HAITI
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The recorded history
of Haiti began on December 5, 1492 when the European navigator Christopher
Columbus happened upon a large island in the region of the western Atlantic
Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean Sea. It was inhabited by
the Taíno, an Arawakan people, who variously called their island Ayiti,
Bohio, or Kiskeya. Columbus promptly claimed the island for the
Spanish Crown, and renamed it La Isla Española ("the Spanish
Island"), or Hispañola French
buccaneers established a settlement on the island of Tortuga in 1625. The
first official settlement on Tortuga was established in 1659 under the
commission of King Louis XIV. In 1664, the
newly established French West India Company took control over the colony,
which it named Saint-Domingue, and France formally claimed control of the
western portion of the island of Hispaniola. In 1670 they established the
first permanent French settlement on the mainland of Hispaniola, Cap François
(later Cap Français, now Cap-Haïtien). Under the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick,
Spain officially ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France. On August 22,
1791, slaves in the northern region of the colony staged a revolt that began
the Haitian Revolution. Tradition marks the beginning of the revolution at a
vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman (Alligator Woods) near Cap-Français. With the colony
facing a full-scale invasion by Britain, the rebel slaves emerged as a
powerful military force, under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture,
(*1743-†1803) Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Henri
Christophe. Louverture successfully drove back the British and by 1798
was the de facto ruler of the colony. By 1801, he was in control of
the whole island, after conquering Spanish Santo Domingo. He did not,
however, proclaim full independence for the country, nor did he seek
reprisals against the country's former white slaveholders. General
Dessalines determined to throw off the allegiance of France. He was convinced
of the falsity of Napoleon’s promises and to him these words of the consul’s
proclamation, announcing to the inhabitants of St. Dominique the expedition
of General Leclerc had been found wanting: “Should any one whisper in your
ear: These forces are destined to deprive you of your liberty, answer: It is
the Republic that has given us
liberty: the Republic wille never suffer it to be ravished from us.’” The
promises had indeed been broken, for slavery, abolished in 1793, was
reestablished May 20, 1802. On January 1,
1804 Dessalines then declared independence, reclaiming the indigenous Taíno
name of Haiti ("Land of Mountains") for the new nation. Most of the
remaining French colonists fled ahead of the defeated French army, many
migrating to Louisiana or Cuba. Made
governor for life in October 1804, Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor and
was confirmed by the constitution of 1805,. After
General Dessalines was assassinated in 1806, the French part of the
island was divided between Christophe
in the north and general Petion in the south. In
1843 General Jean Pierre Boyer became the President of the whole island. He
had first united in his hands all the French part, succeeding General Petion
in 1818 and Christophe, who had committed suicide, in 1820. The Eastern or
Spanish part of the island, which kept the old name of Santo Domingo after
the cession, but had again, by the Treaty of Paris in 1814, reverted to the
Spanish dominion, had, on the 21st of December, 1821, declared its
independence from the mother country. Boyer, taking advantage of dissensions
there, invaded and conquered it, and in 1822 was the President of the new
government, which was called the Republic of Haiti. In 1844
the Santo Domingo gained its independence in the chaos following General
Boyer’s death. In 1849
president Faustin Soulouque proclaimed himself emperor as Faustin I. He was overrun
by president N.F. Geffrard in 1859 and Haiti has been a republic since then. A period of
relative stability and prosperity ended in 1911, when revolution broke out
and the country slid once again into disorder and debt. From 1911 to 1915,
there were six different Presidents, each of whom was killed or forced into
exile. In February
1915, Vilbrun Guillaume Sam established a dictatorship, but in July, facing a
new revolt, he massacred 167 political prisoners, all of whom were from elite
families, and was lynched by a mob in Port-au-Prince. Shortly
afterwards, the United States, responding to complaints to President Woodrow
Wilson from American banks to which Haiti was deeply in debt, occupied the
country. The occupation of Haiti lasted until 1934. |
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In the time of
the french presence on the island the heraldic symbols of the king of France,
the French West India
Company and the French Republic were used in the western part of
Hispaniola. Probably due to the great prosperity of the North before the
revolt of the Boïs Caiman-revolt in 1719, paper money of the northern
departement of Port de Paix showed an emblem which was different from the one
of the French Republic. It consisted of a stake with a phrygian cap, a
palm-leaf, a leafed branch and two swords in saltire. This is the oldest
known emblem of Haitian territory.
