@Anarch King of Dipsodes @TheHedgehog I'm not sure who Clay would appoint as ambassador to France, so I went with the OTL one. Also, I recently discovered that his running mate/VP was Theodore Frelinghuysen on the 1844 ticket. The "accomplishments" Henri lists are things either planned OTL (that Polk vetoed) or that Clay (apparently) either promised or wanted to accomplish. So I hope that's "reasonably" accurate.
Soundtrack:
Louis Gottschalk Moreau - Concert Paraphrase on the National Airs 'The Union'
*opening shot* *Port-au-Prince* *title card reads “February 1847”* *we see the funeral of President Jean Baptiste Riché, Comte de Grande Rivière du Nord* *followed by the coup of former president Charles Rivière Hérard* *a brief montage of Henri Christophe in Paris encountering former president Jean Pierre Boyer on the street* *then Christophe and Boyer running into one another at this function* *then another function* *then finally Boyer and Christophe retreating into a library somewhere and closing the doors on us*
*cut to Hérard forced from power a second time* *and elections proclaimed*
*cut to August 1848* *we see Henri Christophe taking the oath of office as the newly elected President of the Republic of Haiti* *with his wife, Dessalines Chancy
[1], his children, Henri Jacques (b.1831), Marie Claire Victoire (b.1837) and François Toussaint (b.1838) all present*
*Petite-Rosselle, Lorraine* *cut to a coal mine
[2]* *we see Henri, Élisabeth and Madame Royal presiding over what is apparently an opening of a new mine* *we even see Henri – and more surprisingly, his aunt – emerging from the mine tunnel after a brief inspection* *Madame Royal has that smug look on her face typical of older people when told they can’t or won’t do something
[3]*
*cut to Chateau de Luneville* *Henri’s sitting with a newspaper announcing that the United States army in Mexico City has finally surrendered* *we zoom in to see that among the dead – due to disease – are listed “General Zachary Taylor”, “Brigadier General Franklin Pierce” and “Captain Robert E. Lee”*
*further down the page we see the announcement of Achille Murat as the “Präsident of the German Republic”*
Footman: his Excellency, the Ambassador of the United States
Richard Rush: *bows*
Henri: *puts paper aside* *gets up to pick up his son, Michel, duc de Bretagne- playing with blocks on the rug between he and Rush- out of the way* Monsieur l’Ambassadeur.
Rush: your Royal Highness.
Henri: I am sure your government is glad to be able to remove itself from the…swamp…that Mexico was becoming.
Rush: the soldiers have surrendered Mexico City, but we have not withdrawn, sir
Henri: Monsieur Rush, if I may make a suggestion *Michel has decided to curl up between his father and the chair’s arm-rest*
know when you are beaten.
Rush: it is only a matter of awaiting for the new recruits-
Henri: so you would send more of your young men to die. More killed by tropical disease and suicide than by the Mexican army?
Bravo, Monsieur, if that is to be the winning argument of democracy. Let’s keep throwing lives away in a…dare I say…pointless war that…will ruin your president’s chances of being re-elected.
Rush: President Clay has no desire to seek a second term, sir.
Henri: *nods* *looks down at his son who is wriggling, clearly trying to get comfortable*
Rush: you are surprised at that?
Henri:why should I be surprised. That is how your system works, is it not? It is not for everyone, after all, look at what has happened the last two attempts France has made.
Rush: of course.
Henri: although, speaking as a father, I can sympathize with President Clay’s desire for his son – and the other men, naturally – to return home.
Rush: he will be most gratified to hear that, sir.
Henri: I wish to offer my services.
Rush: sir?
Henri: as a mediator. The United States and Mexico should at least be willing to
talk about making peace, no?
Rush: your Royal Highness speaks as though it is inevitable.
Henri: your president has a choice in front of him: either he can leave office with this war still ongoing and have his legacy tarnished. All he will be remembered for is the war. Whether he wanted it or not.
Rush: *quiet*
Henri: or…he can depart from office with his head held high, knowing that he has expanded the United States to the Pacific Ocean. The ports and harbours that he has started on the Great Lakes, the development of the Kansas and Wisconsing territories, his various projects to build up the infrastructure…and his attempts to make the American market competitive with Europe’s having been more or less successful.
Rush: President Clay has made it his life’s mission to
not kowtow to Europe like some mandarin to the emperor.
Henri: an estimable goal, I assure you, Monsieur Rush. But it is also not wise to slap aside a hand offering to save you when you are drowning.
Rush: is that a threat, sir?
Henri: it is an observation. As I understand it, the new Madame Iturbide’s ship has already been moored at Port-au-Prince before continuing the final leg of her journey to Mexic
nce she arrives, I have
no doubt that her aunt in London will be concerned for her safety. Which means that the next offer will come from Westminster. And, since President Clay has made no secret of his dislike for what he perceives as British interference in American affairs…I have no doubt that their offer will not be
half so respectful. *loaded silence* assuming, that is, that they do not choose to side with Mexico outright.
