How a simple slave who dreamed of surpassing Napoleon managed to become a general and emperor

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Faustin-Eli Suluk, a slave who became a general and then president of Haiti, was very fanatic about Europe, and his idol was Napoleon Bonaparte. He dreamed of turning Haiti into a great empire, but all his campaigns turned out to be a failure. But Suluk's subjects knew nothing about it.

The Rise of Faustin's Star

Haiti did not know what peace is for a long time. At first, the island could not be divided among themselves by the numerous tribes of the Indians. Bloody wars went on for several centuries and, in fact, ended in nothing, each tribe continued to control a certain area of the territory. Then the Europeans showed up in Haiti.

The confrontation has reached another level. The Indians, with their primitive weapons, were unable to withstand the fire and metal of the French. As a result, the aborigines were exterminated in a short time, and the white-skinned victors faced a sudden problem - they did not have slaves. But the Europeans coped with it quickly, arranging the supply of slaves from Africa. In just a few years, about a million black people settled on the island.

It just so happened that the owners did not perceive the slaves as people, they were just living property for them. The slaves lived in terrible conditions, where every day could easily be the last. Naturally, they were unhappy with their lot and often revolted.

At first, the Europeans managed to cope with the rebellious slaves; it was quite easy to extinguish local outbreaks. But from year to year the number of rebellions only grew and the white-skinned masters simply no longer had enough physical resources to suppress the uprisings. And at the end of the eighteenth century, the slaves won. They brutally took revenge on their former masters for all the years of humiliation and oppression, and then announced the creation of an independent state on the island. True, this happened already at the beginning of the nineteenth century, namely, in 1804.

It would seem that now peace and tranquility will reign in Haiti, but no. A new enemy appeared in the face of mulattoes. They did not want to put up with the dark-skinned winners and began to demand equality, and at the same time land. Mass clashes quickly escalated into a real Civil War. The fire broke out on the island with renewed vigor.

All these horrors were watched by the inhabitants of the colony of Santo Domingo, who formally obeyed Spain. But the wave of riots reached them. And in 1844 Santo Domingo "evolved" into an independent Dominican Republic, and Haiti continued to blaze. It was at this time that a man appeared on the scene who was destined to play one of the main roles in the life of the island. And his name was Faustin-Eli Suluk.

It is known that Suluk, born in 1782, came from a family of slaves. And it seemed that his fate was a foregone conclusion. But the revolution in Haiti provided him with a chance to change destiny.

Faustin-Ely began his career from the bottom, gradually rising higher and higher. When power passed to President Jean-Baptiste Richet, Suluk received the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Presidential Guard, becoming a lieutenant general. Faustin behaved as befits a man who had a dizzying success, that is, began to consider himself "special." Arrogance and arrogance he had enough for an entire army, but the entourage only laughed at the commander-in-chief. Numerous officials considered him a stupid and empty man who had risen so high only because of Richet's personal sympathy.

In 1847 Jean-Baptiste died suddenly. This event was so unexpected that rumors spread around the island that someone had killed the president. Whether this is true or not is still unknown. But it is known that passions began to boil again in Haiti. The long-suffering island was preparing to once again plunge into the abyss of bloodshed.

The officials were required to make a decision that would satisfy all sides of the growing conflict. And they wanted to appoint as the new president … Faustin-Ely. The fact is that the local elite saw in him an ideal puppet through which, in their opinion, they could lobby their interests. Suluk, naturally, did not suspect anything. He was confident that he had reached Everest only due to his natural genius. Suluk became President of Haiti in early March 1847 at the age of sixty-five.

Emperor and great conqueror

Faustin was not as stupid as people thought he was. Although at first he did his best to prove loyalty to the elite and honestly played the role of a puppet. Ministers and other officials did not see him as a threat, and therefore ceased to control the president. Suluk took advantage of this by creating a personal army.

