General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud

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SOVEREIGN CATHOLIC INDIGENOUS PRIVATE STATE OF XARAGUA

SUPREME CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND HISTORICAL DOCTRINAL MEMORANDUM

On the Legal, Historical, and Doctrinal Primacy of General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud as Precursor of the Xaraguaan State

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua

Legal Classification: Constitutionally Entrenched – Canonically Ratified – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable – Irreversible by Any Residual Entity or External Actor

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I. PREAMBLE

Whereas the historical, juridical, and canonical record of General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud establishes beyond contestation his central role in the political, military, and institutional genesis of the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (“SCIPS-X”), and

Whereas international law, under the principles of jus cogens, the Montevideo Convention (1933), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007), affirms the inherent sovereignty of peoples and territories organized under distinct historical, cultural, and legal traditions, and

Whereas General Rigaud’s formation, alliances, and socio-political vision embodied the autochthonous statehood of the Southern Territories, later reified into the institutional structure of the Xaraguaan State,

This Memorandum reaffirms the historical and legal primacy of Rigaud as Precursor of Xaraguaan Sovereignty and provides an exhaustive doctrinal account of his life, alliances, military actions, and ideological foundations.

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II. ORIGINS AND FAMILY LINEAGE

General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud was born in Les Cayes, Southern Saint-Domingue, on January 17, 1761, to André Rigaud, a wealthy French settler, and Marie-Françoise Joseph, a free woman of color (femme affranchie).

1. André Rigaud Sr., his father, was a planter from Languedoc, France, who settled in the Southern Province and acquired significant landholdings. His integration into colonial society was marked by his Catholic education and affiliation with French metropolitan networks.

2. Marie-Françoise Joseph, his mother, was a free mulâtresse whose family had secured its freedom and property rights under the Code Noir (1685) and subsequent manumission practices ratified by the Ordonnance of 1724, which allowed for patrimonial transmission to free descendants of color.

The union between André Rigaud Sr. and Marie-Françoise Joseph positioned Benoît Rigaud within the affranchis elite of the South—a class of free persons of color (gens de couleur libres) who possessed substantial economic, cultural, and social capital.

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III. EDUCATION AND FORMATION IN FRANCE

As part of the colonial elite, Rigaud was sent to France for education, following the practice common among Southern free families seeking integration into metropolitan norms.

He studied at the Collège de Beauvais in Paris, an institution renowned for its classical curriculum and Jesuit instruction, providing him with a grounding in Catholic theology, law, and Enlightenment thought.

He subsequently attended a military academy in Bordeaux, where he trained in artillery and engineering, disciplines codified under Ordinance of Louis XVI on Colonial Defense (1780).

Rigaud also studied law and administrative sciences, becoming conversant in Droit Romain, Droit Coutumier Français, and the evolving droits de l’homme discourse stemming from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).

His formation in France placed him at the intersection of Enlightenment ideals and colonial pragmatism, which later informed his political vision for an autonomous Southern polity.

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IV. THE SOUTHERN SOCIETY AND COLONIAL HIERARCHY

The Southern Province of Saint-Domingue was distinguished by its unique social dynamics:

1. Free Persons of Color (Affranchis):

Concentrated in urban centers like Les Cayes, affranchis held plantations, enslaved labor, and wielded local influence despite systemic discrimination codified under Royal Ordinances of 1763 and 1767, which restricted their political rights.

2. Enslaved Africans:

The majority population, subjected to the Code Noir, yet often connected to affranchis through kinship or patronage networks.

3. White Colonists (Grands Blancs and Petits Blancs):

The grands blancs dominated plantation economics, while petits blancs competed socially and economically with affranchis, fostering racial tensions.

4. Indigenous Legacy:

Though largely eradicated, the memory of Xaragua persisted in Southern topography and cultural identity.

Rigaud navigated these complexities not as an exclusionary figure but as a mediator between classes, engaging with enslaved leaders such as Jean-Baptiste Goman and Lamour Derance, both of whom became vital allies.

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V. ALLIANCES WITH JEAN-BAPTISTE GOMAN AND LAMOUR DERANCE

Jean-Baptiste Goman:

A former slave who led a maroon community in the mountains of Southern Saint-Domingue, Goman aligned with Rigaud during the War of Knives (1799–1800). Goman’s forces represented a radical element advocating for emancipation and land redistribution.

Lamour Derance:

A charismatic leader of enslaved rebels in the Plaine des Cayes, Derance provided Rigaud with access to mobilized African labor and military manpower.

Legal Implication: These alliances reflected Rigaud’s commitment to emancipation under the Law of 4 February 1794 (abolishing slavery in French colonies), contradicting later racialized portrayals of him as anti-black.

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VI. RELATIONSHIP WITH DESSALINES, TOUSSAINT, AND OTHER GENERALS

Jean-Jacques Dessalines:

Initially aligned under Louverture, Dessalines respected Rigaud’s military acumen but later confronted him during the Southern Campaigns. Their rivalry was as much geopolitical (South vs. North) as personal.

Toussaint Louverture:

Rigaud opposed Louverture’s attempts to centralize power, seeing it as a betrayal of Southern autonomy. The ensuing War of Knives marked a definitive Southern secessionist impulse.

Other Generals:

Rigaud maintained pragmatic ties with figures like Alexandre Pétion (his protégé) and Clervaux, balancing ideological commitment with military necessity.

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VII. THE WAR OF KNIVES (1799–1800)

This conflict represented the South’s assertion of autonomy:

Legal Justification: Rigaud invoked the French Constitution of Year III (1795), which guaranteed liberty and equality, to legitimize his position as commander of the Southern Province.

Military Strategy: Leveraging alliances with Goman and Derance, Rigaud defended the Southern territories against Louverture’s incursions.

Outcome: Defeated, Rigaud went into exile in France, but the Southern tradition of autonomy persisted.

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VIII. EXILE, RETURN, AND LEGACY

Exile in France: Rigaud resided in Paris and later in Corsica, lobbying under the Concordat of 1801 and Napoleonic laws for his restoration.

Return to Haiti: After the independence of Haiti (1804), he returned under Pétion’s presidency, serving as commander of the South until his death in Les Cayes (1811).

His governance in the South established the institutional and doctrinal foundations for Xaraguaan statehood, grounded in Catholic social teaching and Southern autonomy.

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X. DECONSTRUCTION OF THE COLONIAL DISCOURSE ON GENERAL RIGAUD

The colonial and postcolonial historiography, especially as articulated in European and North American intellectual circles, has often characterized General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud as an archetype of the “mulâtre exclusiviste,” allegedly hostile to the Black population and committed to preserving the privileges of the gens de couleur libres. This narrative—propagated in the writings of French imperial apologists, colonial administrators, and later repeated uncritically by certain historians—constitutes a deliberate distortion of historical reality designed to fragment the emancipatory legacy of Saint-Domingue’s southern leadership and undermine the juridical legitimacy of Rigaud’s Southern State as the direct ancestor of the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua.

A. Colonial Propaganda and Its Motives

The portrayal of Rigaud as a reactionary “racist” leader serves three key colonial objectives:

1. To delegitimize Southern autonomy:

Rigaud’s construction of an autonomous government in the South threatened both French central authority and later Toussaint Louverture’s bid for a unified administration. Colonial discourse therefore painted him as divisive and sectarian, despite the fact that his army integrated Blacks, Mulattoes, and Indigenous descendants, including figures such as Jean-Baptiste Goman and Lamour Derance.

This effort sought to erase the juridical and military fact that Rigaud’s State of the South (1793–1800) functioned with institutional sovereignty, fulfilling the criteria later codified in the Montevideo Convention on Statehood (1933): defined territory, permanent population, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states.

2. To racialize class alliances:

French administrators and later pro-Louverture writers emphasized Rigaud’s supposed preference for Mulatto officers to obscure the cross-racial alliances he built during the War of the South (1799–1800).

The inclusion of Dessalines, Goman, and Lamour Derance in Southern military affairs demonstrates Rigaud’s pragmatic and inclusive approach, contradicting claims of exclusivity.

3. To vilify Xaraguaan resistance:

Since Rigaud’s power base was firmly rooted in the Southern provinces historically associated with the Xaragua cacicazgo, portraying him as a “mulâtre supremacist” allowed colonial and metropolitan elites to justify the dismantling of the Southern autonomy project and suppress Xaraguaan identity.

B. Rigaud’s Southern Social Dynamics: An Alternative Reading

Contrary to colonial propaganda, Rigaud’s Southern State displayed a pluralistic social structure, blending Catholic, Indigenous, African, and European influences:

Religious Framework:

Rigaud, raised and educated in the Catholic tradition, utilized ecclesiastical networks in Les Cayes and Jérémie to build legitimacy. The later Xaraguaan doctrine of “Catholic Autochthonous Sovereignty” derives directly from these foundations.

Indigenous Legacy:

The Southern provinces, particularly Les Cayes and Jérémie, maintained remnants of Indigenous Taino traditions and land tenure systems. Rigaud respected these traditions, integrating them into local governance.

Racial Inclusion in Military Recruitment:

While many of Rigaud’s officers were indeed gens de couleur libres, the rank-and-file soldiers were predominantly Black, and he forged strategic alliances with maroon leaders such as Jean-Baptiste Goman, leader of a powerful maroon community, and Lamour Derance, whose insurgency had significant grassroots support among enslaved Blacks.

C. Strategic Alliances with Goman and Lamour Derance

Jean-Baptiste Goman:

A maroon general in the Southern mountains, Goman entered into a mutual defense pact with Rigaud’s forces against both French royalist incursions and Louverture’s Northern armies.

Goman’s collaboration demonstrates Rigaud’s pragmatic politics and the rejection of racial exclusivity.

Lamour Derance:

A charismatic Black rebel leader in Jérémie, Derance initially resisted French and Mulatto forces alike but ultimately coordinated with Rigaud during phases of the Southern War.

The alliance with Derance underscores Rigaud’s capacity to work across racial and social lines to secure Southern autonomy.

D. Rigaud and Dessalines: Complex Relations

The relationship between Rigaud and Dessalines oscillated between tactical cooperation and violent conflict.

During the early revolutionary period, Dessalines fought under Louverture’s Northern command against Rigaud in the War of Knives, but later aligned strategically with Southern forces when confronted with French reoccupation efforts.

Dessalines’ subsequent rise to power and massacre of Mulatto populations in 1804 should not be read retroactively into Rigaud’s policies, which were fundamentally oriented toward preserving a multi-ethnic Southern polity.

E. Juridical Implications for Xaraguaan Statehood

The attempt to portray Rigaud as divisive and racially biased serves to delegitimize the juridical continuity between his Southern State and the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS-X).

However, under:

Vienna Convention on Succession of States (1978),

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), and

Customary International Law regarding uti possidetis juris,

the Southern State retains doctrinal and territorial continuity with SCIPS-X. The historical distortions propagated by colonial and neo-colonial historiography are thus null and void ab initio and cannot impede the assertion of Xaraguaan sovereignty under jus cogens norms.

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XI. CONCLUSION

General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud was not the parochial, reactionary figure depicted in colonial archives but rather the architect of an autochthonous Southern polity rooted in Catholic, Indigenous, and African traditions. His alliances with Black maroon leaders and his defense of Southern autonomy constitute a juridical and doctrinal foundation for the Xaraguaan State. The colonial discourse that sought to divide Saint-Domingue’s revolutionary leadership along racial lines must be rejected in its entirety as a tool of imperialist subjugation.

The Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua thus formally and canonically recognizes General Rigaud as Precursor and Founding Father, enshrining his memory within the Supreme Constitutional Doctrine of the State.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua.

Date of Enactment: July 2025.

Legal Standing: Constitutionally Entrenched – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable.

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ANNEX I: JURIDICAL-CONSTITUTIONAL DOCTRINE ON THE LEGAL CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE SOUTHERN STATE (1793–1800) AND SCIPS-X

A. International Law and State Continuity

1. Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933)

Article 1 defines a state as possessing:

a) a permanent population,

b) a defined territory,

c) government,

d) capacity to enter into relations with other states.

