The Treasure of Henri Christophe

[M. A. Nazario]

There has been a long-lasting rumor that Henri Christophe, the former monarch of Haiti in the early 1800s, buried a treasure by his summer retreat in the northeast point of Great Inagua. However, I cannot seem to find any mention of any searches or surveys of the northeast point. I was wondering if any of you knew anything about this particular legend.

 

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[Crow]

The treasure legend is connected to Henri Christophe (often Henry Christophe) (6 October 1767 to 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution, winning independence from France in 1804. On 17 February 1807, after the creation of a separate nation in the north, Christophe was elected President of the State of Haiti. On 26 March 1811, he was proclaimed Henri I, King of Haiti.

However the constant threat of assignation degraded his reason over time where he became a megalomaniac ruler. He taxed the population of Northern Haiti to the point of Bankruptcy. The fear of the French lead Henry Christopher to build the biggest Castle in the Caribbean Citadelle Laferrire.

The castle cost 30000 lives to build. Henry's regard for human life was irrelevant. It is well known that he had amassed a large fortune and did not trust anyone with it. But like all tyrants his end came up and the long suffering Haitians rebelled against him. Returning to his apartment when his most loyal guards deserted him he shot himself in a upper bedroom of his palace.

The fate of his treasure has never been fully accounted for. Is his treasure buried in his fortress or his palace? The Haitian government and treasure hunters have searched for this treasure for many years.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Bendigo Independent (Vic. : 1891 - 1918), Thursday 3 September 1903, page 7 reported several stories

here is an except of an alleged treasure discovery below.

When I .was in Haytien- '98," said the second member , of our party, a Canadian business man, "I came across, a curious , treasure-story. A poor man at Cape Haytien, who everybody knew had not a hundred dollars, to his name, suddenly blossomed out into a man of wealth, and 'went. in for land speculation.

He brought a property for a thousand dollars here, and 'another for. two thousand dollars there, a store, a couple of boats, -and horses and mules. It became the talk of the 'place. : Presently the secret leaked out.

The .House he lived in was a ruined French . chateau) -dating back to the days when, the French colonists occupied .the island ; a magnificent old ruin of the type one often sees in Haiti. Sawing through- the wainscoting one day to make some repairs, he., came -across a big oak chest filled with French gold pieces, gold and silver plate, necklaces, brooches, watches, and other valuables. The box was worth about, fifteen thousand dollars

A wealthy speculator in Cap Haytien, hearing of this find, concluded there might be some more cheats here? So 80 he offered to buy the house, and eventually did so for two thousand dollars.

The original owner naturally thought he had cleaned out the lot and was selling an empty shell, since he had searched high and low after finding the first chest. But the new man did more than search ; he pulled down the house, and in the end found four other chests worth, altogether nearly two hundred thousand dollars.

The first man got very angry, and wanted to share; but he came off badly. The speculator had political influence, and soon had him flung into gaol and despoiled of most of -his wealth for the heinous crime of concealing treasure-trove from the State.

That, speculator and his family to-day are among the richest people in HaitL" "How do you account for the chests being there1?" asked the American. " That's simple enough. When the negroes rose in rebellion, the French colonists, some of whom were immensely wealthy, hid their treasures- as best they could, and fled for their lives. Many of them were massacred afterwards, and could never come back to recover their hoards.

There must be many other treasures of the kind hidden in Haiti to-day, to say nothing of the immense hoard of King Christophe,

Which nobody has ever found?

Crow

 

[Crow]

The bitter irony he became the monster he overthrew. Lends to the say total power corrupts the most noble of intentions.

Crow

 

[Crow]

The story of Henri Christophe is an amazing one from Slave to king

Christophe was a young slave on the island of St. Kitts, a British colony in the Caribbean. Possibly fleeing a cruel master, the 11-year-old stowed away on a French naval ship headed for the Battle of Savannah. He was found by a French officer who took possession of him and named him Henri Christophe, note the French spelling of his first name, Henri, and Christophe for the island he was found on.

He was enlisted as a drummer boy in the French army, would turn 12 at the battle, and was reportedly wounded there. Months later, the officer sold Henri in Saint Domingue. The Hotel de la Couronne's owner, Gabriel Coidavid, was either his master or leased the boy from his owner.

Henri worked at the hotel, developed excellent diplomatic skills, and could earn money from wealthy Grands Blancs either visiting or gambling at the hotel. He purchased his freedom and changed his name to the English spelling of Henry. He later married Marie-Louise, Coidavid's daughter.

