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The cries of Liberty forever! Down with tyranny! were heard on all sides as Dessalines fell dead. In the Western and Southern provinces, where the insurrection had inflamed the people's minds, the Emperor's death provoked a strong reaction against the political regime he had established. The discipline of the army felt the effect of this reaction; soldiers deserted their regiments. And the citizens seemed to think that there was no longer any restraint to their will. There was but little show of authority and it looked as though license had replaced Dessalines's absolutism. This state of affairs was far from

being satisfying to Christophe, who had become Chief of the Provisional Government. In reality he had the same ideas as Dessalines concerning the prerogatives of a ruler. Moreover, the insurrection had not had time to enter the Northern province, which was under his command; thus he was able to maintain the severe discipline which he had established there. Like his former chief, Christophe thought that for the time being absolute power was the only system possible in Haiti. Therefore, he intended to pursue the same plan of action which Dessalines had instituted. In consequence he was distrustful of the new ideas current in the Western and Southern provinces, where they were discussing the advisability of restricting the powers of the ruler of the country and of taking precautions against a possible restoration of tyranny. Fixing his suspicions upon the originators of this movement he cautiously remained with his army at Cap.

Christophe and Pétion

Alexandre Pétion was undoubtedly the leading spirit among the generals who were planning to limit the authority of the ruler of Haiti. Great was the contrast between the two men whom coming events were going to set at enmity one against the other.

Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince on the 2d of April, 1770. A free man by birth, he studied mathematics, and became one of the best artillerymen of his time; he was also a competent silversmith.

Pétion's father was a white Frenchman by the name of Sabes; he owed to the accident of his birth the advantage of a cultivated mind. Of a sickly constitution he was phlegmatic and easy-tempered; his tastes were simple and he was known for his kindness and his benevolence.

Christophe was born in the island of San-Christopher In 1789. According to Listant Pradine (Lois et Antes, 1807, p. 199) he was born at Grenada on the 8th of October, 1787. Christophe was still a slave when the events which led to the abolition of slavery took place in Saint-Domingue.

Christophe born and raised in slavery, was very little inclined to pity. Of a tall and muscular build, with bright and intelligent eyes as his most striking feature, he seemed the very embodiment of force. One of his defects was the love of ostentation; when he was a French general his home at Cap-Francais was celebrated for its luxurious richness, and his mode of entertainment was pompous. He was of a sanguine and passionate nature, chafing easily under the slightest restraint.

Pétion was often actuated by his heart, whilst Christophe rarely allowed himself to be thus ruled. The former trusted the people, in the welfare of whom he was deeply interested; be contemplated granting them wise liberties and thought that it would be possible to instill into them a liking for work by making them the owners of the land they had watered with their blood. Christophe had very little faith in the improvement of the people through the enjoyment of liberty; he was convinced that an iron hand would more easily and more quickly compel the people to work. Two men of such vastly different natures could not possibly have the same political ideas. It was no wonder then that whilst Pétion was thinking of establishing a republican form of government, Christophe, if he were not inclined to the maintenance of the monarchy, wished at least to create a strong and forcible executive power. On account of this difference of opinion the two Generals were already at odds when on November 3, 1806, Christophe, in his capacity of Chief of the Provisional Government, summoned the citizens in order to elect a Constituent Assembly which was to meet at Port-au-Prince on the 30th of the same month. In the province of the North and in the Artibonite, which were under Christophe's direct influence, there were more parishes than in the West and in the South. The Chief of the Provisional Government was therefore sure of having in the Assembly a majority willing to support him. In consequence, he caused a draft of a constitution suitable to his ideas to be prepared.

To counteract Christophe's plans Pétion authorized the election of Deputies in many small towns in the Western and Southern departments, which had hitherto never been represented. He himself became a member of the Constituent Assembly, the majority of which he had now secured; and in his turn he prepared the draft of a constitution.

The Constitution of 1806

By increasing the number of the members of the Assembly, Pétion had unquestionably disregarded the authority of the Chief of the Provisional Government. The latter was not disposed to suffer any such infringement of his prerogatives and when, on the 18th of December, 1806, the Assembly met in the church at Port-au-Prince, the breach between the two Generals was complete. The Deputies from the Northern and Artibonite provinces at once protested against the presence of those whom they considered as unlawfully elected. But no notice was taken of their protest. A committee, of which Pétion was appointed the chairman, was commissioned to draw up and to submit to the Assembly the draft of the Constitution.

In a proclamation of December 24, Christophe openly declared many of the most important members of the Assembly to be rebels; he then prepared to march against Port-au-Prince. Yet on the 27th of December Pétion submitted the report of the committee to the Assembly and that same day the Constitution was adopted. Immediately the Deputies from the Northern and Artibonite provinces dispatched to Christophe a written protest against the so-called "Constitution, the consequence of intrigue and malevolence, and against all that may follow until the dissolution of the Assembly."

The Constitution of 1806 established a republican form of government; as an evidence of the distrust then existing against Christophe, exaggerated precautions were taken against the Chief of the Executive Power, whose authority was greatly curtailed. All the powers were centred in one body, the Senate, which had the entire possession of all executive, legislative, and military functions. The Senate alone had the right to appoint the civil and military functionaries, to determine their duties and the place of their residence; it had the direction of the foreign affairs and was, in consequence, authorized to draw up all treaties; it had the initiative in the matter of laws and legislative measures; it assumed also the privileges of a Supreme Court. The President of the Republic, elected for four years, was simply invested with the care of proclaiming the acts adopted by the Senate and of taking the necessary steps for their execution; and although he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army he was not allowed to confer any title or rank.

Believing that in this manner it had put an effectual stop to any tendency toward despotism, the Constituent Assembly, on the 28th of December, 1806, elected Christophe President of Haiti ; the same day the twenty-four members of the Senate were also elected.

Nevertheless, Christophe, who had not received any notification of his election, continued on his march against Port-au-Prince at the head of a formidable army.

The Senate met on the 31st of December, and regarded Christophe's soldiers, who were then at l'Arcahaie, as enemies.

However, according to the new Constitution, the President-elect was granted fifteen days in which to take the oath of the office. Before the expiration of this time he could not, in the absence of any overt action on his part, be considered as having declined the office or being in rebellion against the Constitution, a copy of which they had not even thought of sending him. Yet when Christophe's soldiers reached Sibert on the 15th of January, 1807, they encountered the army of the Western and Southern provinces under the command of Pétion. A fierce battle ensued. Pétion was utterly defeated and would have been killed but for the devotedness of one of his aides-de-camp, Coutilien Coustard, who, noticing the danger in which his chief stood, seized the hat adorned with gold lace usually worn by Pétion and placed it on his own head. He was thus mistaken for his General and killed.