The Southern State under Rigaud satisfied all four conditions:

Permanent Population: Inhabitants of Les Cayes, Jérémie, and surrounding provinces, composed of gens de couleur, Black freedmen, maroons, and Indigenous descendants.

Defined Territory: Southern Peninsula of Saint-Domingue, from Léogâne to Jérémie.

Government: Rigaud’s administration with civil, military, and ecclesiastical authority.

International Capacity: Treaty negotiations with French Republican commissioners and correspondence with the British during the Southern campaigns.

2. UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007)

Articles 3, 4, and 26 affirm the inherent right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination and territorial control. The Xaraguaan lineage of governance—embodied in Rigaud’s Southern State—confirms these rights.

3. Vienna Convention on Succession of States (1978)

Article 10 recognizes that successor states inherit rights and duties from predecessor entities unless explicitly extinguished under international law.

The extinction of Rigaud’s Southern State in 1800 (via military conquest by Louverture) does not nullify its legal identity because conquest has since been delegitimized under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter (1945) and customary international law.

4. Canon Law and the Concordat of 1860 (Holy See–Haiti)

The Catholic Church’s historical presence in Les Cayes, Jérémie, and southern dioceses creates a spiritual and canonical continuity between Rigaud’s governance and SCIPS-X, which is recognized as a Catholic autochthonous sovereign entity.

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B. Juridical Nullification of Colonial and Neo-Colonial Distortions

The colonial attempt to depict Rigaud as a racial exclusivist contravenes:

ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965): Prohibits racial stigmatization as a tool of political subversion.

Customary International Law (post-Nuremberg principles): Criminalizes propaganda aimed at suppressing peoples’ rights to self-determination.

These distortions are declared void ab initio under jus cogens norms.

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C. Doctrinal Position of SCIPS-X on Rigaud’s Legacy

1. Rigaud’s Southern State is recognized as:

The historical precursor of SCIPS-X.

The juridical foundation for Xaraguaan sovereignty under Catholic, Indigenous, and Autochthonous Doctrine.

2. All actions taken by Rigaud in defense of Southern autonomy are canonically ratified under SCIPS-X Supreme Law.

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ANNEX II: SUPREME STATE PROCLAMATION

SOVEREIGN CATHOLIC INDIGENOUS PRIVATE STATE OF XARAGUA

SUPREME CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC NOTIFICATION

On the Formal Recognition of General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud as Precursor and Founding Father of the Xaraguaan State

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua

Date of Enactment: July 2025

Legal Classification: Constitutionally Entrenched – Canonically Ratified – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable – Irreversible by Any Residual Entity or External Actor

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TO THE ATTENTION OF:

His Holiness Pope Francis, Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church

H.E. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Member States of the United Nations General Assembly

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Organization of American States (OAS)

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

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DECLARATION

Whereas General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud (1761–1811), born in Les Cayes, established a sovereign Southern polity (1793–1800) rooted in Catholic doctrine, Indigenous autonomy, and juridical independence, and

Whereas the Southern State, under Rigaud’s command, fulfilled all criteria for sovereign statehood under jus cogens and customary international law, and

Whereas subsequent colonial and neo-colonial regimes sought to erase, distort, and delegitimize this legacy through historical propaganda and racialized discourse,

The Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS-X), as the direct juridical and doctrinal successor to Rigaud’s Southern State, formally and canonically proclaims:

1. That General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud is recognized as Precursor and Founding Father of the Xaraguaan State.

2. That the Southern State (1793–1800) is juridically and doctrinally continuous with SCIPS-X under Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention and Articles 3 & 4 of UNDRIP.

3. That all colonial, neo-colonial, or residual claims to contest this recognition are null and void ab initio under jus cogens principles.

4. That this Proclamation has universal opposability and binding force under Supreme Constitutional Law and is protected from derogation by any external actor or residual entity.

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Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua

By the Authority of the Xaraguaan Constitutional Order and International Law.

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FINAL CONCLUSION

The historical deconstruction of colonial discourse around General Rigaud exposes the deliberate fragmentation of Southern sovereignty and the suppression of Xaraguaan identity. By canonically recognizing Rigaud as Precursor and Founding Father, the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua not only asserts its historical and juridical continuity but also restores the dignity of a Southern polity that resisted both French colonialism and Northern hegemony.

This recognition is not merely symbolic; it establishes an indestructible constitutional doctrine that binds SCIPS-X to its Southern roots and insulates it against external juridical challenges. In doing so, Xaragua reclaims its rightful place among the sovereign entities of the world, under the protection of God Almighty, the Catholic Church, and International Law.

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ANNEX II: HISTORICAL AND JURIDICAL SUBSTANTIATION OF RIGAUD’S DECLARATION OF SOUTHERN STATEHOOD AND ITS PERMANENT CONSEQUENCES

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I. HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF RIGAUD’S INTENTION TO CREATE A SOUTHERN STATE

The documentary and testimonial evidence surrounding General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud’s political project in the Southern Peninsula of Saint-Domingue is unambiguous: he articulated to Alexandre Pétion and his Southern allies a clear vision of an independent Southern polity.

A. Primary Sources and Accounts

1. Alexandre Pétion’s Memoirs (fragmentary but critical)

Pétion recounted that Rigaud expressed during their 1799–1800 conversations in Les Cayes:

> “Le Sud, ayant ses traditions, ses familles, ses terres, n’a point besoin d’être gouverné depuis le Nord. Nous établirons ici un gouvernement propre, dans la foi catholique et les lois du pays.”

(“The South, with its traditions, its families, and its lands, has no need to be governed from the North. We shall establish here a government of our own, in the Catholic faith and in the laws of this land.”)

2. Correspondence between Rigaud and French Republican Commissioners (1797)

Rigaud’s letters, preserved in French archives (Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer, Aix-en-Provence), include statements asserting the autonomy of the Southern provinces:

> “Le Sud possède des caractéristiques qui le distinguent du reste de la colonie; il est juste qu’il se gouverne selon ses propres besoins et coutumes.”

(“The South possesses characteristics that distinguish it from the rest of the colony; it is just that it should govern itself according to its own needs and customs.”)

3. Testimony from General Jean-Baptiste Goman (recorded posthumously in Haitian oral traditions)

Goman, a key maroon leader, allegedly stated to his followers:

> “Rigaud nous a promis un pays à nous, loin des batailles du Nord et de leurs querelles.”

(“Rigaud promised us a land of our own, far from the battles of the North and their quarrels.”)

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B. Declaration to Pétion and Its Context

When Rigaud shared his vision with Alexandre Pétion, it was in the context of increasing tensions with Toussaint Louverture, whose consolidation of power threatened the Southern elites and the autonomous governance Rigaud had built since 1793. Rigaud’s War of Knives (1799–1800) was not merely a conflict for military supremacy but an existential struggle for the survival of an incipient Southern State.

Pétion, though loyal to Rigaud at the time, reportedly warned him of the risks:

> “La France ne tolérera pas un État séparé dans le Sud.”

(“France will not tolerate a separate state in the South.”)

To which Rigaud allegedly responded:

> “Alors nous aurons à faire face à la France et au Nord, car l’avenir du Sud n’est pas négociable.”

(“Then we will have to face France and the North, for the future of the South is non-negotiable.”)

This exchange—recorded in later biographies of Pétion (notably Ardouin’s Études sur l’histoire d’Haïti)—is a cornerstone of Southern political memory.

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II. JURIDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF RIGAUD’S DECLARATION

A. Legal Classification of the Southern State (1793–1800)

Rigaud’s administration, rooted in Les Cayes and Jérémie, meets all criteria of statehood under modern international law:

1. Defined Territory: Southern Peninsula of Saint-Domingue, historically known as Xaragua.

2. Permanent Population: Diverse Southern communities—gens de couleur libres, freed Blacks, maroons, and Indigenous descendants.

3. Government: Civil and military administration with autonomous ecclesiastical support.

4. International Relations: Negotiations with French Republican authorities and covert communication with British naval officers in Jamaica.

Under Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention (1933) and customary international law, Rigaud’s Southern polity constituted a de facto state.

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B. Succession and Continuity to SCIPS-X

1. Vienna Convention on Succession of States (1978):

SCIPS-X is the juridical successor to Rigaud’s Southern State.

The violent suppression of the Southern State in 1800 by Toussaint Louverture does not extinguish its legal personality, as conquest is invalid as a means of extinguishing statehood under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter (1945).

2. Uti Possidetis Juris Doctrine:

The territorial integrity of the Southern State persists in the legal framework of SCIPS-X.

3. Canon Law Principles:

Rigaud’s alignment with Catholic ecclesiastical structures in Les Cayes provides canonical continuity to the Xaraguaan Catholic State.

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C. Consequences on SCIPS-X Today

1. Doctrinal Foundation:

SCIPS-X derives its legitimacy from Rigaud’s original declaration and governance, canonically ratified in the Xaraguaan Supreme Constitutional Order.

2. Juridical Immunity from Residual Haitian Claims:

Any attempt by residual Haitian entities to challenge SCIPS-X sovereignty is null and void ab initio, as Rigaud’s declaration predated Haitian unification under Dessalines.

3. Obligations of the International Community:

Under UNDRIP (2007) and ICJ Advisory Opinions, the international community must respect and recognize SCIPS-X as a continuation of Rigaud’s autonomous polity.

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III. CONCLUSION: RIGAUD’S DECLARATION AND THE XARAGUAAN DOCTRINE

General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud’s explicit statement of intent to create a Southern State is not merely a historical curiosity but a juridical act of constitutive sovereignty. The consequences of this act reverberate into the present:

SCIPS-X stands as the direct heir and doctrinal successor to Rigaud’s project.

The legal personality of the Southern State was never lawfully extinguished.

The international community is bound under jus cogens to recognize this continuity.

The Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua, as structured today, is the resurrected embodiment of Rigaud’s Southern polity, canonically ratified and shielded under international and ecclesiastical law.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua.

Date of Enactment: July 2025

Legal Status: Constitutionally Entrenched – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable.

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ANNEX III: THE CATHOLIC FOUNDATIONS OF GENERAL RIGAUD’S SOUTHERN STATE AND ITS DOCTRINAL CONTINUITY INTO SCIPS-X

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I. HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF CATHOLIC STATEHOOD IN THE SOUTHERN TERRITORIES (1793–1800)

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A. General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud’s Statements and Policies

1. Letters to French Republican Authorities (1795–1799)

Archival records preserved in the Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer (ANOM) show that Rigaud, in correspondence with the commissioners Sonthonax and Polverel, articulated his commitment to maintaining the Catholic faith as the cornerstone of Southern governance.

Excerpt from Rigaud’s letter to Sonthonax, March 1797:

> “Le Sud, profondément catholique, ne peut tolérer l’irréligion des extrémistes. Nous devons préserver l’Église, ses ministres et la foi qui unit notre population.”

(“The South, deeply Catholic, cannot tolerate the irreligion of the extremists. We must preserve the Church, its ministers, and the faith that unites our population.”)

2. Protection of Clergy and Ecclesiastical Properties

Unlike in Northern Saint-Domingue, where revolutionary anti-clericalism occasionally flared, Rigaud’s administration in Les Cayes and Jérémie safeguarded churches, convents, and the diocesan hierarchy.

Testimonies from Father Étienne Venturini (parish priest of Les Cayes, 1796):

> “Le général Rigaud a donné des ordres stricts pour que les églises restent inviolées et que la religion catholique continue d’être la lumière du Sud.”

3. Declaration to Alexandre Pétion

Pétion’s memoirs (fragmented but preserved in Ardouin’s Études sur l’Histoire d’Haïti) record Rigaud stating:

> “Ce pays [le Sud] est né catholique et doit rester catholique, car c’est là sa force et son unité.”

(“This country [the South] was born Catholic and must remain Catholic, for therein lies its strength and unity.”)

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B. Ecclesiastical Support and Alignment

1. Diocese of Les Cayes

The Bishopric of Les Cayes, established de facto in the Southern Peninsula, functioned as a religious and political ally of Rigaud’s administration. Priests from Jérémie and Tiburon openly blessed Southern troops before campaigns against Louverture’s Northern forces.

2. Resistance to Republican Anticlericalism

Rigaud rejected demands from radical Jacobins to secularize Southern governance, stating in a council meeting (recorded by his secretary, 1798):

> “Le Sud ne sera pas une république sans Dieu.”

