On this day, October 8, in 1820
- produced by Arturo Contreras
- in
The ruler of Northern Haiti and hero of the Haitian Revolution, Henry Christophe, killed himself at his Palace of San Souci. Christophe fought to abolish slavery in Haiti, which was accomplished in 1794. The revolutionary forces continued to fight for independence until surrendering to the French in 1802. While Christophe and many other Haitian officers were integrated into the French army, some revolutionaries continued to resist, including a man named Jean-Baptiste San Souci. San Souci considered men like Christophe a traitor, even when they later attempted to rejoin the revolution. Interestingly, 10 years before Christophe’s suicide, San Souci was killed by King Henry Christophe in the exact location where he later built his palace of San Souci.
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