Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (born the September 20th 1758 with Large-River-of-North - October 17th 1806) was leading servile revolt of Haiti and the first Emperor of Haiti (1804 - 1806 under the name régnal of Jacques Ier ).

It was black and was initially slave with Saint-Domingue. In the disorders of the island, he became lieutenant of All Saints' day Louverture, organized in October 1802 the mutiny of the army saint-dominguoise against the order Napoléonien and fought the French general mulatto André Rigaud and general Charles Leclerc.

After the deportation of All Saints' day, it was subjected to the France. Being risen a little later it was withdrawn in the north of the Island; it succeeds in pushing back Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Rochambeau in bloody the Combat of Saint-Marc. It succeeds in autumn 1803 overcoming the French with the Bataille of Vertières, and on January 1st 1804 Dessalines proclaims the independence of Haiti. It is made initially general governor with life, then emperor (not to be preceded by its rival, Bonaparte) under the name of Jacques Ier (1804).

It makes massacre the French always present in Haiti and continues a policy of “agrarian militarism” (as Michel-Rolph Trouillot indicates it) intended to maintain the profits of sugar industry by the force, without slavery itself.

Its government having degenerated soon into an unbearable tyranny, it is assassinated the October 17th 1806 with Bridge-Red, in the north of Port-au-Prince, by his/her collaborators, Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe.

The National anthem of Haiti, Dessalinienne , is named in its honor, as are to it the city and the district of Dessalines.

Many Haitian authors paid homage to Dessalines, like Jean Métellus in the Year Dessalines (Editions Gallimard, Paris, 1986).

External bonds

(in) The Louverture Project: Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Random links: