Philippe Guerrier

Last updated

French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ʒaklwifilipɡɛʁje] ; December 19, 1757 [1] – April 15, 1845 [2] ) was a career officer and general in the Haitian Army who became the president of Haïti on May 3, 1844. [3] He died in office on April 15, 1845.

Contents

Early life

A respected soldier, Guerrier had successfully commanded the southern black army during the Haitian Revolution. After Haiti became independent, he retired from active service and became a plantation owner. King Henry I gave him the hereditary title of Duke of l'Avancé and Count of Mirebalais.

Presidency

In 1844, discontent erupted among rural farmers and cultivators over economic conditions within the country. These disaffected groups formed bands of armed men known as "piquets". [4] The piquets were gradually brought under the command of a former army officer, Louis Jean-Jacques Acaau, who used them to disrupt government control over the south of Haiti. [5] Eventually, with their increasing success, the piquets acquired political aspirations. The foremost of these were the dismantling of mulatto power over the government and a return to black rule. [6] These goals were believed to have been met when in May 1844, President Rivière-Hérard was removed from office by the mulatto hierarchy and replaced with the aged black general Philippe Guerrier, who assumed the presidency on May 3, 1844. Guerrier held office for only 11 months before he died on April 15, 1845.

References

  1. BELLEGARDE, Dantès (1593). History of the Haitian People. Held. p. 181. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. Haïti, 1919-1920: Livre bleu d'Haïti (in French). Klebold Press. 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. Manuel d'histoire d'Haïti (in French). Procure des Frères de l'Instruction Chrétienne. 1925. p. 251. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. Bénot, Yves; Dorigny, Marcel (2003). Rétablissement de l'esclavage dans les colonies françaises, 1802: ruptures et continuités de la politique coloniale française, 1800-1830 : aux origines d'Haïti : actes du colloque international tenu à l'Université de Paris VIII les 20, 21 et 22 juin 2002 (in French). Maisonneuve et Larose. p. 191. ISBN   978-2-7068-1692-5 . Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  5. Sepinwall, Alyssa Goldstein (12 November 2012). Haitian History: New Perspectives. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN   978-1-135-76655-9 . Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  6. Bethell, Leslie (1984). The Cambridge History of Latin America. Cambridge University Press. p. 268. ISBN   978-0-521-23224-1 . Retrieved 7 February 2024.
Philippe Guerrier
Philippe Guerrier.jpg
4th President of Haiti
In office
May 3, 1844 April 15, 1845
Political offices
Preceded by Coat of arms of Haiti.svg
President of Haiti

1844–45
Succeeded by