Jean Pierre Boyer's Autocratic Rule
ADVERTISEMENT
Boyer originally fought alongside Toussaint L'Ouverture towards the beginning of the Haitian Revolution, but switched allegiance to Alexander Petion when he learned the French wanted to re-introduce slavery. During Petion's rulership of Haiti, he had the Constitution amended so he could name his successor. Shortly before his death, he appointed Boyer.
Three years after Boyer assumed power in 1818, he sought unification of north and south Haiti, and power over Santo Domingo. He crossed the border into Santo Domingo, robbing it of its independence, conquering the country in 1820. One year later, he unilaterally ruled the island of Hispaniola.
Wanting to consolidate his power as ruler, he bought France's official acknowledgement of Haiti's sovereignty, negotiating a protection pact in 1825. He promised to pay France 150 million francs, even though his forces had beaten the French already.
During Boyer's reign, he created the Rural Act, leading to his downfall. It was a form of slaveship that demanded strict agriculture production standards and disallowed peasant farmers means to control their output fairly. A movement began when they united under Charles Rivière-Hérard and ran Boyer out of Haiti in 1845. He went into exile in France, and his death occurred as a resident of Paris.
Read more: president, Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Mulato, Haitian President, France, Jean Pierre Boyer, Newsletter Articles
« Francois Duvalier - The First Haitian President for Life | Main | Bruno Blanchet »
Leave a Reply
Name (required) E-mail (required, will not be published)» »
Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were or grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.