The first and last king of Haiti - Marlene Daut

翻译人员: Chong Liu 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

The royal couple of Haiti rode into their coronation to thunderous applause.

海地王室夫妇 在雷鸣般的掌声中加冕。

After receiving his ornate crown and scepter,

在接受了华丽的王冠和权杖之后，

Henry Christophe ascended his throne, towering 20 meters in the air.

亨利 · 克利斯朵夫（Henry Christophe) 登上了 20 米高的宝座。

But little did the cheering onlookers know that the first king of Haiti

但夹道欢呼的民众绝不会料到，

would also be its last.

海地第一位的国王， 也将会是最后一位。

Enslaved at birth on the island of Grenada,

出生在格林纳达岛的 克利斯朵夫生而为奴，

Christophe spent his childhood being moved between multiple Caribbean islands.

他的童年是在多个 加勒比岛屿之间度过的。

Just 12 years old in 1779,

1779 年，年仅 12 岁的他，

he accompanied his master to aid the American revolutionaries

跟随他的主人

in the Battle of Savannah.

在萨凡纳战役中帮助美国革命者。

This prolonged siege would be Christophe’s first encounter with violent revolution.

这场旷日持久的围攻 将是克利斯朵夫

第一次遇到暴力革命。

There are few surviving written records

关于克利斯朵夫战后的生活，

about Christophe’s life immediately after the war.

现存的书面记录很少。

Over the next decade,

在接下来的十年里，

we know he worked as a mason and a waiter at a hotel

我们知道他在法国殖民地圣多明克，

in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, as Haiti was then known.

也就是现在我们说的海地 的一家酒店做石匠和服务员。

1791 年，当殖民地的奴隶起义时，

In 1791, when the colony’s slaves rose up in rebellion,

Christophe got another opportunity to fight for freedom.

克利斯朵夫又得到了 一次争取自由的机会。

Led by Toussaint Louverture, the rebels fought against plantation owners,

在图森 · 卢维杜尔（Toussaint Louverture）的领导下，

as well as British and Spanish forces seeking control of the island.

叛乱分子与种植园主 以及寻求控制该岛的

英国和西班牙军队作战。

Christophe quickly rose through the ranks,

克利斯朵夫很快就在队伍中晋升，

proving himself the equal of more experienced generals.

证明自己与更有经验的将军不相上下。

By 1793,

直到 1793 年，

Louverture had successfully liberated all of Saint-Domingue’s enslaved people,

卢维杜尔成功解放了 圣多明戈所有的奴隶，

and by 1801 he’d established the island as a semi-autonomous colony.

到 1801 年，他把圣多明戈岛 建成了半自治殖民地。

But during this time, Napoleon Bonaparte had assumed power in France,

但在这段时间里， 拿破仑 · 波拿巴在法国掌权，

and made it his mission to restore slavery and French authority

他的任务是恢复整个帝国的奴隶制

throughout the empire.

和法国的权威。

French attempts to reinstate slavery met fierce resistance,

法国恢复奴隶制的努力 遭到了激烈的抵抗，

with General Christophe even burning the capital city

克利斯朵夫将军甚至烧毁了首都

to prevent military occupation.

以防止军事占领。

Finally, the rebellion and an outbreak of yellow fever

最后，叛乱和黄热病爆发

forced French soldiers to withdraw— but the fight was not without casualties.

迫使法国士兵撤退， 但战斗并非没有伤亡。

Louverture was captured, and left to die in a French prison;

卢维杜尔被俘，在法国监狱里死去;

a fate that Christophe’s nine-year-old son would share only a few years later.

几年后，克利斯朵夫 9 岁的儿子 也面临同样的命运。

Following the revolution,

革命之后，

Christophe and generals Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Alexandre Pétion

克利斯朵夫和将军 让雅克 · 德萨林以及亚历山大 · 佩蒂翁

rose to prominent positions in the new government.

在新政府中担任要职。

In 1804, Dessalines was proclaimed the emperor of independent Haiti.