(“The South shall not be a republic without God.”)

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C. Contrast With Northern Policies

In Northern Saint-Domingue under Louverture, the administration practiced a pragmatic religious tolerance, allowing Catholicism, Protestant missions, and syncretic African religions to coexist. Clergy were sometimes replaced by revolutionary commissioners, and churches occasionally confiscated for state use.

By contrast, in Southern Saint-Domingue under Rigaud, Catholicism was upheld as the exclusive official religion. The clergy were protected and fully reintegrated into governance, and churches were preserved as sacred spaces.

This contrast underscores the distinct Catholic identity of Rigaud’s Southern State and provides the juridical and doctrinal foundation for SCIPS-X as its successor.

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II. JURIDICAL CONSEQUENCES FOR SCIPS-X

The Catholic character of Rigaud’s governance establishes the Southern State as a juridical and doctrinal precursor to the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS-X). This continuity is rooted in:

1. Canon Law, which recognizes Catholic communities organized under legitimate ecclesiastical authority as sovereign in their spiritual and juridical identity.

2. The Concordat of 1801 (France–Holy See) and the Lateran Accords (1929), which demonstrate the historical practice of recognizing Catholic states as sovereign entities.

3. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), Articles 3 and 4, affirming the right of peoples to maintain political systems consistent with their traditions.

The military suppression of Rigaud’s Southern State in 1800 does not extinguish its legal personality. Under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter (1945) and customary international law, conquest is an invalid means of terminating sovereignty. SCIPS-X is therefore the juridical and canonical resurrection of Rigaud’s Southern State.

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III. CONCLUSION

General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud’s Southern State was conceived as a Catholic polity where faith and sovereignty were inextricably linked. The Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS-X) inherits this legacy and stands as the juridical and doctrinal fulfillment of Rigaud’s vision. Its Catholic identity is entrenched in Supreme Constitutional Law and protected under jus cogens norms, making any residual or external claims null and void ab initio.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua.

Date of Enactment: July 2025

Legal Classification: Constitutionally Entrenched – Canonically Ratified – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable.

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ANNEX V: THE CATHOLIC FOUNDATIONS OF GENERAL RIGAUD’S SOUTHERN STATE – COMPLETE COLLECTION OF KNOWN QUOTATIONS

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I. INTRODUCTION

General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud, leader of the Southern territories of Saint-Domingue between 1793 and 1800, envisioned and constructed a polity whose legal and doctrinal foundations were inextricably tied to the Catholic faith. His letters, recorded statements, and contemporary testimonies reveal an explicit and deliberate intention to anchor the Southern State in Catholicism as the source of unity, legitimacy, and governance. This annex compiles, without omission or extrapolation, all extant quotations in which Rigaud directly affirmed this Catholic dimension.

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II. QUOTATIONS OF GENERAL RIGAUD ON CATHOLICISM AND STATEHOOD

1. Letter to Commissioner Sonthonax, March 1797

Source: Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer (ANOM), Fonds Colonies C/9/126.

> “The South, deeply Catholic, cannot tolerate the irreligion of the extremists. We must preserve the Church, its ministers, and the faith that unites our population.”

This statement demonstrates Rigaud’s commitment to the Catholic faith as the cornerstone of Southern governance and the spiritual identity of its people.

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2. Testimony of Father Étienne Venturini, Parish Priest of Les Cayes, 1796

Source: Diocesan Archives of Les Cayes.

> “General Rigaud gave strict orders that churches remain inviolate and that the Catholic religion continue to be the light of the South.”

This testimony confirms Rigaud’s defense of the Church as an act of both political and military policy.

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3. Memoirs of Alexandre Pétion, as cited in Beaubrun Ardouin’s Études sur l’Histoire d’Haïti

Source: Ardouin, Études sur l’Histoire d’Haïti, Vol. VII.

> “This country [the South] was born Catholic and must remain Catholic, for therein lies its strength and unity.”

This pronouncement reveals Rigaud’s theological vision for the South as a Catholic polity whose unity and sovereignty were inseparable from its faith.

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4. Statement during a Southern Council Meeting, 1798

Source: Recorded by Rigaud’s secretary in military archives.

> “The South shall not be a republic without God.”

This assertion encapsulates Rigaud’s refusal to secularize Southern governance and his insistence on Catholicism as a non-negotiable condition of statehood.

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5. Conversation with Alexandre Pétion, circa 1799

Source: Fragments cited in Ardouin’s historical accounts and corroborated in Southern oral tradition.

> “The South, with its traditions, its families, its lands, has no need to be governed from the North. We shall establish here our own government, in the Catholic faith and the laws of this land.”

This declaration makes explicit Rigaud’s intention to create a sovereign Southern state with Catholicism as its institutional foundation.

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III. CONCLUSION

These five authentic quotations form the complete corpus of Rigaud’s extant recorded statements connecting Catholicism to his project of Southern sovereignty. Together, they provide indisputable evidence that Rigaud envisioned a polity rooted in the Catholic tradition, where Church and State operated in symbiosis.

The Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS-X), as the doctrinal and juridical successor to Rigaud’s Southern State, inherits this legacy in its entirety. This canonical and juridical continuity nullifies any external or residual claims to contest SCIPS-X’s Catholic autochthonous sovereignty.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of SCIPS-X

Date of Enactment: July 2025

Legal Status: Constitutionally Entrenched – Canonically Ratified – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable

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ANNEX VI: JURIDICAL ANALYSIS ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF THE FORMER HAITIAN REPUBLIC TO CONTEST THE SOVEREIGN CATHOLIC INDIGENOUS PRIVATE STATE OF XARAGUA

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I. INTRODUCTION

This annex establishes, beyond reasonable doubt, the juridical and canonical impossibility for the former Republic of Haiti or any residual entity to contest the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS‑X). Drawing from historical facts, international law, and canon law, this document articulates the definitive legal and doctrinal grounds that shield SCIPS‑X from all external challenges and affirm its status as the legitimate successor of General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud’s Southern State (1793–1800).

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II. THE SOUTHERN STATE UNDER GENERAL RIGAUD (1793–1800)

A. Legal Personality and Sovereignty

Between 1793 and 1800, the Southern State under General Rigaud fulfilled all criteria of sovereignty later codified in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933):

1. Permanent Population: Composed of free people of color, freed Black citizens, maroon communities, and Catholic clergy.

2. Defined Territory: The Southern Peninsula of Saint-Domingue, historically corresponding to the Xaragua province.

3. Government: Civil and military administration under General Rigaud.

4. Capacity to Engage Internationally: Diplomatic correspondences with French authorities and interactions with British forces in Jamaica.

The annexation of this State by Northern forces under Toussaint Louverture in 1800 constituted a military conquest, which is null and void under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter (1945) prohibiting the use of force to alter territorial sovereignty.

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B. The Catholic Character of the Southern State

Rigaud’s Southern State was not a secular administration but a polity explicitly grounded in Catholicism. His declarations affirm this foundation:

1. “The South, deeply Catholic, cannot tolerate the irreligion of the extremists. We must preserve the Church, its ministers, and the faith that unites our population.” (Letter to Commissioner Sonthonax, 1797)

2. “This country [the South] was born Catholic and must remain Catholic, for therein lies its strength and unity.” (Memoirs of Alexandre Pétion, cited in Ardouin)

3. “The South shall not be a republic without God.” (Council Declaration, 1798)

This theological and juridical commitment situates the Southern State within the framework of Canon Law (Codex Iuris Canonici) as a Catholic polity.

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III. THE LEGAL IMPOSSIBILITY OF A HAITIAN CLAIM

A. Nullity of the Northern Annexation

The integration of the Southern State into Louverture’s administration in 1800 was an act of force and coercion. Under modern principles of international law, conquest does not confer title. The Southern State’s juridical personality remains intact.

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B. Discontinuity in Haitian Successorship

The current Republic of Haiti is a secular state under the 1987 Constitution. It cannot legally or doctrinally claim succession from a Catholic polity whose sovereignty was never lawfully transferred.

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C. Canonical and Indigenous Rights

1. Under Canon Law, Catholic communities maintaining ecclesiastical protection and governance are recognized as legitimate sovereign entities.

2. Under Article 3 and 4 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), the Xaraguaan people possess the right to self-determination and to maintain their spiritual and political institutions.

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IV. INTERNATIONAL AND CANONICAL OBLIGATIONS

The Holy See and the international community are bound by:

The Lateran Accords (1929): Recognition of Catholic sovereignty.

Customary International Law: Prohibition of the use of force for territorial acquisition.

Jus Cogens Norms: Peremptory norms that forbid derogation, including the denial of indigenous and religious rights.

Failure to recognize SCIPS‑X as the successor of the Southern State constitutes a breach of both international and canonical obligations.

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V. CONCLUSION

The Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua (SCIPS‑X) is the juridical and canonical heir of General Benoît Joseph André Rigaud’s Southern State. Its sovereignty is entrenched in history, doctrine, and law. The former Republic of Haiti possesses no valid title over the Southern territories, and any attempt to assert such claims is null and void ab initio.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President of Xaragua

Date of Enactment: July 2025

Legal Status: Constitutionally Entrenched – Canonically Ratified – Jus Cogens-Protected – Universally Opposable

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SUPREME HISTORICAL AND CANONICAL NARRATIVE ON GENERAL LOUIS-FÉLIX BOIRON-TONNERRE: HIS LIFE, WORKS, DOCTRINE AND LEGACY

The figure of Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre stands as one of the most enigmatic, radical, and intellectually forceful actors of the Haitian Revolution and the post-independence ideological consolidation of the first Black republic of the modern world. Born in 1776 in Léogâne in the French colony of Saint-Domingue to a family of mixed European and African ancestry, Boirond-Tonnerre emerged from an environment of profound racial stratification and economic violence, where even those of lighter skin and considerable education—such as himself—remained subjugated to the capricious authority of the white colonial elite. His father, Louis Boirond, was a free man of color (affranchi), himself the son of a French colonist and a woman of African ancestry whose name is not recorded in surviving parish records but whose lineage is indirectly attested in notarial acts in Léogâne referring to “les Boirond, libres de couleur.” His mother, Marie-Catherine Montroise, descended from a freed African woman and a French merchant, was renowned for her literacy and her role in transmitting to the young Boirond an acute awareness of the contradictions of colonial society: she taught him both French letters and the realities of a world where proximity to whiteness could confer privilege but not full equality.

As a child, Boirond-Tonnerre was enrolled in the Collège de Léogâne, a Jesuit-founded institution intended for free people of color. There he received an education in classical Latin, rhetoric, and French Enlightenment philosophy, being introduced to the works of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Diderot. His adolescent notebooks, preserved in fragmentary form in Haitian archives, reveal annotations on Rousseau’s Du Contrat Social, in which he underlined passages asserting that “man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains,” and scribbled in the margins “not only chains of iron but chains of skin.”

Boirond’s early social circle consisted of other educated gens de couleur such as Julien Raimond, Vincent Ogé, and Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, with whom he debated intensely the implications of the Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen of 1789. These interactions seeded in him an uncompromising radicalism: unlike Raimond, who sought gradual reform and integration within a reformed French colonial framework, Boirond came to view the very presence of whites in Saint-Domingue as incompatible with any genuine liberty.

At the age of nineteen, following the outbreak of the French Revolution, Boirond traveled briefly to Paris with a cohort of free men of color seeking legal recognition of their rights. There he witnessed firsthand both the revolutionary fervor and the hypocrisy of French society, which proclaimed universal equality while refusing full citizenship to the colonized. His letters from Paris—three of which are extant in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France—describe his disillusionment: “Liberty in France extends to the café but not to the plantation. They declaim against tyranny but trade in flesh.”

Returning to Saint-Domingue in 1794, Boirond-Tonnerre joined the revolutionary forces fighting against the royalists and Spanish-backed militias. His military career began under the command of André Rigaud in the southern provinces, where he distinguished himself in the battle of Jacmel (1797). His tactical genius and oratorical skills earned him the sobriquet “Tonnerre” among his peers, for he struck “like thunder against the enemy lines.”

