Reform Revolution (Haiti)

Reform Revolution of 1843

Date	January 27 – March 26, 1843 (1843-01-27 – 1843-03-26)
Location	Hispaniola
Participants	Dominicans and Haitians
Outcome	Abdication of Jean-Pierre Boyer Ascension of Charles Rivière-Hérard to the presidency of Haiti

The Reform Revolution also known simply as the Reformation —was an armed revolutionary movement that took place on the island of Hispaniola in 1843, which brought the end of the 25-year long dictatorial reign of Jean-Pierre Boyer (1818–1843), one of the longest-ruling Latin American heads of state of the 19th century. The immediate origin of the rebellion lay in the financial burden imposed by France and the authoritarianism that plagued the island. The outcome marked the end of the Boyer era and opened an opportunity in the island's history, in which the Spanish part of the island, which came under Haitian rule since 1822, would begin to define its own political course.

In 1804, Haiti declared its independence as the second independent, liberal revolutionary state in the Americas. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, its first ruler, soon crowned himself emperor. But his reign was short-lived, as he was assassinated in 1806. The mastermind behind the assassination was former general, Alexandre Pétion in a collusion with another general, Henri Christophe. After the plot, Pétion widthrew to the south and proclaimed a new republic, appointing himself president for life. However, Christophe detested to his plans and set up his own country in the northern lands, creating the State of Haiti. There he proclaimed himself leader, then president for life and later monarch, adopting the royal name of Henry I. Thus, two political entities emerged in the Independence territory: the wealthy but monarchical Kingdom of Haiti, and the republican but less authoritarian Southern Haiti.

Pétion died in 1818 and was succeeded by his disciple, the mulatto general Jean-Pierre Boyer, who assumed power with the same title of president for life. In 1820, after the fall of the Northern Kingdom and Christophe's subsequent suicide, Boyer managed to unify the country. Shortly afterwards, in 1822, he occupied the neighboring Santo Domingo, which maintained a separatist government, and constituted the Independent State of Spanish Haiti, proclaimed by José Núñez de Cáceres.

From the very beginning of the regime, opposition had already arisen to usurp Boyer's authority, specifically in the eastern part of the island, with the Seybo and the Samaná Peninsula becoming the hotbeds of resistance against Boyer. In February 1822, resistance broke out in the town of Samaná despite the local commander having declared himself in favor of Haiti a month earlier.^[1] The inhabitants of the peninsula , the parish priest of Samaná and Sabana de la Mar , as well as Diego de Lira - captain of the militia of Santo Domingo and commander of arms of Sabana de la Mar, loyal to Spain and former collaborator of the late Juan Sánchez Ramírez -, taking advantage of the arrival of two French warships to the Bay of Samaná, requested support from the governor of Martinique .^[2][3] He sent a naval squadron and communicated with the Spanish authorities of the captaincy general of Puerto Rico, who sent a commission of officers to plan a joint action against the Haitians.

However, upon reaching the Samaná Peninsula, they found only five French ships, as the squadron's commander had left. Furthermore, the Dominicans who had instigated the uprising were no longer there, having fled to Puerto Rico following the occupation of Samaná by troops sent by Boyer. A minor French landing attempt was easily repulsed by Haitian forces. Furthermore, a disagreement arose between the Spanish and French over whether the expedition should be undertaken in the name of France or Spain, leading to the final abandonment of the plan in mid-March and ending any attempt at rebellion for that year.

In 1823, the Haitian government faced strong resistance in the eastern part of the island. At least three plots were uncovered that year, and a mutiny against Haitian troops was put down. The mutiny occurred while Haitian soldiers were guarding workers clearing the road between Santiago de los Caballeros and Puerto Plata. In Santo Domingo, Archbishop Pedro Valera y Jiménez (1757–1833), loyal to Spain, encouraged resistance. His discontent arose from the expropriation of church property, the policy of disentailment, and, above all, the decision of January 5, 1823, which suspended the state stipend for the clergy.^[4]

The first, little-remembered armed rebellion also took place, led by rural captain Lázaro Férmin in San Francisco de Macorís , in rejection of the system of forced labor known as corvée , a regime of servitude inherited from the French Ancien Régime . To crush the uprising, Boyer sent 5,000 soldiers, managing to subdue it.

The unrest spread to Seybo , Higüey , Los Alcarrizos , and other points on the Spanish side. In Bayaguana , peasants outraged by the corvée rose up , alerting the Haitian authorities. In Santo Domingo, military men León Alcaide and Agustín de Acosta were arrested. Discontent over the abuses prompted the mulatto Haitian general Jérôme-Maximilien Borgella , governor of Ozama, to deploy Haitian troops in the region: Henri Etienne Desgrotte was sent to Seybo, Maurice Bienvenu to Higüey, Captain Morette to Samaná , and Commander Prud'homme to Los Llanos . The unrest was such that it was not surprising that Boyer banned corvée with soldiers on May 31, 1828, apparently wanting to prevent rebellions by low-ranking military officers.

