AHC/WI the Haitian Monarchy continues

[Uhura's Mazda]

I couldn't find anything on this in the archives, so here goes.

Over the first half of the 19th century, various former slaves and revolutionaries set themselves up as monarchs in all or part of Haiti: Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines (reigned 1804 - 1806), King Henry Christophe (reigned 1811 - 1820 in the northern part) and Emperor Faustin Soulouque (reigned 1849 - 1859). Now, these guys basically modeled themselves on Napoleon in diverting a Revolution towards more authoritarian systems of government, and their downfall was usually down to the chaotic nature of post-Revolutionary politics.

Dessalines was assassinated by Christophe and a few others for prioritising mixed-race bureaucrats, relying on corvee labour and imposing protectionist policies. Christophe killed himself in the face of a revolution against forced labour and the division of the country. Soulouque, meanwhile, lost a series of wars against the Dominican Republic and fled from during a coup. In short, the stage was set for all the horrible shit that's been going down for the last couple of centuries over there.

So how could any of these establish a long-term dynasty that might provide some stability to the island (I know Republicanism is better, but it isn't AH enough to be interesting, at least for me) or at least some entertaining stuff when the Monroe Doctrine is framed up? IMO, the best bet is Christophe surviving a couple more years: he had a legitimate teenage son and there were some advisers loyal enough to the Kingdom be killed by revolutionaries within days of his death.

 

[ChewyGranola]

A functioning monarchy in the Americas seems hard to establish (look at Mexico, forget about Canada ). Now Haiti would be different from Mexico because it would be seen as a native monarchy rather than an imposed one. If one of these monarchs guided the country toward a more parlimentary monarchy, I suppose it could survive to the present day. I don't think it would affect the Monrow Doctrine in any way, after all, I highly doubt any European monarchies would marry their princes and princesses to a black royal family (though a Haitian-minor German state marriage would be awesome!).

Maybe the island would be more stable under this monarchy. That would be nice to see.

How could this butterfly to other American nations. If a monarchy gets established early enough, could one hyopthetically see similar Caribbean/South American neo-monarchies after independence? I bet the European nations would be more ok with that as opposed to more US-style republics. And, I have to admit, a HRE-style collection of Caribbean island monarchies sounds quite fun.

 

[Just a Rube]

Jonathan Edelstein has an occasionally updated thread about a Haiti divided between a monarchist north and a republican south. It's called something like "Stories from a Divided Haiti".

 

[Uhura's Mazda]

God, the search function here sucks. I'll just go and read that then

 

[TFSmith121]

Don't forget, Mexico had "two" monarchies...

Now Haiti would be different from Mexico because it would be seen as a native monarchy rather than an imposed one.

Don't forget, Mexico had "two" monarchies...and Max and Carlotta actually adopted the Iturbide heir apparent.

There was some serious eccentricities among the Mexican conservatives in the Nineteenth Century.

Along with Mexico and Haiti, there was imperial Brazil, at least one self-proclaimed king in southern Argentina, another in Brazil (IIRC), and the occassional pretender to one extinct throne or another.

Plus there was the Emperor Norton. Can't forget him.




Best,

 

[Jonathan Edelstein]

Jonathan Edelstein has an occasionally updated thread about a Haiti divided between a monarchist north and a republican south. It's called something like "Stories from a Divided Haiti".

The thread is here, if you're interested: I'm hoping to update it this month or early next.

On the topic of the OP, I'd argue that Dessalines was too unstable and Faustin Soulouque too incompetent to build a stable country. Henri Christophe is the best bet: northern Haiti enjoyed considerable prosperity when he was king. The trouble is that the prosperity depended on the fermage system of semi-serfdom, which ensured that cash crops were produced but was much hated by the peasantry, and many peasants responded by defecting to the south. Also, Christophe was very extravagant, and squandered much of his kingdom's wealth on projects like the Citadelle and the Sans-Souci palace.

The POD you might need is one in which Christophe either controls the whole country, thus making it harder for peasants to defect, or spends more of its revenue on development so that the people see tangible benefits from his rule. Even then, the fermage system will eventually become a flashpoint, and the kingdom's future may depend on how subsequent kings manage the transition away from it. Also, if Christophe wins control of the whole country, he'll probably be subject to the same French pressure that Boyer experienced in OTL, and if he responds as Boyer did (i.e., by accepting a crushing debt obligation), that could also sink Haiti's future. He'd have to be more resolute and, if necessary, to wait out a French bombardment or punitive expedition - something I think he'd have the fortitude to do, but which would also weaken him at least temporarily and give him internal problems to deal with.