The Armorial of Haiti

The Armorial of Haiti: Symbols of Nobility in the Reign of Heny Christophe

Edited with an essay, commentary, and appendix by Clive Cheesman, Richmond Herald.

Including a historical introduction by Marie-Lucie Vendryes, and a preface by Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada.

Henry Christophe (1767-1820), Haiti's only king, was one of the most unusual figures in nineteenth-century Caribbean history. Of obscure origins, he served under the famous Toussaint Louverture in the war of independence that turned the French colony of Saint-Domingue into the free nation of Haiti. Three years later, in 1807, Christophe assumed control of the northern part of the country as president and generalissimo, and in 1811 he made himself king.

One of King Henry's first acts was to create a court and a nobility, elevating his leading supporters to the rank of chevalier, baron, count, duke or prince, and to grant coats of arms to every title-holder. The Armorial Général du Royaume d'Hayti, published in its entirety here, is a contemporary manuscript from Haiti (now preserved in the collections of the College of Arms) recording in colour the arms of the king himself, the queen, the prince royal, the capital city (Cap-Henry, now Cap-Haïtien) and 87 men who held titles of nobility between 1812 and 1814.

The heraldry of the short-lived kingdom of Haiti is intriguingly both like and unlike its European equivalents. Like them, it is replete with curious beasts and monsters, and the accoutrements of war ancient and modern. The charmingly painted domestic animals and fowl, however, and the occasional, disarming appearance of more mundane items such as a watering-can, a bookcase or a rake, show that the European basis of heraldry has been taken and developed with considerable inventiveness and fantasy.

This book will fascinate anyone interested in heraldic art and design, in monarchical and national symbolism, or in the history of the Caribbean and the aftermath of slavery.

All publisher's proceeds from the sale of this book are directed towards humanitarian objectives in Haiti.