expedition, he joined Jean-Jacques Dessalines' forces and participated in the final defeat of France.

From General to King

After Haiti's independence in 1804, Dessalines made him chief general. In 1805, Christophe led part of the expedition in the eastern part of the island, where his repressive measures against the population, especially in Moca, earned him deep hostility.

Following Dessalines' assassination in 1806, he settled in the north and established a separate government from that of Alexandre Pétion, based in the south. On February 17, 1807, he became president and generalissimo of the State of Northern Haiti. On March 26, 1811, he established a constitutional monarchy and proclaimed himself king under the name of Henry I.

The Kingdom and Its Fall

He created a new nobility and generated revenue for the kingdom from agricultural production, mainly sugar, through forced labor. To protect against the French navy, he made an agreement with the United Kingdom. War against Pétion's regime lasted from 1807 to 1820.

Sick and unpopular, he took his own life on October 8, 1820, in Cap-Haitian and was buried near his Sans Souci palace. His wife was Marie-Louise Coidavid. A few days later, insurgents killed his son Henry II, and Jean-Pierre Boyer reunified the country.