23 Facts About Fabre Geffrard

Fabre Geffrard was the first head of state of Haiti to have been born in the 19th century, as well as the first to be born after independence.

Fabre Geffrard was the son of General Nicolas Geffrard, a veteran of the Haitian Revolution who helped write the 1806 Constitution.

The elder Fabre Geffrard passed away before his birth and left him an orphan.

Fabre Geffrard was later adopted by Colonel Fabre, a close associate of his father's, who had the young Geffrard receive an education in Aux Cayes.

At the age of 15, Fabre Geffrard followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Haitian military, enlisting in his late father's old unit, the 13th Regiment.

Fabre Geffrard was then tried before a military court headed by Faustin Soulouque, a rising star in the military and future emperor of Haiti.

General Fabre Geffrard was seen as the only capable leader in the Faustin regime at the time, and both the masses and the educated elite regarded him as a harbinger of change.

Revolutionaries in the Artibonite Valley, plotting against the emperor, sent a delegation to Fabre Geffrard, requesting that he take command of the revolution.

Fabre Geffrard then raised his standard and declared the republic on December 23,1858.

Fabre Geffrard's first act as president was to cut the army in half from 30,000 to 15,000.

Fabre Geffrard formed his own presidential guards called Les Tirailleurs de la Garde, who were trained under him personally.

In June 1859, Fabre Geffrard founded the National Law School and reinstituted the Medical School that Boyer began.

Fabre Geffrard revived the policy of former rulers Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Petion and Jean-Pierre Boyer of recruiting African Americans to settle in Haiti.

However, by 1862, Fabre Geffrard began to examine the constitution and eliminated the legislature to his own benefit.

Fabre Geffrard first gave himself a raise, 2 plantations, and paid for his personal luxuries with hospital funds and army funds.

Fabre Geffrard was a Catholic, which made him renounce any form of the Voodoo faith.

Fabre Geffrard gave orders to demolish altars, drums, and any other instruments used in ceremonies.

Fabre Geffrard ordered a deep investigation and a public execution was held.

In 1859, Fabre Geffrard made the first attempt in negotiating with the Dominican Republic under the regime of Pedro Santana.

Fabre Geffrard sent his personal guards and men to help out the rebels against Spanish troops, but in July 1861, following the execution of Francisco del Rosario Sanchez, Spain gave Haiti an ultimatum for participating and supporting the Dominican rebels.

Haiti took advantage of the war to become a major exporter of cotton to the United States, and Fabre Geffrard imported gins and technicians to increase production.

In 1862, Etienne Salomon tried to rally the rural community to revolt against Fabre Geffrard, but was instead shot and killed.

Fabre Geffrard re-opened old wounds among North, West, and South Haiti and brought foreigners into domestic affairs.