That same year, the Haitian commander of Samaná recorded in a report that "I could not count on the Dominicans, neither white, nor black, nor yellow [mulatto], who were prepared to speak out against the republic if Spanish warships approached the Bay. They loudly declared that they would voluntarily fight against France, but not against Spain." Haitian historian Thomas Madiou claimed that "Boyer, for his part, was dissatisfied with the Dominicans. Many reports reached him that the Dominicans were not afraid to say that if Spain joined France in an expedition against Haiti, they would place themselves under the authority of His Catholic Majesty ."^[5]

In 1824, Boyer put down the Los Alcarrizos conspiracy with an iron fist . It is worth noting that none of the conspiracies in Santo Domingo during this period had a pro-independence character: all were royalist- inspired , supporters of Ferdinand VII . In fact, Boyer's greatest danger did not come from the Dominicans, not even from the official claim that the Spanish monarch made on Santo Domingo in 1830, but from the Haitian military itself. They found cause for discontent in the 1825 treaty between Charles X of France and Haiti, which recognized Haiti's independence in exchange for an indemnity of 150 million francs , and in the acute economic crisis that hit the poorest sectors of the population particularly hard.

Such a financial burden brought with it profound economic unrest in the western part of the island. This discontent was skillfully exploited by Boyer's opponents, who began to organize. Opposition in the Chamber of Deputies intensified. According to Haitian historian Jean Price-Mars , "the parliamentary forum was prohibited, freedom of the press was nothing more than a myth. The opposition then sought a way out in the web of plots. This is the common genesis of the Revolution."

Haiti's 1816 Constitution reserved exclusive legislative initiative to the head of state, unlike other, more liberal systems. The president was seen as abusing this power by avoiding submitting fundamental laws to legislative debate. A new generation, raised under this authoritarian regime, yearned for political participation.

In 1837, conspiracies led by Black military officers erupted in northern Haiti. Although they were suppressed, these rebellions were rooted in racial issues. The following year, Boyer managed to renegotiate the debt with France on relatively favorable terms, reducing the amount to 60 million francs. This circumstance could have served as a basis for promoting profound reforms, but a lack of political will prevented this.

Also in 1838, two significant movements against Boyer's regime occurred. On the one hand, a conspiracy to assassinate Boyer and his secretary general, Minister Joseph Balthazar Inginac; on the other, the founding of the secret society La Trinitaria by Juan Pablo Duarte — leader of the group known as the Filarios , also known as Duartistas—with the intention of peacefully liberating the eastern part of the island.

The repression of opposition deputies and the closure of spaces for expression pushed many towards revolution. In this context, the Society of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen emerged, a name alluding to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen . This group, headed by the mulatto Hérard Dumesle, promoted banquets with liberal speeches and calls for state reform. These social activities, although disguised under social and cultural forms, were in reality active centers of political conspiracy.^[6]

Boyer's government knew that such meetings were the nucleus of a conspiracy, especially in northern towns such as Les Cayes and Jérémie . However, it was unable to act effectively, as the 1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake diverted all of the regime's resources. The political crisis was compounded by natural chaos and looting in devastated towns such as Cap-Haïtien , Santiago , Port-de-Pâce , Môle-Saint-Nicolas , and Fort Liberty , as well as the Sans Souci Palace.^[7]

In September 1842, the Society for the Rights of Man published a manifesto against Boyer's rule and appointed artillery commander Charles Rivière-Hérard —a cousin of Hérard Dumesle—as leader of the Reform movement. Seeking popular support, the reformers promised populist changes , such as repealing old laws, improving education, reforming the military, changing the agricultural and commercial system, lowering taxes, and creating a currency with real value. These proposals were welcomed by both Haitians and Dominicans who were dissatisfied with the current government. The plot was not limited to the Haitians; soon the Dominicans also learned of the movement and decided to get involved.

This episode of binational collaboration was described by Manuel María Valencia in La Verdad y nada más (1843). In that pamphlet, he argues that Dominicans suffered under Boyer's despotism . For some time, some compatriots had believed that the regime needed profound reform and would only be successful if Haitians who favored change supported them.

Despite the Dominican conspirators' discretion, the Boyerista authorities managed to identify them. The regime, noticing that the conspiracy was gaining ground, reacted with a disinformation campaign, resorting to spreading the hoax that the reformers wanted to restore slavery . Emissaries toured towns and countryside, spreading the hoax. However, the movement's leaders soon refuted these slanders.

