Second Empire of Haiti

The Second Empire of Haiti was the short-lived monarchy of Faustin Soulouque, who ruled Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque, a former slave and army officer, became president in 1847 and soon purged the mixed-race elite from power. In 1849 he had himself proclaimed Emperor Faustin I, reviving the imperial title that had belonged to Dessalines. His reign was marked by ceremonial splendour, a large court and a new nobility, but also by political repression and by repeated, unsuccessful invasions of the neighbouring Dominican Republic. The empire's finances were weak, and the countryside remained poor. To pay for his court and army Soulouque debased the currency and imposed heavy taxes, while his attempts to conquer the Dominican Republic in 1849 and 1855 ended in defeat and disease. In 1858 the general Fabre Geffrard launched a rebellion, and on 15 January 1859 Soulouque abdicated and went into exile. Geffrard restored the republic, and Haiti has remained a republic ever since.