Jean-Baptiste Riché, Count of Grande-Riviere-du-Nord (; 1780 – February 27, 1847) was a career officer and general in the Haitian Army. He was made President 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 ...

on March 1, 1846.

Early life

Riché was born free, the son of a prominent free black man of the same name in the North Province of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

(the French colony that later became Haiti). His father was a sergeant in the colonial militia and probably served in the rebel forces. Riché himself joined 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 ...

aries probably some time in 1801. After Haiti gained independence at the end of the revolution in 1803, Riché joined the forces 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. Born in the British West Indies, British Caribbean, Christophe was possibly of Senegambian descent ...

, who in 1807 promoted him to the rank of general and deputy commander of his army. During the civil war that followed between

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 ...

and Christophe, Riché was instrumental in Christophe's victory at the Battle of Siebert on January 1, 1807. During the siege of

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

in 1811, Riché commanded the left wing of Christophe's army. A loyal officer, Riché quickly became one of Christophe's most trusted commanders, and as a consequence he was placed in command of Haïti's Northern Province, where he was effective in subduing the

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

population. He was instrumental in defeating the Piquet Revolt of 1844. When Christophe became King in 1811, He proclaimed him

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Grande-Riviere-du-Nord. 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 ...

was abolished in 1820 after Prince Jacques-Victor Henry's death, he lost his title.

Presidency

After Christophe's downfall in 1820, Riché supported the new government and was therefore able to retain his post during the subsequent administration of

Jean-Pierre Boyer Jean-Pierre Boyer (; 15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and the 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 ann ...

, and those that followed. This continued until Jean-Louis Pierrot became

President of Haïti The president of Haiti (, ), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (, , ), is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of ...

in 1845. Pierrot attempted to reform the Haitian government, causing the Boyerist hierarchy of Haiti to sponsor a rebellion in the provinces of Port-au-Prince and Artibonite in 1846. The rebel army under mulatto control proclaimed Riché president of Haiti on March 1, 1846. After much of the Haitian army sided with the rebels, President Pierrot relinquished his office on March 24, 1846. After gaining the presidency of Haiti, one of Riché's first acts was to restore the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of 1816. As president, Riché was considered a failure by his Boyerist backers. Originally intended to be a figurehead, being one-eyed, illiterate, and approaching 70 years old, Riché quickly began to take an active role. He soon proposed reforms similar to those espoused by former President Pierrot. Riché also vigorously persecuted members of the vodou sect, in support of the dominant

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

religion. He died on February 27, 1847, possibly from being poisoned, although this has never been established, and one report was that he died by voluntarily taking an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...

Cantharides Cantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. Its main current use in pharmacology is treating molluscum contagiosum and warts topically. It is a burn agent ...

. Riché's presidency, considered ineffective by historians, opened the way for considerable changes in the political landscape of Haiti during the succeeding administrations. As a result, his presidency can be considered a turning point in the history of Haitian politics. After Riché's death in 1847, he was replaced by Faustin-Élie Soulouque, who was anticipated to be similar to Riché. Soulouque later appointed himself Emperor

Faustin I Faustin-Élie Soulouque (; 15 August 1782 – 3 August 1867) was a Haitian politician and military commander who served as President of Haiti from 1847 to 1849 and Emperor of Haiti from 1849 to 1859. Soulouque was a general in the Haitian Arm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riche, Jean Baptiste 1780 births 1847 deaths People of the Haitian Revolution People of the Dominican War of Independence Presidents of Haiti People from Nord (Haitian department)