"Henri-Christophe"(June 10,1767-October 8,1820)

He was a West Africa slave and became and early Black King of (Haiti).


He was born on the Island of Grenade,a British colonial acquisition.His parents were slaves brought to Grenada with thousands of other West Africans to work in the sugar industry.These slaves in the sugar industry.These slaves in the sugar industry were known for their fierce and determined nature to resist the institution of slavery.The revolutionary nature of Henri has its roots deeply embedded in his African ancestry.Christophe's obstinate,argumentative,and obdurate nature led his daddy to sell his services to a French ship's captain as a cabin boy,before he reach the age of ten.


The ship's captain sold Henri to a French sugar planter province on the island of Saint Domnique  called Haiti,which was a Carob Indian name meaning "the land of mountains." The brutality were witnessed by Henri and set the stage for his role in the Haitian Revolution.He participated in the American Revolutionary War in the French contingent.As a sergeant,he was among the 545 Haitian free Negroes known as the Fontages Legion.Fighting men in another county free from oppression created a thrist for freedom within Henri.


In June 1794,the Spaniards and the English who wanted to share the wealth created by the sugar industry threatened Haiti.The Spaniards constituted the greatest threat and a battle for control of Haiti ensued.The three principal figures in the Haitian revolution were Toussaint L'Overture,Jean Jacques Dessalines,and Henri.Toussaint joined the French forces against the Spaniards,became a general of the slaves,and marched to several villages,liberating his brothers who immediately joined his forces.After distinguishing himself in battle,Henri was made a sergeant by Toussaint and later made a general Jacques.


The French forces was defeated and Haiti was declared an independent republic on November 27,1803.The republic of Haiti was divided  into two states,and Henri was elected president of the Southern Republic of Haiti in March.The divisions between the republics was to last for a decade.President Henri set out to improve all aspects of life in Northern Province.One of his major concerns and preoccupations was the defense of his country from internal and external aggression.He had a huge fortress built on a mountain peak overlooking the Le Cap Harbor,3,000 feet above the sea.The citadel was named "la Ferriere,which means the blacksmith's pouch.


The huge stronghold,which still exists today,was built in the shape of a ship,covering 16,acres with some of the walls soaring 140 feet high.The education of the Haitians was Henri second priority.He solicited teachers from the United States and Britain to build schools.This ultimately raised improvement of Haitian life,Henri decided to improve a black kingdom in the Western Hemisphere.At council of state on March 28,1811,he declared Haiti a Kingdom,with himself as King Henri I.Henri offered the ruler of the South,Alexandre Petion,the opportunity to be absorbed.Alexandre refused and the relationship between the two men and their respective countries remained strained until Alexandre's death in 1818.In August 1820,Henri suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.


When the news spread of his infirmities,the seeds of rebellion began to grow.On October 2,1820,the military garrison at St.Marc led a multiny that sparked a revolt.The multiny coincided with a conspiracy of Henri's own generals.Some of his trusted aides took him to the Citadel to await the inveitable confrontation with the rebels.Henri ordered his attendants to bathe him,dress him in his formal military uniform place him in his favorite chair in his den,and leave him alone.


Shortly after the attendants left his side,Henri commited suicide by shooting himself in the heart with a silver bullet.