Daut — The First and Last King of Haiti — Chapter Notes Source overview: daut first last king haiti christophe

Daut — The First and Last King of Haiti — Chapter Notes Source overview: daut first last king haiti christophe Prologue / Introduction: On Doing Justice to Christophe's Story (pp. 1–20) The Problem of Sources Daut opens by establishing that virtually everything written about Christophe for the century after his death was written by people with strong motives to distort: Juste Chanlatte (Chant lyrique, 1820): Christophe's own court poet, who turned against him within 20 days of his death — motivated by desire to secure a position under Boyer Hérard Dumesle (Voyage dans le Nord d'Haïti, 1824): southern Haitian republican hostile to the northern kingdom James Franklin (The Present State of Hayti, 1828): British traveler who spent time in the kingdom but wrote after the fall Charles Mackenzie (Notes on Haiti, 1830): British consul who arrived after Christophe's death, relied on hostile testimony Counter-witnesses who actually knew and observed Christophe favorably: William Hamilton: botanist, observed the kingdom during its height Prince Saunders: Black American abolitionist, organized the educational program, wrote Haytian Papers (1816) George W.C. Courtenay: British lieutenant present in the kingdom Jean-Gabriel Peltier: anti-Napoleonic journalist, editor of L'ambigu (London), became one of Christophe's most trusted correspondents and "chargé d'affaires" Thomas Clarkson's verdict: Christophe demonstrated "greater genius than any American president." The Interpretive Frame Daut's central methodological claim: "I have hewed as closely as possible to what the king said, wrote, and proclaimed, as well as to the accounts of those who knew him well." Primary reliance on: Vastey's Essay on the Causes of the Revolution and Civil Wars of Haiti (1819) — commissioned by Christophe as official state history The Royal Gazette of Hayti (kingdom's official newspaper) Christophe's own letters and proclamations (extensively preserved in French and British archives) The Indemnity Argument "The France indemnity — 150 million francs, paid over a century — $560 million in nominal value but $21 billion to $115 billion in total economic losses — was enabled by Christophe's death." Daut's argument: Boyer's weaker, reunified Haiti accepted terms a Christophe-led North would never have accepted.