Haitian politician Celigny Ardouin was executed on this date in 1849.
The brother of historian Beaubrun Ardouin (and the already-deceased poet Coriolan Ardouin), Celigny Ardouin was the country’s former Interior Minister but was purged when the slave-turned-general-turned-president Faustin Soulouque, appointed as a figurehead president for the country’s elites, mounted a self-coup to establish himself as the emperor.
Ardouin had opposed Soulouque’s initial selection, and the emerging dictator had opportunistically accused his old foe of orchestrating disturbances in support of a senator who was frustratingly safe from Soulouque’s executioners thanks to French diplomatic pressure.
On this day..
- 2001: Vishal and Sonu, honor killings
- 1661: Jin Shengtan, literary scholar
- 1849: Ernst Elsenhans, Rastatt revolutionary
- 1844: William Saville, brutalising scene
- 1933: The Simele Massacre of Iraq's Assyrians begins
- 2009: Li Peiying, corrupt aviation kingpin
- 1864: Li Xiucheng, Taiping Rebellion general
- 1896: Charles Thiede, the first since Utah statehood
- 1930: Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, strange fruit
- 1936: The Sacred Heart, by Spanish leftists
- 1859: Ormond Chase, casus belli not quite
- 1777: A British spy, by Israel Putnam
Poor Haiti was alternatively a republic, an Empire and a Kingdom. From all these presidents and rulers only one King stands out for having raised an admirable fort disguised as palace. But lately i have not heard anything about this tourist attraction so it is probably gone, due to the earthquakes.
My doctor is Haitian. He once told me a three-minute history of the country, best summarized as “It’s all France’s fault.”
No, it is not. Britain first allied with Haiti to prevent another French takeover, especially during the Kingdom. Later on America even occupied Haiti. If you can not move on AFTER TWO CENTURIES something is terribly wrong with your country. A few Latin American countries -just not Venezuela or the Argentine- have made a moderate success of themselves during that time.. You can not stay in the past forever. By the way i found out the ruins of that Royal Palace are still standing and are a tourist attraction. Too bad Haiti has so few tourists…..