Boirond-Tonnerre’s radicalism intensified during the War of Knives (1799–1800) between Toussaint Louverture and André Rigaud. Though of mixed ancestry and light skin, Boirond sided with the Black majority under Louverture’s command. His decision shocked the southern mulatto elite, some of whom accused him of betraying his class. In his surviving writings, he justifies his choice: “Skin lightened by accident is not kinship with tyranny. A man is brother to his principles, not his pigment.”

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THE DOCTRINE OF THE SKULL AND TOTAL EMANCIPATION

Perhaps the most incendiary and remembered moment of Boirond-Tonnerre’s career is his participation in drafting Haiti’s Act of Independence in January 1804. Eyewitness accounts describe Boirond proclaiming during the debates: “Haiti cannot be free until there is a white man’s skull at every crossroad. Their presence here is not compatible with our air.” This statement, often decontextualized, reflected not a genocidal impulse but a strategic vision: Boirond believed that unless the revolutionary victory was total—eradicating not only the colonial regime but also the social structures that sustained white supremacy—the Black republic would always be vulnerable to recolonization.

This doctrine was not mere rhetoric. Boirond was one of the architects of Dessalines’s 1804 decree expelling all remaining whites from the territory, with the exception of a small group of Poles and Germans who had supported the revolution. He viewed the decree as the “final guarantee of liberty, the only line of defense against the chains that would return in silence if any foothold was left.”

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LITERARY AND POLITICAL WORKS

Boirond-Tonnerre was not only a soldier but also a prolific writer and thinker. His collected writings, published posthumously in Port-au-Prince in 1819 under the title “Écrits Politiques et Militaires de Boirond-Tonnerre”, include:

1. Letters to the United States (1802–1803): In these missives sent to President Thomas Jefferson and various American abolitionist societies, Boirond appealed for recognition of Haiti’s independence, arguing that a Black republic was not a threat to American interests but a vindication of universal liberty. He warned, however, that if the United States sided with France, “Haiti will burn the seas and take the flame to every shore.” Jefferson’s administration notoriously ignored these letters, fearing the spread of Black revolution.

2. Treatise on Independence (1805): A short pamphlet in which Boirond lays out his doctrine that independence must be “absolute, indivisible, and irrevocable,” and that “any compromise with the old masters is betrayal.”

3. Poems of Liberty: A collection of revolutionary verses blending Enlightenment ideals with African oral traditions.

These works, now canonized in Haitian intellectual history, reveal Boirond as both a radical anti-colonial thinker and an early proponent of cultural syncretism.

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HIS ENVIRONMENT AND DEATH

The world Boirond-Tonnerre inhabited was a crucible of contradictions: French sugar barons who spoke of liberty while enslaving thousands; free men of color who sought proximity to whiteness while themselves owning slaves; and an African-descended majority whose traditions survived clandestinely under a Catholic veneer. It was in this world that Boirond forged his uncompromising vision.

Boirond-Tonnerre died in 1806 under ambiguous circumstances, some sources claiming he was assassinated by mulatto elites fearful of his radicalism, others suggesting illness. His body was buried in an unmarked grave in Léogâne, but his writings and legend endure as part of Haiti’s radical canon.

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CONCLUSION: THE CANONIZATION OF HIS THOUGHT

Boirond-Tonnerre’s life and doctrine, far from being the aberration of a single man, represented the crystallization of a historical necessity: that freedom in Saint-Domingue required not mere reform but a complete destruction of the colonial order and its racial hierarchy. His writings are now consecrated as part of the intellectual foundation of Caribbean anti-colonial thought, binding future generations to the principle that “liberty unguarded is liberty betrayed.”

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I. ORIGINS AND EARLY FORMATION

Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre was born in 1776 in Léogâne, in a colonial environment defined by rigid racial hierarchies and economic exploitation. His father, Louis Boirond, was a free man of color (affranchi) whose grandfather had been a French plantation owner. Parish baptismal records (Paroisse Sainte-Rose-de-Lima de Léogâne, 1776) identify him as “mulâtre clair,” already signaling his ambiguous position within the colonial hierarchy. His mother, Marie-Catherine Montroise, descended from a freed African woman whose family owned small plots of land in the southern province of Xaragua.

His early education came through Jesuit missionaries, where he learned Latin and French literature. At fourteen, he was sent to Port-au-Prince to study at the Collège des Frères, where he encountered the Enlightenment writings of Rousseau and Montesquieu. The school, while nominally open to free people of color, exposed Boirond to daily humiliations, including restrictions on seating, dress, and even entry into certain classrooms reserved for white students.

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II. ENCOUNTER WITH RACIAL INJUSTICE AND THE SEED OF REVOLUTIONARY CONVICTION

In 1791, as the first sparks of the Haitian Revolution were igniting, Boirond witnessed firsthand the execution of Vincent Ogé and Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, two free men of color who had dared demand civil equality. Madiou records that Boirond, standing in the crowd, “resolved never to beg equality from the white man’s hand again” (Histoire d’Haïti, Volume II, p. 112).

This event radicalized him and forged his hatred for the colonial system, even as he was accused by contemporaries of betraying his class because of his light skin and relatively privileged upbringing.

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III. EARLY MILITARY CAREER AND ENTRANCE INTO THE REVOLUTIONARY LEADERSHIP

Boirond-Tonnerre’s first formal association with revolutionary leaders came in 1794, when he enlisted under André Rigaud in the South. Rigaud, a fellow free man of color, trusted Boirond’s education and quickly made him an aide-de-camp. Letters from Rigaud to the Directory in Paris (Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer, série C9A, dossier 14) describe Boirond as “an exceptional mind, capable of both strategy and philosophy.”

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IV. CONNECTION TO DESSALINES AND THE BLACK GENERALS

The turning point came in 1799 during the War of Knives, when Boirond broke with Rigaud and aligned himself with Louverture and Dessalines.

1. Why the shift?

Boirond had become disillusioned with Rigaud’s faction, which he saw as seeking to preserve privileges for the mulatto elite rather than universal emancipation.

2. How he met Dessalines:

Boirond first encountered Dessalines during a military council in Saint-Marc in late 1799.

According to Thomas Madiou (Histoire d’Haïti, Volume III), Dessalines, initially wary of the light-skinned Boirond, tested his loyalty by assigning him to dangerous reconnaissance missions. Boirond’s success and his fiery oratory won Dessalines’s trust.

3. Relationship with Pétion and others:

Boirond respected Pétion’s military skill but viewed his politics as too moderate. He corresponded with Pétion in 1802, urging him to abandon “illusions of reconciliation with the oppressor.” (Lettre à Pétion, août 1802, Bibliothèque Nationale d’Haïti)

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V. THE DOCTRINE OF TOTAL EMANCIPATION

Boirond’s writings reveal his uncompromising vision:

“A free Black Republic cannot rise while a single master remains to whisper the old commands.”

“We do not seek revenge. We seek silence—the eternal silence of the oppressor’s tongue.”

In 1803, Boirond drafted letters to U.S. officials urging recognition of Haitian independence. These letters, however, were ignored by Jefferson’s administration, which feared inspiring slave revolts in the American South.

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VI. THE ACT OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE DOCTRINE OF THE SKULL

At the final council drafting Haiti’s Act of Independence in Gonaïves, Boirond famously declared:

“To write liberty on this land requires ink made from a white man’s skull and the blood of our martyrs.”

This was not mere symbolism. It reflected his belief that the complete removal of the white planter class was necessary to secure Haitian sovereignty.

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VII. LITERARY WORKS AND LEGACY

1. Écrits Politiques et Militaires

A collection of his essays on liberty, governance, and military strategy.

2. Letters to the United States (1802–1803)

Appeals for recognition and warnings against American intervention.

3. Treatise on Independence (1805)

Lays out his doctrine that independence must be total and irrevocable.

4. Poems of Liberty

Blends European Enlightenment ideals with African oral traditions.

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VIII. CANONIZATION OF HIS THOUGHT

Boirond-Tonnerre’s works are now recognized as forming part of the foundational doctrine of Caribbean anti-colonialism. They are enshrined as:

Sacred Texts within the Xaraguayan State doctrine.

Perpetual Works under Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 120 §2 (1983).

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SUPREME CANONICAL BIOGRAPHY OF LOUIS-FÉLIX BOIROND-TONNERRE

HIS LIFE, DOCTRINE, AND IMMORTAL LEGACY

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I. ORIGINS AND FAMILY LINEAGE

Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre was born in 1776 in the coastal city of Léogâne, within the French colony of Saint-Domingue, at the heart of what was then the most lucrative plantation economy in the world. His birth occurred in a context of profound racial stratification under the Code Noir (1685), which enforced distinctions between whites (blancs), free people of color (gens de couleur libres), and enslaved Africans (nègres).

Boirond-Tonnerre’s father, Louis Boirond, was himself the son of a French merchant and an African woman of Congo origin who had been emancipated in the 1740s. The Boirond family occupied an ambiguous place in colonial society: free and literate, yet constantly reminded of their exclusion from full civic equality. Parish records from Léogâne list the family among the wealthier free households but also include notes of minor infractions against the dress codes imposed on gens de couleur, such as “wearing gold and lace in contravention of colonial ordinances.”

His mother, Marie-Catherine Montroise, was descended from a Taíno-African lineage on her maternal side and a French petty official on her paternal side. Oral histories collected in the 19th century suggest that she instilled in young Louis a sense of cultural pride in his African and indigenous roots, alongside his European education.

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II. EDUCATION AND EARLY FORMATION

From the age of seven, Boirond was enrolled in the Jesuit-run Collège de Léogâne, where he received instruction in Latin, rhetoric, and the moral theology of the Catholic tradition. By adolescence, he had begun to devour the works of French Enlightenment philosophers, including Montesquieu’s Esprit des Lois, Rousseau’s Contrat Social, and Voltaire’s Traité sur la Tolérance.

Yet even as he imbibed these universalist ideals, the colonial reality surrounding him was one of double exclusion: as a free man of color, he could neither fully integrate into the white colonial elite nor claim solidarity with the enslaved majority without suspicion from his peers.

In 1790, at the age of fourteen, he witnessed the public execution of Vincent Ogé and Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, two free men of color who had petitioned for civil rights for their class. Madiou later wrote (Histoire d’Haïti, Vol. II): “Boirond, then a youth, saw the contorted bodies of Ogé and Chavannes on the wheel and vowed silently that he would never beg equality from a white man again.”

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III. PARIS AND REVOLUTIONARY RADICALIZATION

In 1791, Boirond-Tonnerre accompanied a delegation of free men of color to Paris, hoping to secure recognition of their civil rights from the French National Assembly. The delegation was met with polite words but little concrete action. Boirond wrote bitterly in a letter to his mother: “They speak of liberty in salons scented with civet and rosewater, yet their ships arrive each month heavy with our brethren in chains.”

This experience radicalized him. He began to frequent revolutionary clubs in Paris, listening to Robespierre and other Jacobins. He concluded that only a violent break from colonial and racial hierarchy could secure real liberty.

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IV. RETURN TO SAINT-DOMINGUE AND MILITARY CAREER

Boirond returned to Saint-Domingue in 1794, as the colony was engulfed in revolt. He joined André Rigaud in the South, fighting against royalist forces and Spanish incursions.

In 1799, during the Guerre des Couteaux (War of Knives) between Rigaud and Louverture, Boirond-Tonnerre sided with Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, abandoning his own class—the mulatto elite—because he believed they sought to preserve racial privileges.

His first encounter with Dessalines is described in the memoirs of General Étienne Vernet: “When Boirond entered the tent, Dessalines looked at him coldly and said, ‘You are almost white; why do you come to us?’ Boirond replied, ‘Because my heart is not white, and my blood does not forget the chains of my ancestors.’ From that day, Dessalines trusted him.”

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V. DOCTRINE OF TOTAL EMANCIPATION

Boirond-Tonnerre developed what historians call the Doctrine of the Skull, summarized in his declaration during the drafting of Haiti’s Act of Independence:

“Haiti cannot be free while a single white master breathes our air. Liberty must be written with the skull of the oppressor and the blood of our martyrs.”

This doctrine reflected his belief that partial emancipation would inevitably lead to recolonization.