The personal army was a bunch of mercenaries who were ready for anything for money. Faustin-Ely set them on the representatives of the elite. When the political opponents were done away with, the machine of repression swept through the people. The mulattoes got the hardest of all, because the bulk of the elite belonged to them.

In 1848, Suluk's army swept through the city of Port-au-Prince like a hurricane. The main blow fell again on the mulattoes. They were robbed, the most influential were killed. Faustin strengthened his power as much as possible. And after that he suddenly realized that he had already outgrown the presidency.

In 1849, Suluk officially declared himself the first emperor of Haiti, becoming Faustin I. Neither the ministers nor the people approved this act, of course, because they shed so much blood for this in the war with the French, but it was too late.

In August of the same year, Suluk officially became monarch. Since Haiti was in trouble with precious metals and stones, the crown had to be quickly made from gilded cardboard. The first empress of the island was Adeline Leveque, who sold fish on the market before her husband's dizzying takeoff.

A few years later, Faustin thought it would be nice to repeat the coronation ceremony. No sooner said than done. Only now she exactly repeated Bonaparte's coronation. The choice in favor of the French monarch was not made by chance, Suluk was his ardent admirer. And this time the monarch got a real crown, made of gold and studded with precious stones. She, along with the scepter and orb, was brought from Paris. Dressed in the clothes of Napoleon and Josephine, Faustin and Adeline declared themselves monarchs for the second time.

In everyday life, Faustin tried with all his might to imitate the Europeans. A royal retinue, the nobility, appeared in Haiti. The titles were handed out personally by Suluk, only he decided who would become a representative of the new elite, and who would not. In this case, the names were given in accordance with the plantation allocated to the nobleman. Therefore, the Dukes of Lemonade and Marmalade lived in Haiti (the first owned a plantation with lemons, the second was engaged in the production of jam).

Having played enough with the nobles, Faustin turned his gaze to the military. The new uniform was brought from Marseilles, but the monarch thought it was too simple. And he decided to add a touch, namely: fur hats, like the British. Even the absence of skins did not stop Suluk, he bought them in Russia. The crown of the circus performance was the Order of Saint Faustin, the highest award in Haiti.

The new Napoleon did not forget to restore order in religion. Under him, the dawn of the voodoo cult began. The monarch supported him in every possible way, and all other religions on the island were banned. In general, Suluk was very sensitive to black magic. Therefore, in his retinue there were several sorcerers whom he trusted unconditionally.

On their advice, Faustin attacked a neighbor, the Dominican Republic. The capture attempt failed miserably. But Suluk ordered to declare a triumphant victory, in honor of which several monuments were erected on the island.

Faustin then declared war on the United States over the island of Navassa, where large deposits of guano were discovered. The American government just laughed and simply bought the island from the monarch. The formidable neighbors did not shed unnecessary blood.

The fate of the monarch

In 1858, thunder struck. A massive uprising began in Haiti, led by the mulatto Fabre Geffard. He was a general, so the bulk of the rebels consisted of soldiers. Almost all of Faustin's personal warriors also went over to the side of Geffard. Suluk had no choice but to escape. He renounced the crown and together with his family recovered into exile to Jamaica. This island became for him the analogue of Saint Helena for Napoleon. Faustin did not change himself and repeated in detail the fate of the idol.

Suluk dreamed that one day he would solemnly return to Haiti and overthrow the power of the insidious (in his opinion) Geffard. From this plan, only one thing came true: Faustin really returned, but he did not succeed in recapturing the throne, since the black Napoleon could not find allies.

The first monarch of Haiti died in 1867.

Interesting fact: Faustin I was quite popular in France. Every now and then he became the hero of all kinds of caricature sketches. Even Napoleon III, who was nicknamed Suluk, suffered from him, because he, like his black colleague, did not want to be president and declared himself a monarch.

And of course, when it comes to Haiti, one cannot help but recall voodoo - a creepy cult that is still practiced today and has become a form of Catholicism.