Photo
Rudman Collection Four escalins
note of the Departement du Port-de-Paix, 1790. Toussaint
Louverture, initially on the side of the insurrection, changed sides in 1793.
The colors under
which Toussaint Louverture fought afterwards were those of the French
tricolor. Not even when he became master of the whole country, and had
adopted a constitution for his native land, on the 8th of July 1801, was the flag of France
discarded. It was not changed until 1803 after that upright patriot, “The
first of the Blacks,” became a victim of the duplicity of those who had been
unable to vanquish him by fair means, and was cajoled into bondage and exiled
to France to die of hunger and privation in the Castle of Youx. Not
only the French tricolore was maintained but also the symbol of the French
nation being a virgin standing upright and supporting with her right hand a
fasces and with her left hand a stake, crowned with a phygian cap. This
virgin was on the seal of the French Republic adopted 15.8/3.9-1792. Such
a virgin is on coins of the revolutionary government of Saint Domingue of
1802, the year that Toussaint Louverture was taken prisoner. The legends
reads: REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE / COLONIE DE
SAINT DOMINGUE. |
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1 January 1804 |
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His successor, General Dessalines, bent on erecting a sovereign Government, suppressed the white of the French tricolor - the white representing good will and peace for France - and keeping the other colors, reversed them in the arrangement of the flag. Another story relates that after his victory, Dessalines took a French flag and teared off the white part, not because he wanted to destroy the last symbol of royalty but more likely out of hatred of the whites in which he only could see oppressors.[1] The Constitution of 20 May 1805 changed the name of St Domingo in Hayti and made provisions for Dessalines and the national colours: Art. 1. The people inhabiting the island formerly called St. Domingo, hereby agree to form themselves into a free state sovereign and independent of any other power in the universe, under the name of empire of Hayti. [2] Made governor for life in October 1804, Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor and was confirmed in the same document: Of the Government, Art 20: The people acknowledge for Emperor and Commander
in Chief of the Army, Jacques Dessalines, the avenger and deliverer of his
fellow citizens. The title of Majesty is conferred upon him, as well as upon
his august spouse, the Empress. At the same time the national colours (and the colours of the flag) were changed: General
Dispositions,
Art.
20: The national colours shall be black and red. It is said that the first emblem of state was designed by General Dessalines and was of a similar form as the emblem known today. However, there is no contemporary evidence that such an emblem existed in his days. [3] Others maintain that the emblem was adopted in 1807, and it is a fact that it occurs only in the first years of the reign of President Petion (1807-‘18). [4] |
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1807-1811 |
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After
Dessalines’ assassination, Haiti was split up in a Western part and a
Northern part. Henri Christophe, chief commander by Imperial decree of
Jacques I on 28 July 1805, was
elected to the newly created position of president, but without real powers. Feeling
insulted, Christophe retreated with his followers to the Plaine du Nord and created
a separate government there. In 1807 Christophe declared himself président
et généralissime des forces de terre et de mer de l'État d'Haïti
(President and Generalissimo of the armies of land and sea of the State of
Haïti) As
there was no official seal of state the seal of Christophe was for the time
being adopted as such. It was circular and showed the letters H.C. crowned
with a crown of oak with the motto: LIBERTAS
RELIGIO MORES.
Seal of Henri Christophe Reconstruction [5] The
arms of Henri Christophe showed at first his cypher HC, place on a shield,
crowned with a crown of laurel and surrounded by a garland of branches of
olive and oak
Emblem and arms of the
President of the State of North
Haiti, 1807-‘11 Later
(1808) a coat of arms was adopted. It was oval and showed eleven stars and a
sun with a human face rising from the sea.
Arms
of Haity state, 1808 reconstruction
30
sols, 1808. On the obverse a virgin personifying
the free Haitian people, sitting, in her right a stake with the cap of
liberty, her left supporting a shield of the arms. On the reverse the cypher
of president Henri Christophe crowned with a crown of oak within a legend of
the national motto. The
coat of arms was also placed on the new seal. This was oval and showed the
arms surrounded by the legend: ETAT
D’HAITY and
below two branches of laurel in saltire.