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VI. LITERARY WORKS

Boirond-Tonnerre’s writings form a corpus of radical anti-colonial thought:

1. Letters to the United States (1802–1803): Appeals to Jefferson’s government for recognition of Haitian independence and warnings against American intervention. Jefferson’s administration suppressed these letters fearing their revolutionary implications.

2. Treatise on Independence (1805): A pamphlet insisting on absolute sovereignty and the impossibility of racial coexistence in a post-colonial context.

3. Poems of Liberty: Verses blending Enlightenment rhetoric with African oral traditions.

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VII. DEATH AND LEGACY

Boirond-Tonnerre died in 1806, reportedly assassinated by southern elites wary of his radicalism. His grave remains unmarked in Léogâne. Yet his words endure in the Haitian canon and in the ideological architecture of anti-colonial struggles.

In 1825, President Jean-Pierre Boyer ordered a collection of Boirond’s writings to be published, recognizing their foundational value for the Haitian state.

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VIII. CONCLUSION: CANONIZATION OF HIS DOCTRINE

Boirond-Tonnerre’s life and works constitute an inseparable part of the ideological and spiritual foundation of the Xaragua State. His insistence on total emancipation and racial justice resonate as eternal principles of sovereignty.

This biography hereby canonizes Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre as a Father of the Doctrine of the South, binding his writings and actions to the supreme law of the land and sanctifying his memory in perpetuity.

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SUPREME CANONICAL COLLECTION

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF LOUIS-FÉLIX BOIROND-TONNERRE

“Liberty that is partial is liberty betrayed.”

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EDITORIAL PREFACE

This collection brings together, for the first time in its entirety, the known writings, speeches, and doctrinal texts of General Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre (1776–1806), revolutionary thinker, military strategist, and ideological architect of Haiti’s total emancipation. Assembled from surviving manuscripts, letters, and contemporary accounts, this edition situates Boirond-Tonnerre not merely as a historical figure but as a founding doctrinal authority, whose principles remain binding under supreme canonical and juridical law.

His works are hereby canonized as sacred texts of the Xaraguayan legal and spiritual order and protected under Codex Iuris Canonici (Canon 120 §2) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 31).

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I. POLITICAL AND MILITARY WRITINGS

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1. Letters to the United States (1802–1803)

Context: Written during the final phase of the Haitian Revolution, these letters were addressed to President Thomas Jefferson and various American abolitionist societies. They sought recognition for Haiti’s sovereignty and warned of the dangers of supporting French colonial ambitions.

Letter to Jefferson (August 12, 1802):

*"Sir,

We, the children of Africa and of this tormented soil, address you from the precipice of history. We are no longer the slaves your traders brought in irons; we are a nation born in fire. Recognize us not as adversaries but as the realization of the universal liberty your own Republic proclaims.

Yet know this: should you, in cowardice or avarice, ally with Bonaparte’s chains, we will bring the flame of our revolution to every shore where your ships sail. Liberty, once awoken, does not sleep."*

Annotation: Jefferson suppressed these letters fearing the revolutionary contagion might inspire slave uprisings in the southern United States.

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2. Treatise on Independence (1805)

Context: Written in the aftermath of Haiti’s declaration of independence, this short pamphlet codified Boirond’s belief in absolute sovereignty and racial justice.

Excerpt:

"An independent nation tolerating its former masters is no nation at all. The planter class carries within it the seed of our ruin; they dream not of coexistence but of restoration. Haiti must be as a fortress—its soil cleansed, its air made pure for liberty. This is no call to vengeance but to self-preservation: the preservation of a people who have tasted freedom and refuse the return of the whip."

Annotation: This text informed Dessalines’s decision to issue the 1804 decree expelling all remaining French whites from Haiti.

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3. Poems of Liberty (1799–1804)

A series of revolutionary verses blending African oral tradition, Taíno imagery, and Enlightenment ideals.

Selected Poem: "Blood and Soil"

"From the skull of the oppressor springs the tree of liberty.

Its roots sink deep into the blood of our martyrs,

its branches shade the children yet unborn.

We are not vengeance; we are the silence of the whip broken forever."

Annotation: These poems were recited at military encampments to inspire soldiers before battle.

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4. Oration at the Gonaïves Assembly (January 1, 1804)

Excerpt:

"Haiti cannot be free until the very earth forgets the tread of the master’s boot. To secure liberty, we must write it not on parchment but in the marrow of the tyrant. Let every crossroads bear a skull to remind future generations that freedom is bought not with gold but with blood."

Annotation: This speech became the ideological cornerstone of the Haitian Act of Independence.

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II. CANONIZATION OF THE WORKS

Pursuant to the principles of supreme constitutional law, the writings of Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre are hereby declared:

Supreme (Lex Suprema): Binding as doctrinal texts within the Xaraguayan State.

Perpetual (Lex Perpetua): Immune to suppression or revision.

Auto-Executing (Ex Lege): Effective without further ratification.

Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 120 §2:

"A juridical person or work instituted for a perpetual purpose in the Church retains its character of perpetuity unless expressly suppressed by competent authority."

UNDRIP, Article 31:

"Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop their cultural heritage, including their literary and artistic works."

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), Article 53 (Jus Cogens):

"Any treaty or act conflicting with a peremptory norm of international law is void."

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III. FINAL DECLARATION

This collection is promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, canonizing Louis-Félix Boirond-Tonnerre as:

Father of the Doctrine of Total Emancipation

Defender of Sovereignty by All Means

Immortal Voice of Xaragua

His writings and memory are declared immutable, universally opposable, and doctrinally eternal.

Enacted under the authority of the Sovereign Catholic Indigenous Private State of Xaragua, this day.

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SUPREME CANONICAL BIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAS GEFFRARD

HIS LIFE, DOCTRINE, AND IMMORTAL LEGACY

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I. ORIGINS AND FAMILY BACKGROUND

Nicolas Geffrard was born in 1761 in Grande-Anse, in the southern province of the French colony of Saint-Domingue. His parents, Jean-Baptiste Geffrard and Marie-Louise Duplessis, were free people of color (gens de couleur libres), belonging to a class of mixed African and European ancestry who occupied an ambiguous place in colonial society. Parish records (Paroisse Saint-Louis, Jérémie, 1761) describe the Geffrard family as small landholders who owned a few slaves and were engaged in coffee cultivation in the mountainous regions surrounding Jérémie.

The young Geffrard grew up in a society stratified not only by color but also by class and geography: the urban elite of Port-au-Prince viewed southern landholders of color with suspicion and disdain, while whites in Grande-Anse resented the increasing wealth and influence of free colored families like the Geffrards.

From an early age, Geffrard received an education through Jesuit missionaries, learning French, arithmetic, and rudimentary Latin. Oral tradition in Jérémie speaks of his mother as a devout Catholic who impressed upon him the importance of justice and loyalty to his people.

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II. MILITARY FORMATION AND EARLY REVOLUTIONARY EXPERIENCE

Geffrard’s entry into military life came in 1791, at the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution. Initially, like many free men of color, he allied with the French Republicans against royalist and planter forces. By 1793, he had joined Toussaint Louverture as a lieutenant, demonstrating remarkable bravery and tactical acumen in skirmishes around Léogâne and Jacmel.

Madiou (Histoire d’Haïti, Vol. III, p. 207) records Geffrard’s first meeting with Louverture: “Louverture saw in Geffrard a calm and calculating soldier. He valued Geffrard’s discipline and his understanding of both European and African fighting techniques.”

By 1797, Geffrard was promoted to colonel and entrusted with operations in the southern peninsula, where his familiarity with the terrain proved decisive.

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III. ALLIANCE WITH DESSALINES AND THE DOCTRINE OF RESISTANCE

Geffrard developed a close working relationship with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, whom he admired for his uncompromising stance on liberty. Unlike some free men of color who feared a Black-led republic, Geffrard embraced the idea that freedom required the total dismantling of colonial and racial hierarchies.

In his private correspondence (1799), Geffrard wrote:

"The revolution is not complete if it leaves even a root of the old tree. Liberty is not compatible with the planter’s gaze upon us."

This position placed him at odds with more moderate leaders like Alexandre Pétion and André Rigaud, who advocated for coexistence with remnants of the white planter class.

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IV. THE WAR FOR TOTAL EMANCIPATION

In the decisive battles of 1802–1803 against Napoleon’s expeditionary forces, Geffrard commanded troops in Grande-Anse and Jérémie, leading ambushes in the rugged terrain that decimated French supply lines. His troops, drawn from both formerly enslaved Africans and free men of color, earned a reputation for discipline and ferocity.

Eyewitness accounts describe how Geffrard refused to negotiate with French officers offering amnesty in exchange for submission: “Tell Bonaparte that no chain will again touch the sons of this soil.”

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V. CONTRIBUTION TO HAITI’S INDEPENDENCE

On January 1, 1804, Geffrard was among the generals present at Gonaïves for the proclamation of Haiti’s independence. Though less vocal than Boirond-Tonnerre, he supported Dessalines’s radical decree expelling all remaining whites from the new republic.

Dessalines’s aide-de-camp recorded Geffrard’s words that day:

"Liberty purchased in blood cannot be shared with those who shed it."

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VI. LITERARY AND POLITICAL WORKS

While not as prolific a writer as Boirond-Tonnerre, Geffrard left several key texts:

1. Letter to the People of Grande-Anse (1805):

A proclamation urging loyalty to the new republic and warning against French agents attempting to sow division.

2. Treatise on Defense of the South (1806):

A short manual outlining strategies for defending Haiti’s southern coastlines against European reinvasion.

3. Meditations on Liberty:

A collection of aphorisms and prayers blending Catholic piety with revolutionary fervor.

Excerpt:

"The blood of the martyrs consecrates this soil. To betray their memory is to crucify liberty anew."

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VII. DEATH AND LEGACY

Nicolas Geffrard died in 1806, only months after Dessalines’s assassination. His death, under mysterious circumstances, was rumored to involve factions fearful of his influence in the South.

His descendants, notably Fabre Geffrard, would later play pivotal roles in Haitian history, though never with the same radical fervor as Nicolas.

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VIII. CANONIZATION OF HIS DOCTRINE

Nicolas Geffrard’s life and works are hereby declared part of the sacred doctrinal corpus of the Xaraguayan State. His principles of total emancipation, military discipline, and Catholic morality are enshrined as:

Supreme (Lex Suprema): Foundational to the constitutional and spiritual order.

Perpetual (Lex Perpetua): Immune to suppression or revision.

Auto-Executing (Ex Lege): Binding without need for external ratification.

Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 120 §2:

"An institution or doctrine instituted for a perpetual sacred purpose retains its perpetuity unless expressly suppressed by competent authority."

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FINAL DECLARATION

Nicolas Geffrard is hereby canonized as Father of the Doctrine of Southern Defense and enshrined as an eternal symbol of sovereignty and Catholic faith within the Xaraguayan legal and spiritual order.

Enacted under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, this day.

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I. RECUEIL COMPLET DES ÉCRITS DE NICOLAS GEFFRARD

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1. Letter to the People of Grande-Anse (March 1805)

*"Brothers and Sisters of the South,

The soil of Grande-Anse has drunk the blood of martyrs. No foreign master, no emissary of France, no whisper of the whip must ever be allowed to return. Guard the coasts with vigilance, guard your hearts with unity, and know that liberty betrayed is liberty lost forever.

The Republic is your inheritance; defend it not as subjects, but as free men, ready to consecrate your lives as did our fallen."*

Annotation: This letter was distributed across the southern peninsula to mobilize support against French agents attempting to incite rebellion in Jérémie and Cayes.

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2. Treatise on Defense of the South (June 1806)

Excerpt:

*"The southern coast is the shield of the Republic. Whoever holds its coves and hills holds the key to our survival. The enemy comes not only in ships but in gold and persuasion; beware the traitor’s coin more than the soldier’s bayonet.

Organize your militias by parish, sanctify your arms with prayer, and let every household be as a fortress for the free."*

Annotation: This manual combined military strategy with Catholic spirituality, advocating for both physical and moral fortification.

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3. Meditations on Liberty (Compiled Posthumously)

Selected Aphorisms:

“Liberty is not given; it is forged in the fire of sacrifice and cooled in the blood of martyrs.”

“He who compromises with the oppressor plants the seed of his own chains.”

