François-Ferdinand Christophe

He was born in 1794 in Cap-Français (Le Cap), Saint-Domingue, now known as Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, as the first child and eldest son of Henri Christophe, a Field General and former slave, and Marie-Louise Coidavid, the daughter of a black hotel owner. Although not yet royalty, Christophe had big plans for his son and wanted him to follow in his footsteps. In a conversation with a friend, Christophe once proudly said of his infant son: "Never have I seen a finer baby than my little Francois-Ferdinand. He is strong and strapping, like me. He recognized me. He caught hold of my finger and smiled. He is the image of me!"[1]

When he was the appropriate age, Christophe started making plans for François-Ferdinand's education. He wanted his son to be a military man, like he was. As a young boy, François-Ferdinand was sent by his father to France, more specifically to Paris, where Christophe hoped that his son would receive a sturdy, military education. Instead, the Parisians, freshly defeated by the Haitian armies led by Christophe, in numerous battles, took François-Ferdinand out of school and made him a hostage. Christophe, learning of this situation, demanded explanations. The French promised that his son would receive a liberal education; instead, they placed François-Ferdinand in an orphans' asylum in Paris. On October 7, 1805, the 11-year-old boy died at the Orphans' Hospital of Paris. Both the circumstances of his death and his burial place are unknown. Even after Christophe became King Henri I of Haiti, he remained heartbroken because of his son's death. His official historian, forced to make constant references to the boy's lonely death in France, referred to François-Ferdinand with the title of prince, though he was never entitled to use it during his lifetime.[2]