Seal
of Haity State, 1808 reconstruction
[6] A
third seal showed two bundles of flags in saltire, charged with a medallion
with a picture of Liberty. |
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1811-1820 |
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In 1811 Henri made
the northern state of Haïti a kingdom, and was ordained king by Archbishop of
Milot Corneil Breuil and the Constitution of 1811.
“The coronation ceremonies took place on 2 June 1811. The day before
all lords of the kingdom had taken the oath. On the day itself contingents of
infanterists and cavalerists lined up along the road to the Royal Palace and
the Champ de Mars and at eight o’clock in the morning the king, the queen and
prince Victor stepped out of a coach drawn by eight horses. Gunshots were
fired incessantly, the streets had been repaved recently and accompanied by
the sound of drums and trumpets and the acclamations of the people the
sovereigns were conducted to their thrones. Archbishop C. Brell began the Veni Creator and the ceremony was
accomplished along the liturgical traditions. Christophe took the oath to
maintain “the integrity of the territory and to govern in the interest of the
happiness and the glory of the big Haitian family of which I am the chief”.
Then the archbishop crowned the sovereign with a golden crown. Eight days of
festivities followed.” Today the crown of
Henri I is in a private collection in Haiti. [7] |
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King
28 III 1811-8.X.1820 |
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By order of 1 April 1811 Henri Christophe adopted
a new coat of arms. It was: A.: d’azur semé d’étoiles d’or sans nombre, au
phénix de gueules, couronné d’or. [8] His full title
was: Henri, par la grâce de Dieu et la Loi
constitutionelle de l’État Roi d’Haïti, Souverain des Îles de la Tortue,
Gonâve, et autres îles adjacentes, Destructeur de la tyrannie, Régénérateur
et bienfaiteur de la nation haïtienne, Créateur de ses institutiones morales,
politiques et guerrières, Premier monarque couronné du Nouveau-Monde,
Défenseur de la foi, Fondateur de l’ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Henri. [9] The phoenix was the actual
symbol of the king. It was surrounded by a bordure charged with the motto EX CINERIBUS NASCITUR (I
Will Rise From My Ashes), crowned with the royal crown.
On this coin the motto DEUS CAUSA ATQUE GLADIUS MEUS (God, My Cause and My Sword) was added |
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The arms of 1 April 1811 were the basis for the
lesser, the medial and the larger arms of the Kingdom of Haiti. The lesser arms
consisted of the royally crowned arms surrounded by the collar of the Order
of St. Henri founded at the same date.
One
Crown, 1813-‘14 Obverse: Bust of Henri. Reverse:
Crowned arms with collar. L.: HENRY IR
PAR LA GRACE DE DIEU ROI D’HAITY. 1813 AN 10
DE L’INDEP. |
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Achievement
of the Kingdom of Hayti. As
on a diplom of 1815. The medial arms
consisted of a trophy of flags, cannon and piles of cannon-balls, charged
with the lesser arms and in chief the motto DIEU MA CAUSE ET MON ÉPÉE on
a listel. |
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In the larger arms or
royal achievement a listel with a motto was added on the shield. The
achievement was:
A.:
Or/Azure, semée with five-pointed stars also Or, a phoenix rising from its
flames, proper, crowned Or, and in base a ribbon Argent with the motto JE RENAIS DE MES CENDRES. (I
Will Rise of My Ashes) C.:
The Royal Haitian Crown. O.:
The collar and star of the Ordre Royal et Militaire de St. Henry. S.:
Two lions rampant guardant Or, royally crowned. M.: DIEU
MA CAUSE ET MON ÉPÉE
in golden lettering on a white ribbon with golden edges. Of
this achievement there are two versions, the first with the shield Azure, the
second, shown here, with a shield Or. It is not known which version was
authorized. [11] |
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At the end of his life the
Royal emblem was changed. It consisted of the arms of 1811, the stars
omitted, surrounded by a royally crowned circular ribbon:
Photo
ebay Crown,
1820 Obverse:
Bust of Henri Christophe. Reverse: Royal emblem between the cyphers of the
king and queen Marie Louise Christophe. L.: HENRICUS DEI GRATIA HAITI REX /
DEUS CAUSA ATQUE GLADIUS MEUS. L’AN 17
reconstruction
of the achievement [12] A.: Azure, a phoenix (Gules) Crown: A Royal Crown Motto: EX
CINERIBUS NASCITUR |
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1807-1822 |
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After the
assassination of Dessalines Alexander Sabes Pétion was elected President of
the southern “Republique d’Hayti” in
1807. He declared himself president for life in 1816. Under his rule an emblem of
state appears. The oldest version known is on coins minted in 1813:
25
centimes, reverse, 1813 Emblem
of State with palmtree, banners and cannon, The motto
lacking. Emblem:
A trophy of
four flags, two rifles, two spears, two cannon on their gun-carriages and two
piles of cannon-balls, charged with a palmtree, issuing therefrom a stake
with a phrygian cap [all proper].
