The Palace de la Belle Rivière () is a former palace in

Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite (; ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in the Dessalines Arrondissement, in the Artibonite (department), Artibonite Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. It is located in the Artibonite Valley, with the c ...

, in the Artibonite department of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. It is also known as the ‘’palace of 365 doors’’ ( or ) although it does not have 365 doors. The palace was built for the first and last king of Haiti, Henri Christophe I. It overlooks the city center and the

Artibonite River The Artibonite River ( French: ''Fleuve Artibonite''; Spanish: '' Río Artibonito''; Haitian Creole: ''Latibonit'') is the longest river in Haiti, and the longest on the island of Hispaniola. It is also the second-longest river in the Caribbean, b ...

. Today, the palace ruins are in poor condition and deteriorating. One kilometre east of the palace is the Crête-à-Pierrot fortress, where there was a major

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

of the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

in March 1802.

History

The Palais de la Belle Rivière was built in 1820 by Louis Dupeyrac to serve as a royal residence for king Henri Christophe, next to his residence in Milot, the

Sans-Souci Palace The Palace of Sans-Souci, or Sans-Souci Palace ( ), was the principal royal residence of Henry I, King of Haiti, better known as Henri Christophe. It is located in the town of Milot, approximately northeast of the Citadelle Laferrière ...

. It was still under construction, when the

Kingdom of Haiti The Kingdom of Haiti, or Kingdom of Hayti (; ), 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 northern part of the ...

fell in 1820 due to revolution and the king suffering a stroke. Shortly afterwards, he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

—according to legend, by shooting himself with a silver bullet.Monfried, Walter,
The Slave Who Became King: Henri Christophe
, ''Negro Digest'', Volume XII, Number 12, October, 1963. Therefore, the palace was never completed, and the intended second floor was not realized. Henri Christophe I constructed the palace to consolidate his power in the vast and rich agricultural Artibonite region, which bordered the republic of South Haiti, which was ruled by General

Alexandre Pétion Alexandre Sabès Pétion (; 2 April 1770 – 29 March 1818) was the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. One of Haiti's founding fathers, Pétion belonged to the revolutionary quartet that also includes ...

. Henri was known for his construction works: He built six châteaux, eight palaces and the massive Citadel Henri, now known as

Citadelle Laferrière The Citadelle Laferrière (), commonly known as La Citadelle (), is a large early 19th-century fortress located in Milot in Nord, Haiti. It is situated on the Bonnet à l'Evêque mountaintop located approximately uphill from the town of Milot, ...

, on a mountain near Milot. The Sans-Souce palace was his most famous palace. Although in ruins today, this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Palace has a rectangular plan, 68 metres long and 11 metres wide. Its west facade is backed by a vast rotunda, 12 meters in diameter. The walls of the palace are made of stone masonry and clay bricks bonded with lime mortar. The first restoration work was undertaken in 1932, when the first campaign to safeguard Haiti's monuments started. Although the restoration did probably not meet the rules of restoration, it slowed down the deterioration of the ruins and protected them against bad weather. In the second half of the 20th century, the building housed a municipal primary school and lodged various offices of the State and the Municipality. The palace also housed the local office of the National Security Volunteers (VSN), the

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute () or simply the Macoute, was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, (" Uncle Gunnysa ...

, which was disbanded in 1986. In 1995, the president of Haiti declared the palace national heritage and placed it in hands of the local municipality. Another restoration followed after the 2010 earthquake and the palace was restored from its dilapidated state. However today, the palace is still in poor condition and deteriorating again.

References

Literature

External Links

* {{cite web , url=https://lagazetteroyale.com/ , title=Website on the kingdom of Haiti , website=lagazetteroyale.com , language=en , access-date=12 June 2024 1820s in Haiti Buildings and structures in Haiti Former palaces Palaces in Haiti Ruined palaces Ruins in Haiti