Henri Cristophe’s Citadelle Laferriere

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Henri Christophe6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820

Likely born to a freed slave in Grenada

Worked for rich white people in Haiti when he was growing up

Commited suicide when a coup seemed imminent. He was buried in the Citadelle Laferriere

In 1811 he named Haiti a kingdom and became King by default

In 1807, he declared himself as the president of the newly liberated Northern region of Haiti

The political skills he learned from his upbringing allowed him to take a leadership position during the Haitian Revolution

The Citadelle Laferriere

Largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere

Steepest path in the Western Hemisphere

Just kidding

Maybe…

-130 foot walls

-covers 108,000 square feet

-Stone foundation was laid directly into the rocks of the mountain with quicklime, molasses, and the blood of cows and goats

-365 cannons and iconic stockpiles of cannonballs

-Large enough to store food for 5,000 for a year

Location17 miles South of Cap-Haitien and 5 miles uphill from Milot

Built miles inland on Bonnet a L’Eveque mountain, 3,000 feet above sea level

Timeline

• The fort was begun in 1805 by Henri while he was an army general

• It was completed in 1820 after being worked on by 20,000 workers

But why?

• Henri had the fort built as part of a defense system against the French

References

• Wikipedia