A Sanguinary Patriot

Haitians venerate him as the leader whose military victories ultimately led to their country's independence. Indeed, Jean-Jacques Dessalines could neither read nor write; but he was a brilliant tactician and a skilled strategist.

Born in Africa around 1758, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was captured at an early age, and found himself a slave in the Caribbean plantation economy. No sooner had he broken free of the shackles of his servitude than he became the leader of an anti-slavery resistance movement. After successful military victories, he declared eastern Hispaniola independent on November 28, 1803.

At a ceremony reminiscent of Napoleon's coronation, Dessalines had himself crowned emperor on October 8, 1804 in Cap Haitien. As part of the festivities for the occasion, he ordered the execution of the white inhabitants of that city; the clarion call for an "ethnic purge" aimed at ridding Cap Haitien of all whites had been sounded. When it was all over, nearly a European resident of the city was spared. Henceforth, he would reign supreme over some 300,000 freed blacks and approximately 20,000 mulattos. Emperor Dessalines confiscated the properties of the murdered and divided them among his sympathizers; he is even said to have participated himself in the evictions and expropriations. In the aftermath, Dessalines imposed forced labor practices on his subjects. For many Haitians this was a return to slavery under a different guise.

In March 1805, Emperor Dessalines attempted an assault on Santo Domingo, the capital city. For three weeks, Santo Domingo's sole defense was a garrison of French soldiers who were supported by the city's Spanish population.

After his forces successfully broke through the defense lines, a vengeful Dessalines unleashed a convulsive spate of plunder and pillage upon the land as he retreated westward. Not long afterward, he was assassinated during an uprising in southern Haiti.