Another silver 25 centimes
piece, with the name of the state as a legend, 1817. |
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1822-1844 |
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General Jean Pierre Boyer
first united in his hands all the French part, succeeding General Petion in
1818 and Christophe, who had committed suicide, in 1820. The Eastern or
Spanish part of the island, which kept the old name of Santo Domingo after
the cession, but had again, by the Treaty of Paris in 1814, reverted to the
Spanish dominion, had, on the 21st of December, 1821, declared its
independence from the mother country. Boyer, taking advantage of dissensions
there, invaded and conquered it, and in 1822 was the President of the new
government, which was called the Republic of Haiti. The island remained united under Haitian Government until 1844, when the eastern or Spanish end threw off the Haitian yoke and became independent under the name of Dominican Republic. For this republic there
appears a republican fasces, the axe inside, which can be interpreted
to be the symbol of the Republic of Haiti, implying the sovereignty of the
people. It is surrounded by the national motto LIBERTÉ
ÉGALITÉ.
Centimes-coins with a republican fasces
per pale were minted 1828-’50. The
emblem of state was augmented with a listel in base, bearing the name of the
republic:
Emblem
of State as on paper money, by presidential decree of 23 September1826 |
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1849-1859 |
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In 1847
President Riché died. During his tenure he had acted as a figurehead for the
Boyerist ruling class, who immediately began to look for a replacement. Their
attention quickly focused on Faustin Soulouque. At the age of 65 he seemed to
be a malleable candidate and was subsequently enticed to accept the role
offered him, taking the Presidential Oath of Office on 2 March 1847. At first
Faustin seemed to fill the role of puppet well. He retained the cabinet level
ministers of the former president, and continued the programs of his
predecessor. Within a short time however, he overthrew his backers and made
himself absolute ruler of the state. Supported by a gang of highly loyal
militia known as "zinglins", Soulouque continued to consolidate his
power over the government, a process which culminated in the Senate and
Chamber of Deputies proclaiming him Emperor of Haïti on 26 August 1849. |
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Faustin I (Faustin Élie Soulouque) |
Emperor
26.8.1849-22.1.1859 |
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The enthronement ceremonies took place in April 1852. The Emperor desired grandiose festivities and their preparation took a long time. From the end of March, delegations from all parts of the country arrived in Port-au-Prince. On the Champ-de-Mars two magnificent tents were set up: the first, in the form of a church, could contain six- to eight-thousand people; the smaller other one was reserved for the Emperor and his suite. On Sunday 18 April 1852 at three o’clock in the morning, soldiers and delegations took their places on the Champ-de-Mars. Many important guests arrived in their turn. Towards nine o’clock Their Majesties and the Imperial procession left the Palace. They entered the small tent to dress in enthronement robes and then went to the provisional church where Abbé Cessens solemnized the religious ceremonies of the coronation. On the moment of his coronation Faustin I climbed the steps of the altar, took the crown and crowned himself. The he crowned the Empress. After the coronation the festivities in Port-au-Prince lasted eight days.