Rush: I will write to the President on the matter, but I can already answer what his first condition would be…
Henri: and what is that?
Rush: France must cease their support. Both for Monsieur Iturbide and for Monsieur Christophe.
Henri: that is an easy thing to promise him. France does not support them.
Rush: Commodore Yturbide-
Henri: any Frenchman who fights in Mexico fights as a volunteer, France has neither the resources to commit to such a fight, nor an interest in provoking the ire of her oldest and most reliable ally in North America.
Rush: and Monsieur Christophe?
Henri: what on earth would make your president believe that we had anything to do with that? I don’t hesitate to say that the accusation is
ludicrous. After how the island of Haïti was treated by the French since the turn of the century? A candidate who carries the ringing endorsement of the king of France likely ends up murdered in his bed, not elected.
Rush: with all due respect sir, you cannot expect me to believe that *distasteful* they were capable of doing it by themselves.
Henri: have you met Monsieur le Président?
Rush: *shakes head*
Henri: he truly is one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Educated in England. I can’t remember if it was Oxford or Cambridge
[4]- He has fought with distinction in Spain for the Carlists and then in Italy during the late German War… I fail to see what is your opposition to him.
Rush: he is the son of a king standing for president.
Henri: then I feel as though you and I are at cross purposes about what
is and
isn’t democracy, monsieur. As I was always taught to understand it, democracy – at least in the United States’ version – is built on the rule
of the people
for the people and
by the people.
Rush: it is, sir.
Henri: then what is your objection to Monsieur le Président standing for and winning an election? Aside, obviously, from his skin colour.
Rush: his skin-colour is not the issue.
Henri: my mistake…I’m afraid I can’t
guess what the objection is if you won’t tell me.
Rush: there are…understandably…concerns in Washington that he will re-establish the monarchy in Haiti.
Henri: *nods vaguely* do they have proof? For instance, has he said as much? Maybe the’ve uncovered secret plans that he intends to do this?
Rush: *shakes his head*
Henri: so you are frightened of a shadow.
Rush: we are frightened of what
could be.
Henri: so you neglect the
right now for the
not yet. The possibly
not ever? Neither Monsieur Iturbide
nor Monsieur Christophe have made any grandiose claims to their father’s legacy.
Rush: *quietly as Henri stands up, clutching Michel to his side, indicating the interview is over*
Henri: I almost forgot…if Monsieur Christophe or Monsieur Iturbide are deemed to have French support or are somehow seen as French pawns…are the French then to treat Berlin’s recent election of Monsieur Murat as
American interference in Europe? Attempting to export the Madison Doctrine-
Rush: Monroe, sir.
Henri: Attempting to export the Monroe Doctrine to Europe?
Rush: I highly doubt it, the Prince of Pontecorvo is a fierce opponent of President Clay, having once called him a “coward” and a “turncoat”
[5]. He bears France no love either, as I understand it.
Henri: And were to consider every man who called me names and despises me an “opponent”…I dare say that I should
still be sitting in exile in Austria. I do hope you’ll relay my offer of mediation to President Clay.
*fade to black*
[1] We haven't seen Christophe since the Chapter
Bourée à Thiers, so I hope you'll forgive the "montage". Some explanation for who she is is necessary. Dessalines’ mother is Princess Marie Françoise Celimène Dessalines, eldest surviving daughter of Emperor Jacques Dessalines. Dessalines’ father is Bernard Chancy, an ADC to his uncle, Toussaint Louverture. Ergo, Henri Christophe has ensured that, since Dessalines’ uncle’s death in 1832, his children have essentially got three bloodlines most associated with Haiti.
[2] This would be what would OTL become the Carreau Wendel. The coal was discovered in 1847, but due to the Year of Revolutions, and the political upheaval, it took until 1856 before they even broke ground.
[3] In fact, well into her widowhood Madame Royal – much like Empress Eugènie later – preferred having young people around her. And there are several accounts that while she never let you forget who she was, she was certainly capable of “surprising” them. A visit to a coal-mine – perhaps recalling her father’s interests in such things, or his lessons to she and her brother in the Temple – seems like something she’d get a kick out of doing. She’s not going to be digging for coal or wearing a hard hat herself- that would likely be Henri- but even as a child she learned how to play to a crowd.
[4] Oddly enough, while the first “African” graduates of British universities are listed as Christian Frederick Cole (University College, Oxford, 1876) and Alexander Crummell (Queen’s College, Cambridge, 1853), this isn’t accurate. The “first” that we know of is clergyman Bryan Mackey (Brasenose College, Oxford, 1790s) and musician, George Bridgetower (Trinity Hall, Cambridge, 1811). So the son of a former Haitian king having graduated from either pre-1848 is not at all that weird. Even if he- like many of his contemporaries in British parliament- studied but left before taking his degree.
[5] This was in 1826. And it was actually David Betton Macomb, a supporter of Clay’s. It led to a duel.
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