Isabella Carter
Haiti has had 22 constitutions throughout its history, with the latest version approved by Parliament in 2011 and coming into effect in 2012. The first constitution of Haiti was promulgated under the short-lived government of then-Governor-General Toussaint Louverture in 1801. However, it was the Haitian Constitution of 1805 that was presented by seventeen black and coloured men, including future Haitian king Henri Christophe and Haitian President Alexandre Pétion, to Dessalines for approval.
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What You'll Learn
- The Haitian Constitution of 1801 was written by a Constitutional Assembly
- The Assembly was made up of three mulattoes and seven whites
- The 1805 Constitution was presented to Dessalines by seventeen black and coloured men
- The 1805 Constitution was the first to be written without any white authors or signatories
- The 1805 Constitution's Article 1 reiterated Haiti's independence from France
The Haitian Constitution of 1801 was written by a Constitutional Assembly
The Assembly was made up of three mulattoes and seven whites, and the constitution they produced reflected Louverture's ideas. It established Catholicism as the official religion, in line with Louverture's opposition to voodoo. It also prohibited gatherings that could be deemed seditious and made freed slaves tied to their workplaces. Interestingly, the idea of making Louverture ruler for life came from Alexander Hamilton, one of the more conservative figures in the American Revolution.
The Haitian Constitution of 1801 also included a number of rights and guarantees. For example, Article 12 guaranteed individual freedom and safety, stating that no one could be arrested without a formally expressed order from a duly authorised functionary. Article 13 protected property rights, declaring them "sacred and inviolable". Article 14 emphasised the importance of uninterrupted labour and cultivation in an agricultural colony like Saint-Domingue.
Furthermore, the 1801 Constitution provided for national festivals celebrating independence, the birthday of the emperor and his spouse, agriculture, and the constitution itself. It also declared that all citizens were equal before the law and that the quality of citizenship could be suspended in cases of bankruptcy or failure. The document also included a preamble, which set out the intentions and aspirations of the constitution's authors.
It is worth noting that the Haitian Constitution of 1801 was not the country's first. A colonial constitution was promulgated under the short-lived government of then-Governor-General Toussaint Louverture in 1801, prior to the constitution written by the Constitutional Assembly.
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The Assembly was made up of three mulattoes and seven whites
Haiti has had a total of 22 constitutions throughout its history. The first constitution of Haiti was promulgated under the short-lived government of then-Governor-General Toussaint Louverture in 1801. On February 4, 1801, the seventh anniversary of the abolition of slavery by the National Assembly, Louverture convened a Constitutional Assembly to draft a constitution for Saint-Domingue, which was still a French colony at the time.
In March 1801, representatives from all of Saint-Domingue's departments were elected to the Assembly, which completed the constitution in May. The Assembly was composed of three mulattoes and seven whites, and the constitution they produced reflected Louverture's ideas. The constitution designated Catholicism as the official religion, in line with Louverture's opposition to voodoo. It also restricted the freedom of former slaves by tying them to their places of work. Finally, the constitution named Louverture as ruler for life, a suggestion made to him by the conservative American revolutionary figure Alexander Hamilton. Louverture signed the constitution in July 1801.
The Haitian Constitution of 1801 was notable for crediting the French with ending slavery. However, the subsequent Constitution of 1805 attributed freedom from enslavement and colonialism to a single individual, "our liberator," Dessalines, ignoring the contributions of thousands of others who fought in the Haitian War of Independence. The Constitution of 1805 was drafted by seventeen black and coloured men, including future Haitian king Henri Christophe and Haitian President Alexandre Pétion. Notably, no whites were involved in the authorship or signing of this constitution.
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The 1805 Constitution was presented to Dessalines by seventeen black and coloured men
The 1805 Constitution was presented to Jacques Dessalines, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Haiti, by a group of seventeen black and coloured men. Unlike the Constitution of 1801 and the Declaration of Independence, no whites were involved in the authoring or signing of the Haitian Constitution of 1805. The 1805 Constitution was unique in several other ways, too.
Article 1 reiterated Haiti's independence from France, referring to the new sovereign state as the Haitian Empire. The constitution also included provisions for national festivals to celebrate independence, the birthday of the emperor and his spouse, agriculture, and the constitution itself. It also stated that the emperor alone had the right to absolve a criminal and commute their punishment.