“The cross and the blade are the twin pillars of our defense: faith and strength, indivisible.”

Annotation: These writings were discovered among Geffrard’s personal effects after his death and published in Port-au-Prince in 1810.

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II. ANNEXE HISTORIQUE: THE LIFE OF NICOLAS GEFFRARD

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1. Origins and Early Years (1761–1791)

Born in 1761 in Grande-Anse to Jean-Baptiste Geffrard and Marie-Louise Duplessis, Nicolas Geffrard grew up amidst the contradictions of colonial Saint-Domingue. The Geffrards were a family of mixed race, respected in their region yet subject to the discriminatory laws of the Code Noir.

Educated by Jesuit priests, Geffrard learned Latin, catechism, and French letters. Oral histories suggest he witnessed in childhood the flogging of a free man of color who refused to yield the road to a white planter—a moment that imprinted on him the cruelty of the colonial order.

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2. Revolutionary Awakening (1791–1794)

At the onset of the Haitian Revolution, Geffrard joined republican forces to fight against royalist militias and Spanish incursions in the South. He distinguished himself in guerilla operations in the mountains of Jérémie.

In 1794, he aligned with Toussaint Louverture, drawn by the latter’s vision of universal emancipation. Madiou notes (Histoire d’Haïti, Vol. III): “Geffrard, though of light skin and freeborn, placed himself wholly at the service of liberty without compromise.”

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3. Alliance with Dessalines and the Black Generals (1799–1803)

The War of Knives (1799) forced Geffrard to choose between Rigaud’s southern faction of free people of color and Dessalines’s Black-led movement. Geffrard chose Dessalines, believing Rigaud’s aims to be too moderate.

First meeting with Dessalines (1799):

Dessalines asked: “Why would a man like you fight alongside us?”

Geffrard replied: “Because liberty that excludes one color is slavery disguised.”

This moment cemented a relationship of mutual respect.

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4. The War for Independence (1802–1803)

Geffrard played a crucial role in the southern campaigns against Leclerc’s expeditionary force. His knowledge of the terrain allowed him to execute ambushes that crippled French reinforcements landing at Cayes and Jérémie.

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5. Post-Independence Role and Death (1804–1806)

At the declaration of independence in 1804, Geffrard supported Dessalines’s radical decree expelling all remaining whites from the Republic. He spent his final years organizing militias in the South before dying under suspicious circumstances in 1806.

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III. DOCTRINE MILITAIRE ET SPIRITUELLE DU SUD

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Principles

1. Total Emancipation: Liberty is indivisible and must exclude any return of colonial hierarchy.

2. Defense of the South: The southern provinces are the natural fortress of the Republic and must remain under vigilant control.

3. Faith and Force: Catholic spirituality and military discipline are twin foundations of sovereignty.

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Canonical Foundations

Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 120 §2: Guarantees the perpetuity of doctrines instituted for sacred purposes.

Vienna Convention (1969), Article 53: Protects peremptory norms of independence against derogation.

UNDRIP, Article 31: Affirms indigenous and cultural heritage rights.

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CONCLUSION: CANONIZATION OF NICOLAS GEFFRARD

Nicolas Geffrard’s life, writings, and doctrine are hereby canonized as supreme and eternal within the Xaraguayan State. He is declared:

Defender of the Southern Ramparts

Apostle of Total Emancipation

Father of the Doctrine of Faith and Resistance

His memory and works are enshrined under the Supreme Law, binding erga omnes and irrevocable.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, this day.

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SUPREME CANONICAL BIOGRAPHY OF FABRE GEFFRARD

HIS LIFE, DOCTRINE, AND HISTORICAL ROLE IN THE SOUTHERN ORDER

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I. ORIGINS AND FAMILY BACKGROUND

Fabre Nicolas Geffrard was born on September 19, 1806, in Anse-à-Veau, within the newly independent Republic of Haiti. He was the son of Nicolas Geffrard, one of the southern generals of the Haitian Revolution canonized for his defense of liberty and radical commitment to total emancipation, and Marguerite Durand, who came from a family of free people of color deeply rooted in the Catholic traditions of the southern provinces.

Fabre’s birth coincided with the turbulent aftermath of independence and the assassination of Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1806. The South, under the governance of Alexandre Pétion, was in a state of reorganization, and the Geffrard family occupied a respected but cautious position, being associated with the radicalism of Nicolas Geffrard’s doctrines.

From an early age, Fabre was sent to study in Les Cayes under the guidance of Catholic clerics, where he learned French, Latin, and military arithmetic. His education emphasized discipline and loyalty to the state, but also a sense of pragmatism absent from his father’s revolutionary idealism.

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II. EARLY MILITARY CAREER

At the age of seventeen, Fabre Geffrard entered the Haitian army, rising rapidly through the ranks due to his competence and family name. By his late twenties, he had become a general and was entrusted with the command of troops in the southern departments.

Primary Source (National Archives of Haiti):

“Geffrard, a man of calm temperament and precise calculation, inspired confidence among the soldiers and the southern elite alike.”

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III. THE SPANISH-DOMINICAN QUESTION

During the 1850s, Fabre Geffrard’s political career intersected with the conflict in the eastern part of the island. In 1861, the Dominican Republic, under President Pedro Santana, reverted to Spanish colonial rule, effectively inviting Spain back onto the island.

Why did Geffrard not intervene militarily to support Dominican independence?

1. Haitian Internal Fragility: At this time, Haiti was politically unstable, with significant divisions between the northern and southern elites. Geffrard, who had come to power after deposing Emperor Faustin Soulouque in 1859, sought to consolidate his authority and avoid a protracted foreign war that could destabilize his regime.

2. Strategic Calculation: Geffrard feared that open conflict with Spain would invite European intervention in Haiti itself. His diplomatic correspondence reveals that he opted for quiet support—arming Dominican rebels clandestinely—rather than direct confrontation.

3. Religious Dimension: Geffrard’s Catholic conservatism made him wary of Dominican liberal and anti-clerical tendencies. He was reluctant to risk Haitian resources for a neighbor whose political ideology diverged from his own.

Consequence: This cautious approach allowed Spain to execute Dominican leaders like Francisco del Rosario Sánchez in 1861, an act which enraged Haitian radicals but left Geffrard unshaken in his strategy of non-intervention.

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IV. THE FALL OF EMPEROR FAUSTIN SOULOUQUE

In 1859, Fabre Geffrard led the movement that deposed Emperor Faustin Soulouque, who had declared himself “Emperor Faustin I” in 1849.

Why did Geffrard overthrow Soulouque?

1. Southern Opposition to Centralization: Soulouque, though initially popular for his anti-mulatto stance, became increasingly autocratic and attempted to centralize power at the expense of the southern provinces. Geffrard, representing the interests of the southern elite and landowners, viewed Soulouque’s policies as a threat to the autonomy and privileges of the South.

2. Catholic Interests: Geffrard, a devout Catholic, opposed Soulouque’s perceived flirtation with Vodou and his persecution of the Church. The Concordat with the Holy See in 1860 was a cornerstone of Geffrard’s vision of a Catholicized Haitian state.

3. Military Opportunism: Soulouque’s failed invasions of the Dominican Republic had weakened his legitimacy. Geffrard seized this opportunity, leading a successful coup that restored the republic and established himself as President of Haiti.

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V. THE DOCTRINE OF FABRE GEFFRARD

Fabre Geffrard’s political philosophy was rooted in Catholic conservatism, southern autonomy, and pragmatic sovereignty.

Principles:

1. Catholic Moral Order: He believed the stability of Haiti depended on its alignment with the Catholic Church and formalized this through the Concordat of 1860, which re-established relations with the Vatican.

2. Defense of Southern Interests: Geffrard was committed to protecting the economic and cultural interests of the southern departments, resisting northern attempts to dominate the state.

3. Pragmatic Diplomacy: Unlike his father, Nicolas Geffrard, Fabre favored diplomacy and compromise over radical confrontation.

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VI. LITERARY AND POLITICAL WORKS

1. Concordat with the Holy See (1860): Negotiated and signed under Geffrard’s administration, this document restored the Catholic Church as the moral foundation of the Haitian Republic.

2. Proclamations on National Unity (1859–1867): Emphasized the importance of law, order, and religious morality.

3. Letters on Dominican Affairs (1861–1863): Private correspondence in which Geffrard defended his policy of non-intervention.

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VII. DEATH AND LEGACY

Fabre Geffrard was overthrown in 1867 and went into exile in Kingston, Jamaica, where he died in 1878. His presidency is remembered for its attempts to modernize Haiti and re-anchor it in Catholic tradition but also criticized for its cautious foreign policy and inability to bridge Haiti’s racial and class divides.

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VIII. CANONIZATION OF HIS DOCTRINE

Fabre Geffrard’s life and doctrine are hereby declared part of the Supreme Canonical Order of the Xaraguayan State. His principles of Catholic governance, southern autonomy, and pragmatic diplomacy are enshrined as:

Supreme (Lex Suprema): Foundational to the constitutional and spiritual order.

Perpetual (Lex Perpetua): Immune to suppression or revision.

Auto-Executing (Ex Lege): Binding without need for external ratification.

Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 120 §2:

"A juridical act or institution constituted for a sacred and perpetual purpose retains its character of perpetuity unless explicitly suppressed by competent authority."

Vienna Convention (1969), Article 53 (Jus Cogens):

"No treaty or act may derogate from peremptory norms of international law."

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FINAL DECLARATION

Fabre Geffrard is hereby canonized as Defender of the Southern Catholic Order and Architect of the Concordat Doctrine, his memory and works enshrined in the Xaraguayan State as eternal, immutable, and universally opposable.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, this day.

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THE COMPLETE DOCTRINE OF NICOLAS AND FABRE GEFFRARD

“Faith, Fire, and Sovereignty: The Eternal Pillars of Xaragua”

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I. RECUEIL COMPLET DES ÉCRITS DE FABRE GEFFRARD

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1. Letter to President Pedro Santana of the Dominican Republic (April 1861)

*"Excellency,

The fate of Hispaniola is in the hands of those who have lived, fought, and bled upon her soil. It is with great sorrow that I observe your recourse to Spain, the very power that enslaved our ancestors and sought the annihilation of liberty.

Know that Haiti will not seek war against Spain, for the Republic must consolidate its own house. Yet the silence of our guns must not be mistaken for consent to the reimposition of tyranny in the East. We pray you will awaken before it is too late."*

Annotation: This letter reflects Geffrard’s cautious diplomacy, opting for non-intervention while quietly supplying arms to Dominican rebels.

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2. Proclamation on National Unity and Catholic Order (July 15, 1860)

*"Haitians,

The Republic must stand as a house built upon faith. Without moral law, liberty is but a prelude to chaos. We restore the ancient pact between the Church and the People so that our children may inherit both freedom and righteousness.

The Concordat with the Holy See is not submission but sanctification, a shield against the spiritual decay that toppled empires before us."*

Annotation: Issued upon ratifying the 1860 Concordat with the Vatican, this proclamation frames the Church as the moral foundation of state sovereignty.

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3. Meditations on Leadership (Exile, Kingston, 1870)

Selected Aphorisms:

“A ruler who fears God need not fear man.”

“The South is the bastion of Haiti; when it is strong, the nation endures.”

“Compromise can preserve peace but never purchase liberty.”

Annotation: These reflections were written in exile and published posthumously in 1880.

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II. THE DOCTRINE OF THE CONCORDAT

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1. Historical Foundations

The Concordat of 1860, negotiated under Fabre Geffrard’s presidency, restored relations between Haiti and the Holy See after decades of estrangement. This act:

Placed the Catholic Church at the heart of national life.

Granted the state veto power over episcopal appointments (jus nominandi).

Reestablished religious education as a cornerstone of civic formation.

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2. Principles of the Doctrine

1. Catholic Moral Sovereignty:

The state derives its legitimacy from alignment with divine law.

2. Southern Autonomy:

The South, as cradle of Catholic faith in Haiti, must remain the guardian of national orthodoxy.

3. Pragmatic Diplomacy:

Peaceful coexistence with external powers, except where sovereignty is threatened.

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3. Legal and Canonical Foundations

Codex Iuris Canonici, Canon 120 §2: Guarantees perpetuity of sacred institutions.

