Jean Pierre Boyer

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Jean Pierre Boyer bigraphy, stories - President of Haiti

Jean Pierre Boyer : biography

15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850

Jean-Pierre Boyer (possibly 15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of Haiti in 1820 and also invaded and took control of Santo Domingo, which brought all of Hispaniola under one government by 1822. Boyer managed to rule for the longest period of time of any of the revolutionary leaders of his generation.

Born a free gens de couleur (or mulatto) in Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti) and educated in France, Boyer fought with Toussaint Louverture in the early years of the Haitian Revolution. He allied himself with André Rigaud, also a mulatto, in the latter’s abortive insurrection against Toussaint to try to keep control in the south of Saint-Domingue.

After going into exile in France, Boyer and Alexandre Pétion, another mulatto, returned in 1802 with the French troops led by General Charles Leclerc. After it became clear the French were going to try to reimpose slavery and restrictions on free gens de couleur, Boyer joined the patriots under Pétion and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led the colony to independence. After Pétion rose to power in the State of Haiti in the South, he chose Boyer as his successor. He was reportedly under the influence of his (and his predecessor’s) lover, Marie-Madeleine Lachenais, who acted as his political adviser.http://www.haiticulture.ch/Madeleine_Lachenais.html

When Santo Domingo became independent late in 1821, Boyer was quick to invade and gain control, uniting the entire island under his rule by 9 February 1822. Boyer ruled the island of Hispaniola until 1843, when he lost the support of the ruling elite and was ousted.

Early life and education

Boyer was born in Port-au-Prince as the son of a Frenchman, a tailor by profession, and an African mother, a former slave from Guinea.Hazard (1873), p. 167 Heading an urban, wealthy household, his father could afford to send Boyer to France, where he paid for his education at a military school. Boyer joined the French Revolutionary Army and earned the rank of battalion commander.

State of Haiti

Boyer worked closely with Pétion in the South to create a Republican Constitution similar to that of the United States. President Pétion taught Boyer what to do, and what not to do. Pétion succeeded in winning the hearts of his people and grew to be the most liked of any leader. In 1816, Pétion had the constitution amended to allow him to name his own successor. Before dying in 1818, Pétion anointed Boyer, and the Senate immediately approved his choice.

Boyer believed Haiti had to be acknowledged as an independent nation, and that this could be established only by cutting a deal with France. On 11 July 1825, Boyer signed an indemnity treaty stipulating that Haiti would pay France a certain amount of money to compensate for the lost property in slaves and trade in exchange for formal diplomatic recognition of its independence.

As soon as Boyer came to power, he was confronted with the continuing competition with Henri Christophe and the Kingdom of Haiti in the north. Christophe’s autocratic rule created continued unrest in the Kingdom of Haiti. After his soldiers rebelled against him in 1820, in failing health and fearing assassination, Christophe committed suicide. Boyer reunited Haiti without a single battle.

Footnotes

Payment of indemnity to France

Boyer was anxious to eliminate the threat from France and opened negotiations. An agreement was reached on 11 July 1825, when (with fourteen French warships off Port-au-Prince) Boyer signed an indemnity treaty. It stated that France would recognize Haiti as an independent country in return for 150 million francs paid within five years. While this sum was later reduced to 90 million francs (in 1838), it was a crushing economic blow to Haiti, which essentially had to buy its independence after having defeated French forces.

Boyer had to negotiate a loan from France of 30 million francs to pay the first part of the indemnity. Most of the largely rural Haitian population meanwhile was retreating into an agricultural subsistence pattern. He tried to enforce the semi-feudal fermage system in order to increase agricultural productivity on the island, but the people resisted being tied to other people’s lands. The people of Haiti were distressed at their situation. With the Rural Act, Boyer resurrected a land distribution program. He broke up some of the large plantations and distributed land to the small farmers. To try to produce enough products for export to generate revenue, the government "tied" the rural population to their smallholdings and established production quotas.