The 1805 Constitution also prohibited any "white man, regardless of nationality" from owning "any property" in Haiti. Article 14 removed racial distinctions, and made all Haitians "blacks". This echoed the claims in the April 1804 declaration that whites had divided peoples of African descent, further solidifying the memory of whites as the only enslavers and oppressors in Haitian history. The Haitian Constitution put forth a new cultural representation of agricultural labor. Instead of being a bound duty, Article 21 labeled it as "the first, most noble, and most useful of the arts."
The 1805 Constitution was not the first in Haiti's history. In 1801, Toussaint Louverture, who had become one of the leaders of the revolutionary forces in the Haitian Revolution, convoked a Constitutional Assembly to write a constitution for Saint-Domingue, which was still a colony of France at the time. The 1801 Constitution was signed by Louverture in July of that year.
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The 1805 Constitution was the first to be written without any white authors or signatories
The 1805 Constitution of Haiti was the first to be written without any white authors or signatories. It was penned by a group of 17 black and coloured men, including future Haitian king Henri Christophe and Haitian President Alexandre Pétion. The document was presented to Haitian leader Dessalines for approval.
The 1805 Constitution was notably distinct from its 1801 predecessor and the Haitian Declaration of Independence, both of which included white authors and signatories. The 1805 Constitution also differed in its content, emphasising the country's independence from France and establishing the new sovereign state as the Haitian Empire.
The 1805 Constitution also served as a cultural representation of agricultural labour. Article 21 of the Constitution described this labour as "the first, most noble, and most useful of the arts", marking a shift from it being a bound duty. This Constitution also removed racial distinctions, with Article 14 declaring that all Haitians were "blacks". This reflected the claims made in the April 1804 declaration, which asserted that whites had divided people of African descent, reinforcing the memory of whites as the sole enslavers and oppressors in Haiti's history.
The 1805 Constitution also prohibited any "white man, regardless of nationality" from owning "any property" in Haiti. This prohibition extended to the future, with the Constitution stating that "no white man of whatever nation he may be, shall put his foot on this territory with the title of master or proprietor". However, it is important to note that this restriction did not apply to white women, Germans, or Poles who had been naturalized as Haitian citizens.
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The 1805 Constitution's Article 1 reiterated Haiti's independence from France
Haiti's first constitution was promulgated under the short-lived government of then-Governor-General Toussaint Louverture in 1801. However, the 1805 Constitution, Haiti's second, reiterated Haiti's independence from France. It was promulgated on May 20, 1805, by Jacques I, also known as Jacques Dessalines, the Emperor of Haiti at the time.
Article 1 of the 1805 Constitution states:
> The people inhabiting the island formerly called St. Domingo, hereby agree to form themselves into a free state sovereign and independent of any other power in the universe, under the name of the empire of Hayti.
This article emphasizes the independence and sovereignty of Haiti, formerly known as St. Domingo, from any other power, including France. It asserts the formation of a free and independent state under the name of the Empire of Hayti.
The 1805 Constitution is considered an imperial constitution, reflecting the Haitian Declaration of Independence's proclamation of the "state of Hayti" rather than a republic. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, also known as Emperor Jacques 1er d'Hayti, played a pivotal role in shaping this constitution. He declared himself emperor of the Empire of Hayti in October 1804, and the constitution was promulgated during the second year of his reign.
The 1805 Constitution also addressed issues of race and citizenship. It celebrated Haiti's identity as a "black" country and articulated a postcolonial vision of citizenship that challenged traditional notions of race. This constitution is notable for its explicit ideological conception of race, with Article 14 stating that "the Haytians shall henceforth be known by the generic appellation of blacks."
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Frequently asked questions
The first Haitian Constitution was written by seventeen black and coloured men, including future Haitian king Henri Christophe and Haitian President Alexandre Pétion. It was presented to Dessalines for approval in 1805.
The Haitian Constitution of 1805 reiterated Haiti's independence from France, referring to the new sovereign state as the Haitian Empire. It also included the removal of racial distinctions, with Article 14 stating that all Haitians were "blacks", and the right to address individual petitions to any constituted authority.
Yes, there was a Haitian Constitution in 1801, which was written when Haiti was still a colony of France. It was promulgated by then-Governor-General Toussaint Louverture, who was one of the leaders of the revolutionary forces in the Haitian Revolution.