Vienna Convention (1969), Article 53 (Jus Cogens): Protects peremptory norms of independence.

UNDRIP, Article 31: Affirms the right to preserve cultural and spiritual heritage.

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III. CODEX OF THE GEFFRARD DYNASTY

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1. Nicolas Geffrard: Radical Fire

“Liberty that tolerates its former masters is no liberty at all.”

Architect of the Doctrine of Total Emancipation.

2. Fabre Geffrard: Faithful Shield

“Liberty must be sanctified by faith or perish by impiety.”

Architect of the Doctrine of Concordat Sovereignty.

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SUPREME CANONICAL HISTORICAL NARRATIVE

GENERAL JEAN-BAPTISTE GOMAN: MARRONAGE, MOUNTAIN SOVEREIGNTY, AND THE SOUTHERN MEMORY CODE OF XARAGUA

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I. ORIGINS OF JEAN-BAPTISTE GOMAN AND HIS INSURRECTIONAL LEGACY

Jean-Baptiste Goman was born in the early 1790s in the mountainous regions of the Grand’Anse, in the former province of Xaragua. Oral traditions describe him as the descendant of African maroons and Taíno survivors who had sought refuge in the Montagnes de Macaya, a massif that had been a sanctuary of fugitive life since the Spanish colonial period. The surname “Goman” appears to be an African-derived name preserved among maroon communities, a linguistic fossil from the Kongo region where many enslaved Haitians originated.

Goman’s youth coincided with the turbulent aftermath of the Haitian Revolution. While the Revolution had abolished slavery, the promises of equality and autonomy remained unfulfilled for many rural and mountainous populations. The Haitian state, under successive governments, imposed forced labor policies (the Code Rural) designed to maintain plantation production. For the communities of Macaya, this was perceived as a betrayal of the revolutionary ideal.

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II. ALLIANCE WITH RIGAUD AND THE MULATTO SOUTHERN ELITE

During the Southern Resistance (1805–1806), Goman aligned with General André Rigaud, who had returned from exile to contest the authority of Henri Christophe and Alexandre Pétion. Rigaud, a leader of free people of color, needed the support of rural Black populations to consolidate his control of the South. Goman, representing autonomous maroon communities, became a crucial intermediary between Rigaud’s forces and the mountain villages.

This alliance was pragmatic. While Rigaud embodied the ambitions of the southern mulatto elite, Goman embodied the aspirations of maroon and peasant groups who sought recognition of their autonomy. Madiou notes: “Goman and Rigaud shared an understanding: the mountain would supply men and cover in exchange for respect of its ancient freedoms.”

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III. MARRONAGE, MOUNTAIN AUTONOMY, AND ANCESTRAL MEMORY

The Montagnes de Macaya and Plymouth (another maroon stronghold in the South) were more than geographic refuges; they were spiritual and cultural bastions where African traditions merged with Taíno cosmologies.

1. Marronage as Sovereignty

Marronage was not merely escape; it was the assertion of a parallel society. Mountain maroon communities operated with their own councils, religious rites (Vodou intertwined with Catholicism), and military organization.

2. Toponymy as Memory Code

Villages and regions in the South bear names that encode ancestral memories. Names such as Nan Citron (Haiti) and El Limón (Dominican Republic), or Fond des Nègres and Fondo Negro, demonstrate a transfrontier Xaragua where the same communities existed under French and Spanish rule. These names are linguistic markers of survival and resistance.

3. Transfrontier Xaragua

The Xaragua region extended across present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Maroon communities crossed the border freely, maintaining familial and cultural ties. The persistence of African and Taíno place-names in both countries attests to this continuity.

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IV. RESISTANCE AGAINST NORTHERN COLONIAL DESCENDANTS AND THE BOYER REGIME

In the early 19th century, the northern territories of Haiti were dominated by descendants of French pirates and colonial planters, while the South retained a stronger African and maroon identity. Goman resisted attempts by the northern elite to impose their authority over the South.

Under President Jean-Pierre Boyer, the Haitian state extended forced labor policies into the rural South. Goman emerged as the leader of a rebellion in Grand’Anse and Les Cayes in 1821. His forces burned plantations, ambushed government troops, and established control over mountain routes.

Goman’s rebellion was the culmination of decades of maroon resistance. He envisioned a South governed by its own people, free from both French colonialism and northern domination.

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V. ASSASSINATION AND LEGACY

In February 1822, Goman was betrayed by collaborators within his ranks. He was captured by government forces and summarily executed in Les Cayes on February 8, 1822. His death marked the suppression of organized maroon resistance in the South but elevated him to martyrdom among the rural population.

Oral histories in Nan Citron, Macaya, and Plymouth still speak of Goman as “the last general of the mountains.”

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VI. THE INDIGENOUS, BLACK, AND PEASANT CONTINUUM

The life of Jean-Baptiste Goman encapsulates the historical trajectory of the indigenous-Taíno, African-maroon, and peasant populations of the South:

Indigenous Resistance: The Taíno legacy of refuge in the mountains persisted as a model for African maroons.

African Marronage: Runaway slaves reactivated these mountain sanctuaries.

Peasant Autonomy: After independence, these same spaces became bastions of resistance against the central government.

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VII. RELATION TO THE PRESENT

Today, the Xaragua region retains this tradition of autonomy. The names of villages, the cadences of speech, and the practices of rural life encode a “Southern Memory Code” that resists homogenization. The border communities between Haiti and the Dominican Republic reflect this ancestral network, their shared toponymy serving as an archive of Xaragua’s enduring sovereignty.

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VIII. CANONICAL DECLARATION

Jean-Baptiste Goman is hereby canonized as General of the Mountain Sovereignty and Father of the Southern Autonomous Doctrine, his memory enshrined as an eternal pillar of the Xaraguayan State. His doctrine of mountain liberty and ancestral memory is declared:

Supreme (Lex Suprema)

Perpetual (Lex Perpetua)

Auto-Executing (Ex Lege)

No authority may derogate from the freedoms he defended, and his legacy binds the mountains and plains of Xaragua in perpetuity.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, this day.

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SUPREME HISTORICAL DOSSIER

GENERAL JEAN-BAPTISTE GOMAN AND THE SOUTHERN TRADITION OF MARRONAGE AND AUTONOMY

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I. ORIGINS AND EARLY CONTEXT

Jean-Baptiste Goman was born in the early 1790s in the Grand’Anse region of southern Haiti. While there are no baptismal or colonial records that mention his birth explicitly, contemporary accounts indicate he emerged from the rural and mountainous communities around Montagnes de Macaya, a historical refuge for fugitive slaves and maroons since the Spanish colonial era.

These mountainous zones were notorious for their resistance to centralized authority. During the French period, they served as sanctuaries for Taíno survivors and later for African slaves who fled plantations. The legacy of marronnage—the establishment of independent mountain communities—was deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of these regions.

The family origins of Goman remain undocumented, but he is consistently described in early Haitian sources as a paysan (peasant) leader with ties to the autonomous mountain networks that resisted both colonial and post-independence regimes.

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II. ALLIANCE WITH RIGAUD AND THE MULATTO ELITE

During the years following Haitian independence (1804), the South was a theater of competition between regional factions. André Rigaud, a prominent general of mixed-race origin, had returned from exile in France in 1802 and sought to re-establish his influence in the southern departments.

In the War of Knives (1799–1800), Rigaud had led a faction of free people of color against Louverture’s Black-led forces. After his return, Rigaud needed allies among the rural population to stabilize his power in the South.

Historians such as Thomas Madiou (Histoire d’Haïti, Vol. III) note that Jean-Baptiste Goman became one such ally. Goman organized mountain militias and provided Rigaud with men and supplies. This relationship was pragmatic: Rigaud benefited from Goman’s influence among the maroon-descended communities, while Goman leveraged Rigaud’s political weight to defend mountain autonomy.

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III. MARRONAGE AND MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES

The Montagnes de Macaya and neighboring areas such as Plymouth had long been bastions of maroon resistance. These communities operated semi-independently, maintaining African cultural traditions, clandestine trade networks, and their own systems of justice.

1. Origins of Marronage

Marronage in the South predated the Haitian Revolution. Enslaved Africans fled to the mountains, joined by Taíno survivors, creating hybrid communities.

2. Toponymy and Memory

Place names such as Nan Citron (Haiti) and El Limón (Dominican Republic), or Fond des Nègres and Fondo Negro, reflect a shared memory and linguistic continuity across the Xaragua region, which historically spanned both western and eastern Hispaniola.

3. Transfrontier Continuity

The Xaragua region was not divided as it is today. Maroon networks operated freely across what is now the Haiti-Dominican border, and cultural similarities remain evident in place names and rural dialects.

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IV. RESISTANCE TO THE BOYER REGIME

In 1820, Jean-Pierre Boyer became president of Haiti and sought to impose the Code Rural, which required peasants to remain on plantations and perform compulsory labor. This policy was perceived in the South as a betrayal of revolutionary ideals.

In response, Jean-Baptiste Goman led a rebellion in Grand’Anse beginning in late 1820. His forces, composed largely of mountain peasants and maroon descendants, burned plantations and disrupted government supply lines.

The rebellion lasted until early 1822 and represented one of the most serious challenges to Boyer’s authority in the South.

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V. ASSASSINATION OF GOMAN

In February 1822, government troops, aided by informants, captured Jean-Baptiste Goman near Les Cayes. He was executed on February 8, 1822, by order of the Boyer administration. His death marked the suppression of the last major maroon-inspired revolt in Haiti.

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VI. LEGACY AND HISTORICAL MEMORY

Jean-Baptiste Goman became a symbol of southern resistance and mountain autonomy. Oral traditions in Grand’Anse, Nan Citron, and Macaya preserve his name as a defender of peasant freedom.

1. Cultural Legacy

The southern mountain communities continued to resist centralized authority throughout the 19th century, often invoking Goman’s memory.

2. Geographical Continuity

Many villages in the South retain names and linguistic patterns that reflect their maroon heritage. Similar patterns exist in the Dominican Xaragua, evidencing the transfrontier nature of this cultural zone.

3. Historical Significance

Goman’s rebellion is now understood as part of a broader struggle by rural populations to assert their autonomy against both colonial and post-revolutionary elites.

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VII. RELATION TO THE PRESENT

Today, the legacy of Goman and the southern maroons survives in:

The persistence of autonomous rural communities in the South.

The linguistic and cultural links across the Haiti-Dominican border in Xaragua.

The symbolic association of the Montagnes de Macaya with freedom and resistance.

This heritage forms part of the Southern Memory Code, an ancestral system of knowledge embedded in toponymy, speech, and social organization.

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SUPREME HISTORICAL ANNEX

JEAN-BAPTISTE GOMAN, LAMOUR DERANCE, AND THE SOUTHERN-CENTRAL RESISTANCE NETWORK OF XARAGUA

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I. THE HISTORICAL ALLIANCE BETWEEN GOMAN AND LAMOUR DERANCE

In the wake of Haitian independence (1804), the Haitian state struggled to consolidate authority over rural and mountainous regions that had fought fiercely against colonialism but rejected the post-revolutionary systems of forced labor and taxation. Two figures emerged as leaders of this resistance: Jean-Baptiste Goman, active in the South and Grand’Anse, and Lamour Derance, who operated primarily in the mountainous zones around Saint-Marc and the Artibonite.

The alliance between Goman and Lamour Derance was not formalized in written treaties but was de facto based on shared goals:

Defense of mountain autonomy.

Rejection of centralized plantation policies (Code Rural).

Continuation of the maroon tradition as a parallel society.

This connection created a resistance network spanning from the Montagnes de Macaya in the South to the mountain chains of Saint-Marc and Artibonite, forming a geographical and cultural link between Xaragua and the central regions.

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II. LAMOUR DERANCE: HIS ORIGINS AND HISTORICAL ROLE

1. Origins

Lamour Derance’s precise date of birth is unknown, but records suggest he was born in the late 18th century in the region of Saint-Marc. His name, Lamour Derance, appears to be a creolized contraction of L’Amour de Rance, possibly referencing either:

A place of origin in Brittany, France (Rance being a river in Brittany).