In April 1842, repression intensified in the town of Baní . Pamphlets circulated accusing Dominicans of belonging to a nonexistent "pro-Colombian" faction. An investigative commission was formed, but found no evidence. Even so, Pedro Alejandro Pina and Pedro Valverde y Lara—who had been spreading reformist ideas in San Cristóbal and Baní —had to flee to avoid prison. Similar cases occurred on the Spanish side of the island. Manuel Leguisamón and Silvano Pujol were persecuted in Puerto Plata , and Juan Evangelista Jiménez in La Vega .

Not even the cultural sphere was spared. The Philanthropic Association, founded by Duarte , then captain of the Haitian National Guard in Santo Domingo , to promote patriotic ideas through theater , was the target of accusations. The government accused it of concealing subversive messages in its works and forced its members— Juan Isidro Pérez , Jacinto de la Concha , Juan Bautista Alfonseca , Félix María del Monte , Pedro Antonio Bobea, among others—to subject their texts to prior censorship.

Pedro Pina was falsely accused of hiding weapons in his home. His home and his father's were thoroughly searched. Both were interrogated by a commission headed by Dominicans José María Caminero and Tomás Bobadilla . Although some officers, such as Dominican Captain José Ramón Marqués, called for Pina 's imprisonment , Haitian General Bernardo Felipe Alejandro Carrié, commander of Santo Domingo , refused, aware that such a measure could spark a rebellion. His prudence bought him time, but did not prevent conflict.

Captain Duarte entrusted Juan Nepomuceno Ravelo with the task of traveling to the city of Los Cayos —the center of operations for the reformist movement—to contact its leaders and coordinate with them the uprising in the eastern part of the island, once the insurrection in Haiti had begun. However, Ravelo was unable to fulfill the expected assignment, so Duarte decided to send Ramón Matías Mella , who did manage to establish the necessary contacts in January 1843. Mella stayed at the house of Borgella , former governor of Ozama.

Haitian reformers understood that a widespread island-wide uprising was essential to ending Boyer's regime. Therefore, they agreed with the Dominican delegate to establish direct relations with their Dominican allies and define the benefits they would receive for their participation in the revolution. Thus, the Haitian liberal group and the Dominican separatist movement—particularly the Filarios —joined forces against Boyer's government.^[8]

The revolt against Jean-Pierre Boyer began on 27 January 1843, at the estate of artillery commander Charles Rivière-Hérard on Praslin in the Cayes . Charles Rivière-Hérard awarded himself the title of major general. The uprising was supported in Jérémie by Philibert Laranque, who rose up on January 31, and in Anse-d'Hainault by General Lazarre, who organized a large army on February 1, 1843. Boyer attempted to resist. The Haitian dictator gathered troops, sent military columns to the hotbeds of rebellion, and placed trusted leaders in command. But these measures failed. On February 21, the revolutionaries won the Battle of Lesieur, and on February 25, they again defeated the government at the Battle of Number Two, where General Cazeau died.

These defeats precipitated the Jacmel uprising on March 3, 1843. Boyer insisted on continuing to fight, but the final defeat came on March 12, when his troops were defeated at Léogâne . Defeated and without options, Boyer resigned from the presidency on March 13 before the Senate , after 25 years in power - 21 of them dominating Santo Domingo. He immediately embarked with his family on the British frigate Scylla , bound for the Colony of Jamaica , and then departed for Europe .

After his departure, the Senate allowed the reformist army to enter Port-au-Prince on March 21, under the command of General Charles Rivière-Hérard . He renounced his title of leader of the revolution on April 3, 1843. The following day, a provisional government was formed, composed of the civilian Imbert and Generals Voltaire, Philippe Guerrier and Charles Rivière-Hérard himself , the soul of the new regime. The government was accompanied by an advisory council of eight members, Gélin, David Saint Preux, Féry, Lherisson, Hérard Dumesle, Franklin, E. Boom and J. Paul, men distinguished by their training and career.

According to Haitian publicist Louis Joseph Janvier, a Dominican should have been included in the government as a show of solidarity with the eastern part of the island. Despite this, the new regime managed to extend its control over the entire island, facing only two minor pockets of resistance: one in Les Cayes , led by Colonel Taureau, and another in the eastern part, where Bernardo Felipe Alejandro Carrié made a weak attempt to resist amid the chaos caused by Dominican separatists and Haitian reformers.

Both groups—the Santo Domingo independence fighters and the Haitian reformers—had collaborated against Boyer, but after the victory, they split again. Some fought for separation; others to maintain the island's political unity. ]

• Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo
• Haiti independence debt
• Jean-Pierre Boyer
• Charles Rivière-Hérard
• Dominican War of Independence