1804年，德萨林被宣布为 海地独立的皇帝。

But his desire to hold exclusive power alienated his supporters.

但是他想独揽大权的欲望 疏远了他的支持者。

Eventually, Dessalines’ rule incited a political conspiracy

最终，德萨林的统治 引发了一场政治阴谋，

that ended in his assassination in 1806.

最终导致他在 1806 年被暗杀。

The subsequent power struggle led to a Civil War, which split the country in two.

随后的权力斗争导致了内战， 把国家一分为二。

By 1807, Christophe was governing as president of the north in Cap-Haïtien,

到 1807 年，克利斯朵夫 在海地角担任北方的总统，

and Pétion was ruling the south from Port-au-Prince.

而佩蒂翁在太子港统治南方。

Pétion tried to stay true to the revolution’s democratic roots

佩蒂翁试图以美国为榜样

by modeling his republic after the United States.

忠于革命的民主根源。

He even supported anti-colonial revolutionaries in other nations.

他甚至支持其他国家的反殖民革命。

These policies endeared him to his people,

这些政策赢得了他的人民的喜爱，

but they slowed trade and economic growth.

但却减缓了贸易和经济增长。

Christophe, conversely, had more aggressive plans for an independent Haiti.

相反，克利斯朵夫 对海地独立有更激进的计划。

He redistributed land to the people, while retaining state control of agriculture.

他重新分配土地给人民， 同时保留国家对农业的控制。

He also established trade with many foreign nations,

他还与包括英国和美国在内的许多国家

including Great Britain and the United States,

建立了贸易关系，

and pledged non-interference with their foreign policies.

并保证不干涉这些国家的外交政策。

He even built a massive Citadel in case the French tried to invade again.

他甚至建造了一个巨大的城堡， 以防法国人再次入侵。

To accomplish all of this, Christophe instituted mandatory labor,

为了完成这一切， 克利斯朵夫设立了强制劳动制度，

and to strengthen his authority, he crowned himself king in 1811.

为了加强自己的权威， 他在 1811 年自立为王。

During his reign, he lived in an elegant palace called Sans Souci

在他统治期间，他和他的妻子 以及他们剩下的三个孩子

along with his wife and their three remaining children.

住在一个名为圣苏西宫 （Sans Souci ）的优雅宫殿里。

Christophe’s kingdom oversaw rapid development of trade, industry, culture,

克利斯朵夫的王国 见证了贸易、工业、

and education.

文化和教育的快速发展。

He imported renowned European artists to Haiti’s cultural scene,

为了建立公共教育，

as well as European teachers, in order to establish public education.

他把著名的欧洲艺术家 和欧洲教师引进海地的文化舞台。

But while the king was initially popular among his subjects,

虽然国王最初在他的臣民中很受欢迎，

his labor mandates were an uncomfortable reminder

但他的劳工法令 令人不安地让人想起了

of the slavery Haitians fought to destroy.

海地人为摧毁奴隶制而进行的斗争。

Over time, his increasingly authoritarian policies lost support,

随着时间的推移， 他越来越专制的政策失去了人心，

and his opponents to the south gained strength.

他的南方宿敌日渐得势。

In October 1820, his reign finally reached its tragic conclusion.

1820 年 10 月， 他的统治终以悲剧收场。

Months after a debilitating stroke left him unable to govern,

在中风后数月，国王憔悴无力执政，

key members of his military defected to southern forces.

军队的主将纷纷叛逃到南方军队。

Betrayed and despondent, the king committed suicide.

国王最后众叛亲离，落寞自杀。

Today, the traces of Christophe’s complicated history

时至今日，在克利斯朵夫宫殿 摇摇欲坠的废墟中，

can still be found in the crumbling remains of his palaces,

在作为第一个永久废除 奴隶制的国家的海地遗迹中，

and in Haiti’s legacy as the first nation to permanently abolish slavery.

仍能找到克利斯朵夫复杂历史的痕迹。