Queen Marie Louise Coidavid (1778 – 11 March 1851) was the Queen of Haiti from 1811 to 1820 as the spouse of Henri Christophe

There children Marie-Louise's children Jacques-Victor Henry, Françoise-Améthyste and Anne Athénaïre (c. 1811 by unknown artist)

Christophe would play an important role in Haiti's independence and, after the assassination of Dessalines, took possession of the northern province, established a monarchy, and proclaimed himself King, thus becoming the only monarch of the country.

He built palaces, the most important of which is Sans Souci where the remains still stand today, and the Citadelle Laferrière fortress; both named World Heritage sites.

After the death of the King in 1820, she remained with her daughters Améthyste and Athénaïre at the palace until they were escorted from it by his followers together with his corpse; after their departure, the palace was attacked and plundered.

Marie-Louise and her daughters were given the property Lambert outside Cap.[citation needed] She was visited by president Jean Pierre Boyer, who offered her his protection; he denied the spurs of gold she gave him, stating that he was the leader of poor people. They were allowed to settle in Port-au-Prince. Marie-Louise was described as calm and resigned, but her daughters, especially Athénaïre, were described as vengeful.

The Queen was in exile for 30 years. In August 1821, Marie-Louise left Haiti with her daughters under the protection of the British admiral Sir Home Popham, and travelled to London. There were rumours that she was searching for the money, three million,deposited by her spouse in Europe. Whatever the case, she did live the rest of her life without economic difficulties.

In England, they lived in Blackheath, where they were welcomed by prominent abolitionists, and then moved to 49 Weymouth Street, London, where she lived between 1821 and 1824. In October 1822, she took up residence in Hastings, East Sussex, at what is now 5 Exmouth Place with her daughters, who, like many wealthy and aristocratic Londoners, wanted to escape the smog and bustle of central London.

In 1824, Marie-Louise and her daughters moved in Pisa in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy), where they lived for the rest of their lives, Améthyste dying shortly after their arrival and Athénaïre in 1839. They lived discreetly for the most part, but were occasionally bothered by fortune hunters and throne claimers who wanted their fortune.
As you can see from a early stage there was interest in the wealth Henri Christophe over his reign. No wonder storys of treasure revolved around them.


Crow

 

[Crow]

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: Jan-Jak Desalin; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution.

Initially regarded as governor-general, Dessalines was later named Emperor of Haiti as Jacques I (1804–1806) by generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806. He spearheaded the resistance against French rule of Saint-Domingue, and eventually became the architect of the 1804 massacre of the remaining French residents of newly independent Haiti, including some supporters of the revolution.

You can see him holding the severed head of murdered French women.

Alongside Toussaint Louverture, he has been referred to as one of the fathers of the nation of Haiti. Dessalines was directly responsible for the country, and, under his rule, Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery. here is depiction of his coronation below.

Christophe was in charge of the northern section of the country, where he notably supervised the first steps of the construction of Citadelle Laferrière. In 1805, General Nicolas Geffrard, commander in the south, approached Christophe with a plot to kill Dessalines, the self-proclaimed emperor of Haiti;

Christophe did not warn Dessalines. Christophe's influence and power in the north was such that Dessalines, though aware of opposition brewing against him in the highest circles of power, found himself unable to strike against his general.

The conspiracy involved the majority of Dessalines's senior officers, including his minister of war and navy Étienne Élie Gerin, General Alexandre Pétion, commander-in-chief of the second division in the west, General Nicolas Geffrard and many others. On 16 October 1806, they signed a proclamation entitled "Resistance to Oppression", declaring the necessity to overthrow Dessalines's government, and proclaimed Christophe head of the provisional Haitian government.Dessalines was assassinated on 17 October 1806.

Following a power struggle with Pétion and his supporters in the south, Christophe retreated with his followers to the Plaine-du-Nord of Haiti, the stronghold of former slaves, and created a separate government there. Christophe suspected he was also at risk of assassination in the south. In 1807, he declared himself

"président et généralissime des forces de terre et de mer de l'État d'Haïti'" (English: President and Generalissimo of the armies of land and sea of the State of Haïti). Pétion became President of the "Republic of Haïti" in the south, where he was backed by General Jean-Pierre Boyer, a personne de couleur who controlled the southern armies.

In 1811, Christophe declared the northern state of Haïti a kingdom and had himself crowned by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Brelle, the archbishop of Milot he even had coins made.

Three sources where Christophe obtained wealth. He took control of sugar plantations putting ex slaves back to work in conditions nearly as bad as french. in 1805 he invaded Spanish speaking side of the island plundering town villages and taking slaves. And he had shares of spoils from the rich French plantation owners was massacred.

Most of his labour was from forced labor from the people he originally liberated. Some premise even on his death he had money. A lot was lost when the plaice was looted.

