How did a Caribbean child, born into plantation
slavery, come to defeat Napoleons armies in battle
and crown himself king of the first free black
nation in the Americas? This is the story of Henry
Christophe: one of the most remarkable, yet least
known, figures from the Age of Revolution.
Christophe fought as a child soldier in the
American War of Independence, before rising
to prominence during the Haitian Revolution
as one of Toussaint Louvertures top generals,
commanding troops against Bonapartes invasion.
Following Haitian independence, Christophes
ambition for rule helped plunge the country
into civil war. He crowned himself King Henry
I of Haiti, and his attempts to build a modern
black state won the support of leading British
abolitionists.
Christophe saw himself as an Enlightenment
ruler, and his kingdom produced great literary
works, epic fortresses and opulent palaces. But
while he was a proud anti-imperialist and fought
off French plots against him, the Haitian people
chafed under his rule. After ten years on the
throne, he committed suicide rather than face
being overthrown. Christophes mountaintop
Citadelle still stands, as Haitis sole World
Heritage sitea monument to a revolutionary
black monarchy, in a world of empire and slavery
