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#3790: The end of the two Haytis and the suicide of King Christophe
>From Bob Corbett
Below is the introduction and title page of a post I just put on my website.
It is simply fascinating. It is from an 1820 newspaper from Baltimore.
The full piece of interesting history can be found on my web site at:
http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/2-haitis.htm
END OF THE DIVIDIED HAITI: DEATH OF CHRISTOPHE
NILES' WEEKLY REGISTER: NOV. 25, 1820
Introductory comment from Bob Corbett: This 180 year old newspaper which
I have in my library has a rather ironic set of stories. Early in the
paper is a story entitled: HISTORY, LITRATURE, &c. OF HAYTI. This long
story was reprinted from "The British Review from March 1820." The irony
is that this story celebrates the rule of both Christophe in the
north and Boyer in the south and shows what a marvelous job each is doing
and how, while technically at war, they do adecent job of getting along.
Then, later in the paper is a another significant report of the uprising
against Christophe which began at St. Marc and led to his suicide and the
unification of Hayti. However, in this story, just pages later in the
same newspaper, Christophe has become this horrible tyrrant and murdered.
The issue isn't so much which picture of Christophe is the correct one.
Rather, it is the irony that the editors of the Baltimore paper, Niles'
Weekly Reader, either didn't notice the contradictory portraits of
Christophe or they didn't care.
No matter the editorical position, or lack of same, this is an
extradinarily vivid picture of the Haiti in the last days of the
division into the Kindom of the north and the Republic of the south. It
is a bit skimpy in details of the revolution and downfall of Christophe.
From: NILES' WEEKLY REGISTER, Baltimore, Nov. 25, 1820. Vol.
VIL, no. 13. (New Series).
HISTORY, LITERATURE, &C. OF HAYTI
See website for the text.
Bob Corbett