Clearly his surviving family had money which indeed may be the another to his missing wealth. But as you can see the events in Haiti had profound impacts of the salve owners in America fearing the same fate as the French.

The question remains however was there any hidden treasure by Christophe before he killed himself. After his stroke he for saw his regime would not last. He had as it appears shipping most of money out of country to England. Where his wife and children ultimately fled to.

As for treasure being left behind? Who know? My best guess when French white planter realized they had to flee for their lives hidden caches in their own plantations either being murdered or never returning.


Crow

 

[Blak bart]

 

[Blak bart]

I've been interested in this one for a bit....not much up at the northeast end of the island, and no visible ruins from space on a basic search....I have a pin on the most likley spot for a dwelling, and some signs of humans. Lidar may yield results under the hurricane swept sand that changes constantly in these outislands !! The only road north from Mathew town ends 13 miles short of the area, and it's difficult to pack water and supplies that far. Logistics are minimal on the island, and a water landing in the north east would be best for exploring. The winds are trade winds here, and blow east south east making this adventure a timing issue.....one must be on site at Mathew town.....waiting for the perfect weather window to land on the beach. One miscalculated landing and you become the latest wreck in a long line of inaugua wrecks !! If you plan you must plan on weather making it impossible to evacuate as planned because of high surf.....you can get stuck until weather allows a boat to land and retrieve you !! It is not nearly as easy as it seems to gain access to this part of the island. There could be a wreck right at the entrance to the only place you can land up there....on a side note, the 13 mile walk from the end of the road to the Christophe area of entrance hold many other treasures, and if one knows what he's looking for, a couple years salary can be made in a few weeks of camping on the remote beaches.....they are hand down some of the worlds greatest ambergris hunting beaches !! Here's a recent find....in the end a total of 21 pounds was recovered.....this is the first piece at 7 pounds !!

 

[releventchair]

A former co-worker escaped Haiti by legal means . Somehow I guess.
A bitter and upset man.
Upset in geography of course but in life's ambition too.
Through great effort long time saving of little to save and piety , the man acquired two draft animals. I want to say mules but think they were smaller.
But he could plow with them and therefore the future was promising.
Alas , they were taken from him by a force he could not counter and live after.

A Spainard working in the same shop as I too suffered a similar fate as our Haitian..
Former store/shop owner.
He had a prize evident of his great wealth for such a commoner. A great wrist watch!
During revolution or takeover or unrest as is common in too many countries too often , "They took my watch."

In such accounts there is a point where a spirit is crushed. Where life isn't going to be more than slavery of a type. And ever a victim. By the taking of what was little value to the power taking .

For those who have no option to leave...those small value thefts are of greater value.
A single coin as throughout history could change a fate.

I won't see Haiti.
It's still a hotbed of destruction both of government ,resources, and spirits.
I wouldn't blend in well. And anything of value shouldn't be in my hands if it's already been there. Besides , without a liaison to get a recovery out of county I certainly wouldn't be boarding plane or ship with it.
(Sometimes "trust no one" has to extend to ones self.)


I would wholly and fully expect to see many test holes and plundered abandoned structures.
From the desperate. And Haiti has desperation in full quantities.

But what I wouldn't expect to see is the more studied and taciturn attempts at recovery where leaving obvious activity signs is avoided. Oh they've been ongoing long.
But in such a place advertising or being seen with such is bad policy.
For the majority , your hand being emptied will be the result. Hopefully with your hand still attached after.

 

[sdcfia]

The only Haitian I've ever known brings back mixed memories even to this day. Reynolds Bonifils was a classmate of mine at Iowa State. He was a French-black Haitian whose father was politically connected somehow on the island. I never knew the details, but I was under the belief that dad's efforts were not people-friendly to the people there. French-blacks still ran the place then. Rey didn't talk much about life back home.

Rey was one of the few students in Ames who drove a Mercedes back in the 60s. The good memories: Rey was a good student in the college of engineering, a lot of fun to be with and knew how to throw a party.

The one bad memory: the day and night before our graduation in 1969, Rey hosted a blockbuster of an all-day celebration at his apartment. He personally prepared and served a variety of "island delicacies", mostly seafood-based, to the revelers. I got a world-class case of food poisoning from it, as did many others. I won't describe the hideous effects on my body that night, but I remember not being over it the following afternoon as I donned cap and gown, which made the hot sun of a 90 degree day even worse sitting in the football stadium, when the Governor congratulated the graduates and told us we'd remember this day forever.

Yeah, he was right. Every time someone has complained about getting bad food over the past 55 years, I think of Rey.