Queen Marie Louise Coidavid (1778 – 11 March 1851), was the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

of the

Kingdom of Haiti The Kingdom of Haiti (french: Royaume d'Haïti; ht, Wayòm an Ayiti) was the state established by Henri Christophe on 28 March 1811 when he proclaimed himself King Henri I after having previously ruled as president of the State of Haiti, in the ...

1811–20 as the spouse of

Henri Christophe Henri Christophe (; 6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti. Christophe was of Bambara ethnicity in West Africa, and perhaps of Igbo descent. Beginning with t ...

Early life

Marie-Louise was born into a free black family; her father was the owner of Hotel de la Couronne,

Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previousl ...

. Henri Christophe was a slave purchased by her father. Supposedly, he earned enough money in tips from his duties at the hotel that he was able to purchase his freedom before the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...

. They married in Cap-Haïtien in 1793, having had a relationship with him from the year prior. They had four children: François Ferdinand (born 1794), Françoise-Améthyste (d. 1831), Athénaïs (d. 1839) and Victor-Henri. At her spouse's new position in 1798, she moved to the

Sans-Souci Palace The Palace of Sans-Souci, or Sans-Souci Palace (french: Palais Sans Souci ), was the principal royal residence of Henri Christophe, Henry I, King of Haiti, King of Kingdom of Haiti, Haiti, better known as Henri Christophe. It is located in ...

. During the French invasion, she and her children lived underground until 1803.

Queen

In 1811, Marie-Louise was given the title of queen upon the creation of the Kingdom of Haiti. Her new status gave her ceremonial tasks to perform,

ladies-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

, a secretary and her own court. She took her position seriously, and stated that the title "given to her by the nation" also gave her responsibilities and duties to perform. She served as the hostess of the ceremonial royal court life performed at the Sans-Souci Palace. She did not involve herself in the affairs of state. She was given the position of Regent should her son succeed her spouse while still being a minor.Louis Marceau, Marie - Louise d'Haiti, Publié à Buenos Aires, Se, 1953, pages 2–18. However, as her son became of age before the death of his father, this was never to materialize. After the death of the king in 1820, she remained with her daughters Améthyste and Athénaïs at the palace until they were escorted from it by his followers together with his corpse; after their departure, the palace was attacked and plundered. Marie-Louise and her daughters were given the property Lambert outside Cap. She was visited by president

Jean Pierre Boyer Jean-Pierre Boyer (15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annex ...

, who offered her his protection; he denied the

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

s of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

she gave him, stating that he was the leader of poor people. They were allowed to settle in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

. Marie-Louise was described as calm and resigned, but her daughters, especially Athénaïs, were described as vengeful.

Exile

The Queen was in exile for 30 years. In August 1821, the former queen left Haiti with her daughters under the protection of the British

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir

Home Popham Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishme ...

, and travelled to London. There were rumours that she was searching for the money, three million, deposited by her spouse in Europe. Whatever the case, she did live the rest of her life without economic difficulties. The English climate and pollution during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

was determintal to Améthyste's health, and eventually they decided to leave. In 1831, Marie-Louise and her daughters moved in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

in Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives, Améthyste dying shortly after their arrival and Athénaïs in 1839. They lived discreetly for the most part, but were occasionally bothered by fortune hunters and throne claimers who wanted their fortune. Shortly before her death, she wrote to Haiti for permission to return. She never did, however, before she died in Italy.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20100211132154/http://www.haitiwebs.com/archive/index.php/t-44102.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Coidavid, Marie-Louise 1778 births 1851 deaths Haitian royal consorts Christophe family Haitian Roman Catholics 19th-century Haitian people People of the Haitian Revolution Women of the Haitian Revolution People from Nord-Est (department) Nobility of the Americas

Early life

Queen

Exile

See also

References

External links