The first and last king of Haiti - Marlene Daut

譯者: Clement Fu 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

海地皇室伉儷徐徐駛進加冕會場

After receiving his ornate crown and scepter,

國王在如雷掌聲中接過皇冠、權仗

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

亨利·克里斯托夫 (Henry Christophe) 登上離地 20 米的寶座

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

夾道歡呼的民眾誰能料到

開國太祖又會是末代後主

would also be its last.

Enslaved at birth on the island of Grenada,

在島嶼國家格瑞那達 (Grenada) 生為奴隸

Christophe spent his childhood being moved between multiple Caribbean islands.

國王的童年遷徙多個加勒比海群島

Just 12 years old in 1779,

1779 年，才 12 歲的他

he accompanied his master to aid the American revolutionaries

伴隨主子扶助美國革命

in the Battle of Savannah.

身陷薩凡納戰役 (Battle of Savannah)

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

這場持久城戰讓國王初嘗勇武革命

There are few surviving written records

戰後初期克里斯托夫生活如何

about Christophe’s life immediately after the war.

記載文獻早已散逸

Over the next decade,

然而隨後十年

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

後世知道他當過石匠、客棧小二

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

在法屬殖民地聖多明哥 (Saint-Domingue) 謀生，即今海地

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

1791 年，當殖民地奴隸群起叛變

Christophe got another opportunity to fight for freedom.

克里斯托夫再遇上爭取自由的契機

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

首領杜桑·盧維杜爾 (Toussaint Louverture) 率同一眾義士

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

反抗廠主，以至染指掌控 島嶼的英國和西班牙部隊

Christophe quickly rose through the ranks,

克里斯托夫的階級扶搖直上

proving himself the equal of more experienced generals.

力證自己能力堪稱上將

By 1793,

到 1793 年

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

盧維杜爾成功解放聖多明哥奴民

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

1801 年建立起島上半自主殖民地

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

與此同時，拿破崙·波拿巴 (Napoleon Bonaparte) 在法國登位

and made it his mission to restore slavery and French authority

誓要回歸奴隸制及法國主權

throughout the empire.

一統帝國

French attempts to reinstate slavery met fierce resistance,

法軍復施奴隸制遇上頑強抵抗

with General Christophe even burning the capital city

克里斯托夫將軍不惜付諸一炬

to prevent military occupation.

也不讓敵軍佔領首都

Finally, the rebellion and an outbreak of yellow fever

最終，反抗巧遇黃熱病爆發

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

迫使法軍撤退，但一仗功成豈無枯骨

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

盧維杜爾淪為俘虜，法軍牢中終歿

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

就數年後，克里斯托夫 9 歲大的兒子也遭逢同一厄運

Following the revolution,

革命之後，克里斯托夫與將領

Christophe and generals Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Alexandre Pétion

讓-雅克·德薩林 (Jean-Jacques Dessalines) 和亞歷山大·佩蒂翁 (Alexandre Pétion)

rose to prominent positions in the new government.

晉升新政府中顯赫要職

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

1804 年德薩林自擁海地獨立後始皇

But his desire to hold exclusive power alienated his supporters.

獨攬大權的欲望卻為支持者所背棄

Eventually, Dessalines’ rule incited a political conspiracy

最終，德薩林治下激起政治圖謀

that ended in his assassination in 1806.

1806 年遇刺身亡

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

之後權爭引來內戰，國家一分為二

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

1807 年克里斯托夫北據海地角 (Cap-Haïtien) 成為北方總統

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

佩蒂翁則坐鎮太子港 (Port-au-Prince) 統領南方

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

佩蒂翁嘗試忠於革命的民主初心

by modeling his republic after the United States.

塑造心目中仿效美國的共和國

He even supported anti-colonial revolutionaries in other nations.

甚至支持異域的反殖民革命

These policies endeared him to his people,

這些舉措贏得民心

but they slowed trade and economic growth.

然而無濟於貿易及經濟增長

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

克里斯托夫卻對獨立海地鴻圖大計

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

他配給人民土地，農業卻集權中央

He also established trade with many foreign nations,

拓展與殊方異域的經貿往來

including Great Britain and the United States,

包括大不列顛和美國

and pledged non-interference with their foreign policies.

並揚言對外不干涉的政策

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

甚至築起巨大堡壘以防法軍再侵襲

To accomplish all of this, Christophe instituted mandatory labor,

為樹立偉績，克里斯托夫強徵勞工

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

為鞏固勢力，1811 年更自封為王

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

在位其間他與王后及其餘三名子女

along with his wife and their three remaining children.

住在冠冕堂皇的聖蘇西宮 (Sans Souci)

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

治下王國貿易、工業、文化、教育

and education.

迅速發展

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

文化方面引進著名歐洲藝術家

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

又羅聘歐洲教師籌辦公共教育

But while the king was initially popular among his subjects,

儘管國王初時受子民愛戴

his labor mandates were an uncomfortable reminder

徵召夫役卻戳中海地人心中

of the slavery Haitians fought to destroy.

拼生盡死破除奴隸制的痛

Over time, his increasingly authoritarian policies lost support,

與日俱增的鐵腕統治終歸失去人心

and his opponents to the south gained strength.

南方宿敵日漸得勢

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

1820 年 10 月，統治終以悲劇收場

Months after a debilitating stroke left him unable to govern,

中風後數個月國王憔悴無力執政

key members of his military defected to southern forces.

軍方主將紛紛變節投奔南方

Betrayed and despondent, the king committed suicide.

國王眾叛落寞下自盡，一死謝天下

Today, the traces of Christophe’s complicated history

克里斯托夫交錯一生的蹤跡

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

今散落一眾宮殿的破瓦頹垣

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

留在史上首國摒棄奴役的海地傳奇