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Two years before his coronation the emblem of the Republic (implying the sovereignty of the people) and the emblem of State of Haiti were abandoned and replaced by the Imperial emblem and arms. The Imperial emblem consisted of a palmtree charged with a crowned eagle sejant on two cannon in saltire [proper].
The national motto was changed into LIBERTÉ INDEPENDANCE. The National and Imperial emblems were of three categories: the arms, the lesser achievement and the larger achievement. |
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The arms are: Arms: Or, a palmtree charged with an eagle sejant on two cannon in saltire, proper. The lesser achievement is: Arms: Or, a palmtree charged with an eagle sejant on two cannon in saltire, proper. Crown: The Haitian Imperial crown Order: The star of the Ordre Imperial et Militaire de St. Faustin Supporters: Two lions reguardant proper. |
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The larger
achievement was:
Arms: Or, a palmtree charged with an eagle sejant on two cannon in saltire, proper. Crown: The Haitian Imperial crown Order: The star of the Ordre Imperial et Militaire de St. Faustin on a ribbon Gules, a narrow blue stripe in the middle. Supporters: Two lions reguardant proper. Mantle: Purpure, fringed and tasseled Or, lined ermine, crowned with the Haitian Imperial crown. Motto: DIEU MA PATRIE ET MON ÉPÉE. [16] |
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In a newer version, probably adopted after his coronation, the field of the arms is Azure:
Full achievement of Faustin I as on a medal. [17] |
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1859-present |
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After Emperor Faustin I was deposed the emblems of the Empire were abandoned. The emblem of the former Republic was readopted and restyled by adding some new elements to the trophy. Also, the motto of the Republic was changed by adding FRATERNITÉ and thus the Haitian motto became the same as the French republican motto. [18] The emblem of the Republic was abandoned and the actual emblem can be considered as the emblem of Haiti in general, comprising the State and the sovereign. The new emblem is: |
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Emblem: A palmtree surmounted by a phrygian cap on a stake, proper. Supporters: A trophy of six rifles, six civil flags, two axes, two trumpets, and a drum between two cannon pointing outwards on their gun-carriages, thereon two powder-bags, on the dexter one an infantry-hat, on the sinister one a cavalry-hat, between two piles of cannon-balls and two anchors, all proper. Compartment: A grassy ground, marked by two pennons, washed by waves of the sea, proper. Motto: L’UNION FAIT LA FORCE in white lettering on a ribbon of the colours of the flag.[19] |
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Of this achievement there are some different versions. The first version fits within a circular frame. This version is used on coins and the like.
On paper money there are
very realistic versions of the emblem. |
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The second version is on a rectangular patch on the national flag. Like this:
For documentation on the flag see different flag-sites (FOTW, Roberto Breschi, and others) |
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1964-1986 |
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On 21 June 1964 the black and red flag of Dessalines, adopted by constitution of 1805, was restored by president François Duvalier (1957-’71). As a consequence the emblem was changed too by replacing the blue and red flags by black and red ones. At the same time, for unknown reasons, the phrygian cap was removed from the top of the palmtree. Another difference is that the inner two flags are replaced by national and war flags, that is to say, flags with a patch of the national arms in the middle.
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10 March 1987 |
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After the fall of his son Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986, the changes of the flag and the emblem were undone. The emblem of 1859 was confirmed for the last time by Constitution of 1987: The Actual Constitution “Donné au Palais Législatif, à Port-au-Prince, siège de l'Assemblée Nationale Constituante, le 10 Mars 1987, An 184ème de l'Indépendance”, provides for the Flag and National Emblem: ARTICLE
3: L'emblême de la Nation Haïtienne est le Drapeau qui répond à la description suivante: a) Deux (2) bandes d'étoffe d'égales dimensions: l'une bleue en haut, l'autre rouge en bas, placées horizontalement; b) Au centre, sur un carré d'étoffe blanche, sont disposées les Armes de la République; c) Les Armes de la République sont : Le Palmiste surmonté du Bonnet de la Liberté et, ombrageant des ses Palmes, un Trophée d'Armes avec la Légende: L'Union fait la Force. ARTICLE 4: La devise nationale est: Liberté - Égalité - Fraternité. ð See illustration in the head of this essay. |
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© Hubert de Vries 2010-06-01
Updated 2011-12-22