Home > Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Dessalines was born as a slave in Grande-Riviere-du-Nord on Haiti. He first served as an officer in the French army and later rose to become a commander in the revolt against the same colonial power. After the capture of Toussaint L'Ouverture in 1801, Dessalines became leader of the revolution and, after defeating the French troops sent by Napoleon in November 1803, he declared Haiti independent on January 1, 1804, in Gonaïves. He assumed the office of Governor General, but then he declared himself emperor of Haiti in 1805.

Dessalines was trying to keep the sugarThis article deals with sugar as food and as an important, widely traded commodity; the word also has other uses; see Sugar (disambiguation A sugar is a form of carbohydrate; the most commonly used sugar is a white crystalline solid, sucrose; used to alte industry and plantationA Plantation is a deliberately cultivated area, for example: a large farm, growing one species of plant only, eg. Pine plantations produce raw material for paper-making. Tobacco and coffee also grow on plantations. During the 1800s, Slave labour typicallys running and producing without slavery. The colored people and the black people both fought against this system that he was bestowing upon them.

During his reign, Haiti became a nation of two castes. The mainly black peasants resided on the countryside producing their own food and working their own land, while in the towns the richer people, who were generally lighter skinnedBefore the Revolution broke out, in modern day Haiti, in 1789 there were (at least) four distinct “types” of people living in Saint-Domingue: the whites, the black slaves, the maroons, and the free people of color- or gens de couleur libres''. There were, had dominated both commerce and politics. Even though a majority of whites left the island, racial conflicts still arose among the blacks and colored. Dessalines, who had been born as a slave, held a grudge against both whites and light-skinned people. Once in power he demanded that all of the remaining French whites be massacred.

Dessalines declared Haiti an all black nation and forbade whites from ever again owning property or land there. Dessalines took over lands and property that held any value by any means necessary, including force and murder. His goal was to centralize most if not all of the productive plantations in the hands of himself, the state, and his cronies.

He also enforced a harsh regimen of plantation labour, described as caporalisme agraire (agrarian militarism) by the historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot . Dessalines demanded that all blacks either work as soldiers of his army or laborers in the plantations or fields.

Dessalines also believed in the tight regulation of foreign trade, which however was essential for Haiti's sugar- and coffeeThis article discusses the coffee plant; for information on the beverage see coffee (drink). Coffea arabica Arabian Coffee Coffea benghalensis Bengal Coffee Coffea canephora Robusta Coffee Coffea congensis Congo Coffee Coffea liberica Liberian Coffee Coff-based export economy. Dessalines favoured merchants from BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly and the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in over those from France.

For his administration, Dessalines needed literate and educated officials and managers; Dessalines placed in these positions well-educated Haitians, who were disproportionately from the light-skinned elite. As his system began to emerge, many blacks fled into the hills to get away from it.

A conspiracy to overthrow him involved both Henri ChristopheHenri Christophe ( October 6, 1767 October 8, 1820) was a liberated slave, who participated in the Haitian struggle for independence, eventually appointing himself king of the northern half of the country. Born in Grenada, Christophe was brought to Saint and Alexandre Pétion, who succeeded him. The Emperor was assassinated near Port-au-Prince on October 17, 1806 on his way to fight the rebels.

The national anthem of Haiti, La Dessalinienne, is in his honor.

See also: History of Haiti