The Citadel and Sans Souci Palace of Haiti
by Opal Palmer Adisa
A popular adage says, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you,” but that’s a lie. I do believe that what we don’t know in the Caribbean about our own history has crippled us, has stymied our development. The missing history has left us feeling inadequate, not up to par, much less superior or at the least equal to those who enslaved and colonized us and have benefited, in innumerable ways, especially economically, from our four hundred odd years of exploitation.
In all my schooling I was never taught about the Citadel or the Forts or Sans Souci Palace of Haiti. Yes, I did learn that Ayiti was the first country to fight and win its freedom, and in the process burned down the island, but was not told that the newly free African people built what should certainly be among the top seven or more wonders of the world.
On my second trip to Haiti I was determined to visit the Citadel so I took the six-hour drive from Port-au-Prince on wretched roads, most of which are under construction. But the journey to get there was more than worth the aggravation, and seeing the Citadel caused me to tear up. Why had it taken me more than half of a century to get there? Why had I not taken my children or myself when I have gone all over the world to see the various wonders? Why isn’t visiting the Citadel part of the required field trip for all Caribbean students?
Built on top of the 3000 foot Bonnet a l’Eveque mountain between 1805 and 1824, it is a massive and impressive structure that reportedly took over 20,000 workers to build, and was the brain child of Henry Christophe, who was then a general in Ayiti’s army, to protect the newly liberated country from French attack. Ideally located, it provides a panoramic view of the ocean, so that any possible invasion (then the sea was the only way in) would be seen. And yet because of its perch behind the mountain, The Citadel could not be seen from the sea, although on a clear day one can sight the eastern side of Cuba, 90 miles west of this structure. I got chills just touring the Citadel and marveled at the tremendous foresight, ingenuity and master builders.
One can hike up to the Citadel, but I opted for a horse ride instead, and as I was going up that steep incline I tried to visualize how they transported 365 cannons, of varying sizes, up such a distance and the mammoth stockpile of cannonballs that still sit in pyramids inside. Of course, France never attacked Ayiti, as back then my African ancestors, defeated Napoleon’s largest army deployed to fight a war. Today, the Citadel remains intact despite numerous earthquakes, and is decidedly the Caribbean’s greatest historical monument.
Like the Citadel, The Sans-Souci Palace is located in the town of Milot in the city of Cap-Haïtien and is more accessible. It was the home to King Henri Christophe, his wife Queen Marie-Louise and their two daughters, and reportedly — of the nine palaces that Christophe built — is the most important and the most splendid. As I stood in the original dining-room, I tried to picture this family dining there in 1813 when the construction was completed. I wondered what his daughters were like and would I have enjoyed sipping coffee with Queen Marie-Louise on a lazy afternoon, with a view of the verdant mountain range before us. We would have taken a stroll into the sprawling gardens, and I wondered what flowers grew there.
While it is not known how many laborers it took to construct the palace between 1811–1813, given its scale, including systems of waterworks and immense gardens, we can wager that it took many and undoubtedly many lost their lives in the process. Allegedly, during Christophe’s reign, the palace hosted many parties, and during that period, an American physician pronounced it as being “one of the most magnificent edifices of the West Indies.” Baron Valentin de Vastey, Christophe’s advisor, reportedly stated that the palace, “erected by descendants of Africans, show that we have not lost the architectural taste and genius of our ancestors who covered Ethiopia, Egypt, Carthage, and old Spain with their superb monuments.”
Destroyed by a severe earthquake in 1842, the palace, once considered the Caribbean equivalent to France’s Palace of Versailles, was never rebuilt, but its grand ruins remain. Of course the Haitian government and anyone concerned about changing the image of Haiti from the poorest country in the western hemisphere, would do well to invest in rebuilding this palace, not just as a tourist attraction, but in memory and honor of the first great leaders of this country.
Two other structures that belong to this era and are worth visiting are Fort Jacques, which I also visited, and Fort Alexandre, on the mountains overlooking Port-au-Prince, also built to protect the newly freed nation from possible attack. Jean-Jaques Dessaline, emperor in 1805, ordered the construction of both forts in 1805.
Who decides what are the seven wonders of the world and what is the criterion used to support such claim? While it is true new wonders are being added yearly, I think it is important to point out, that apart from Egypt, which many conveniently forget is in North Africa, apart from the pyramids and the valley of the Kings and Queens, none of the wonders reside in the African continent or other countries of African descent. The myth of Africa as the “dark” continent, reinforced by Joseph Conrad’s racist and erroneous novel, Heart of Darkness (1899), continues today so that an entire group of people and their culture has been suppressed. Well it is our job to unearth and share this history, so I am glad that on this second visit to Ayiti I had the opportunity to visit Henry Christophe’s Citadel and palace, and again, I am in awe and inspired by his accomplishment. A revisionist and more accurate portrayal of Haiti is long over due.