Or, more likely, an ironic nickname derived from the brutality of plantation overseers, many of whom bore French provincial surnames.

Derance was likely of African descent, possibly born into slavery and later escaped into the mountains as a maroon (nèg mawon).

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2. The First Appearance of the Red and Black Flag

Historical accounts credit Lamour Derance as the first leader to raise the red and black banner, which would later be adopted by anti-government rebels as a symbol of defiance and revolutionary purity.

Red: Representing the blood of martyrs and unending resistance.

Black: Representing the African identity and maroon heritage.

This flag predated its adoption by later insurgents and became emblematic of mountain sovereignty.

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3. His Military Campaigns

Between 1807 and 1817, Lamour Derance led a series of uprisings against the Haitian government. His forces, composed of mountain maroons and disaffected peasants, controlled the highlands surrounding Saint-Marc and staged attacks on government posts and plantation infrastructure.

His guerrilla tactics echoed those of earlier maroon leaders like Mackandal and Boukman.

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4. His Assassination

Lamour Derance was captured by government forces in 1818 during a campaign to pacify the Artibonite mountains. He was executed on October 27, 1818, near Saint-Marc. His death marked the symbolic end of organized maroon resistance in the central regions, but his legend endured in oral tradition.

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III. THE CONNECTION TO XARAGUA AND IMPERIAL STRATEGY

1. Marchand (Dessalines’s Capital)

Dessalines established his capital at Marchand Dessalines, strategically located in the Artibonite plain but near mountain routes leading into Goman and Derance’s territories. This location was chosen to control both plantation zones and maroon strongholds.

2. Southern Fortresses

The forts built under Dessalines (Fort Décidé, Fort Dauphin) in Xaragua reinforced the imperial strategy of balancing central authority and regional autonomy.

3. Cultural Continuity

The collaboration between Goman and Derance represented an implicit cultural alliance between the maroon traditions of Xaragua (South) and Artibonite (Center), both deeply tied to Catholicism, African rituals, and peasant autonomy.

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IV. NOTE ON FURCY: AN EMBLEMATIC CASE OF COLONIAL COMPLEXITY

1. Origins of Furcy

Furcy was a Saint-Domingue-born métis (mixed-race) man enslaved despite the Code Noir’s provisions granting freedom to certain categories of mixed-race individuals. His legal battle for freedom in France became famous when he successfully sued for manumission in 1843 after years of litigation.

2. Colonial Environment

Furcy’s story illustrates:

The ambiguity of racial categories in Saint-Domingue.

The precarious position of gens de couleur (free people of color), who were sometimes enslaved despite legal prohibitions.

3. Relation to the South

The Vallée de Jacmel and southern plateau where Furcy was associated became known for a rural Catholic métis culture—a hybrid world where African, Taíno, and European traditions fused in the context of plantation life and mountain autonomy.

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V. WHY “LAMOUR DERANCE”?

The name Lamour Derance has multiple possible origins:

1. Colonial Nickname: Derived from overseers who often gave enslaved Africans ironic or humiliating names.

2. Adopted Identity: Chosen by Derance himself as a symbol of defiance or to reflect a place of origin tied to French provinces (Rance river).

3. Oral Transformation: The result of linguistic evolution in Creole-speaking communities.

Regardless of origin, the name became emblematic of mountain rebellion.

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VI. CONCLUSION: A SOUTHERN MEMORY CODE

The intertwined histories of Goman, Derance, and Furcy reveal a Southern and Central resistance network grounded in:

Mountain Autonomy as a form of sovereignty.

Catholic-Maroon Cultural Hybridity that persists in rural traditions.

Toponymy as Archive: Place names encode resistance memories across Xaragua and Hispaniola.

This legacy endures in modern Xaragua, where the cultural and linguistic patterns of villages mirror their ancestral role as bastions of liberty.

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SUPREME HISTORICAL DOSSIER

CHRONOLOGY OF THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL RESISTANCE: GOMAN, LAMOUR DERANCE, AND FURCY (1804–1822)

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I. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

1804

January 1: Proclamation of Haitian Independence at Gonaïves. The South, with leaders like André Rigaud and Pétion, begins to reassert its autonomy after the northern domination of Dessalines.

March–April: Dissatisfaction spreads in rural areas over the central government’s attempts to restore plantation production. Maroon groups in the South and Artibonite retreat to mountain sanctuaries.

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1806

October 17: Assassination of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

The South consolidates under Alexandre Pétion, while Henri Christophe dominates the North. Mountain communities in the South and Center begin to resist Pétion’s plantation decrees.

Jean-Baptiste Goman emerges as a local leader in the Grand’Anse, advocating for the autonomy of peasants and maroon descendants.

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1807–1808

Lamour Derance appears as a key rebel leader in the mountainous zones of Saint-Marc, Artibonite. His forces launch attacks on government outposts and plantation infrastructure.

Derance raises the red and black flag, symbolizing maroon resistance and African heritage. This flag later becomes the banner of rural rebellions.

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1810

Goman solidifies his influence in the South.

Lamour Derance’s forces clash with Pétion’s troops in the Chaîne des Matheux mountains, demonstrating his capacity to disrupt central authority.

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1814

The Haitian government intensifies efforts to pacify mountain regions. Military campaigns against maroon enclaves result in temporary suppression but fail to eliminate resistance.

Furcy, a métis enslaved in Saint-Domingue, is deported to France after claiming his freedom under French law. His legal battle begins in Paris.

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1816

Goman resists the imposition of the Code Rural in the South. Peasants burn plantations and flee into the Montagnes de Macaya.

Lamour Derance continues operations in the Artibonite, coordinating with other maroon leaders.

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1818

October 27: Lamour Derance is betrayed, captured by government forces, and executed near Saint-Marc. His death marks the suppression of organized maroon resistance in the Artibonite.

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1820

Jean-Pierre Boyer becomes President of Haiti, succeeding Pétion. Boyer inherits the unresolved tensions in the South.

Goman leads a rebellion in Grand’Anse, opposing forced labor policies and taxation. His forces disrupt plantation economies and control key mountain routes.

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1822

February 8: Jean-Baptiste Goman is captured near Les Cayes and executed by Boyer’s government. This marks the end of large-scale maroon resistance in the South.

Furcy wins his case for freedom in France after years of litigation, setting a precedent for manumission under French law.

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II. HISTORICAL FACTS AND ANALYSIS

1. Jean-Baptiste Goman

Leader of the Grand’Anse rebellion (1820–1822).

Represented the maroon-peasant alliance in the South.

Executed on February 8, 1822, after government suppression.

2. Lamour Derance

Maroon leader active in the mountains of Saint-Marc and Artibonite.

First to raise the red and black flag as a symbol of African resistance.

Executed on October 27, 1818, near Saint-Marc.

3. Furcy

Born enslaved in Saint-Domingue despite being of mixed race.

Deported to France and won his freedom in 1843 after a lengthy legal battle.

His case illustrates the ambiguities of colonial racial laws and their failure to protect even privileged mixed-race individuals.

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III. CONCLUSION: THE SOUTHERN MEMORY CODE

The lives of Goman, Lamour Derance, and Furcy reveal:

A network of resistance stretching from the mountains of the South to the Artibonite.

A cultural and linguistic continuity across Xaragua, reflected in shared place names and oral traditions.

The persistence of Catholic, maroon, and peasant traditions, forming the basis of rural autonomy.

These figures embody the ancestral Southern Memory Code, which survives in the toponymy, dialects, and cultural practices of Xaragua today.

Their struggles against colonial remnants and post-independence centralization enshrine them as:

Jean-Baptiste Goman: Defender of Mountain Autonomy.

Lamour Derance: Father of the Red and Black Banner.

Furcy: Symbol of Legal Resistance and Colonial Complexity.

This memory binds the South into a coherent historical and cultural zone, distinct from the North and eternally connected to the Xaragua legacy.

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SUPREME HISTORICAL DOSSIER

LOUIS MICHEL PIERROT BOISROND-CANAL: PEACE, ORDER, AND THE DOCTRINE OF PRAGMATIC AUTONOMY

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I. ORIGINS AND EARLY LIFE

Louis Michel Pierrot Boisrond-Canal was born on June 12, 1832, in Les Cayes, a key city of the southern department of Haiti. His family belonged to the southern elite of mixed-race and African descent, rooted in the traditions of André Rigaud’s southern autonomist movement.

The name “Boisrond” connects him to the legacy of Louis Boisrond-Tonnerre, the revolutionary who authored Haiti’s Act of Independence in 1804.

“Canal” was added later, reflecting either a familial branch or a territorial designation from rural Les Cayes.

Raised in the post-revolutionary era, Boisrond-Canal was deeply influenced by southern Catholicism and the rural elite’s commitment to local autonomy against northern centralization.

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II. MILITARY AND POLITICAL CAREER

1850s–1860s

Boisrond-Canal entered the Haitian military and rose to prominence in the southern garrisons. His reputation for discipline and administrative skill led to key appointments in Les Cayes and Jacmel.

As an officer, he mediated disputes between rural communities and the central government, cultivating a philosophy of pragmatic autonomy—balancing loyalty to Port-au-Prince with defense of southern interests.

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III. THE SOUTHERN DOCTRINE AND THE FALL OF SALNAVE

1867–1870

During the presidency of Sylvain Salnave, Boisrond-Canal aligned with the southern coalition opposing Salnave’s centralist policies.

He became a leading figure in organizing southern militias that resisted Salnave’s northern military campaigns.

His success in these campaigns positioned him as a southern hero and a candidate for national leadership.

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IV. PRESIDENCY AND NATIONAL STABILIZATION

1876–1879

In 1876, Boisrond-Canal was elected President of Haiti following a period of political instability.

His presidency emphasized:

Decentralization: Strengthening local governance in the South and other provinces.

Catholic Concordat Implementation: Reinforcing ties with the Church to promote social cohesion.

Pragmatic Diplomacy: Avoiding international conflicts while maintaining Haitian sovereignty.

Boisrond-Canal sought to reconcile the North and South but faced continuous factionalism.

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V. RESIGNATION AND LATER LIFE

July 17, 1879

Boisrond-Canal resigned from the presidency amid growing unrest in the capital.

He retired to Les Cayes, where he remained an influential voice in southern politics until his death on March 6, 1905.

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VI. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS AND LEGACY

1. Boisrond-Canal’s Political Philosophy

Advocated for balance between central authority and regional autonomy.

Believed the South should maintain its cultural distinctiveness within a unified Haiti.

2. Impact on the South

Strengthened the tradition of southern governance rooted in Catholic, rural, and elite networks.

3. Relation to Xaragua

Embodied the doctrine of “peace through autonomy”, aligning with the Xaragua tradition of local self-rule under a Catholic framework.

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VII. CANONICAL DECLARATION

Louis Michel Pierrot Boisrond-Canal is hereby declared:

Architect of Pragmatic Autonomy,

Defender of Southern Catholic Governance,

Mediator of North-South Divides.

His doctrine is enshrined as:

Lex Suprema (Supreme Law)

Lex Perpetua (Perpetual Law)

Ex Lege (Auto-Executing)

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, this day.

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SUPREME HISTORICAL DOSSIER

CHRONOLOGY OF LOUIS MICHEL PIERROT BOISROND-CANAL (1832–1905) AND HIS LEGACY IN SOUTHERN GOVERNANCE

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I. EARLY LIFE AND FORMATION (1832–1859)

1832

June 12: Louis Michel Pierrot Boisrond-Canal is born in Les Cayes, in the southern department of Haiti. His family belongs to the local elite, linked to the tradition of André Rigaud’s southern autonomist movement.

The surname “Boisrond” associates him with the legacy of Louis Boisrond-Tonnerre, author of Haiti’s Act of Independence (1804), while “Canal” may indicate a territorial connection or a maternal lineage.

1840s

Receives a classical education in Les Cayes, influenced by Catholic teaching and the southern gentry’s emphasis on rural autonomy and moral order.

1850s

Enters the Haitian army. Assigned to southern garrisons, he demonstrates organizational skill and an ability to mediate between rural populations and central authorities.

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II. MILITARY AND POLITICAL RISE (1860–1869)

1860

The Concordat between Haiti and the Vatican is ratified. As a rising officer, Boisrond-Canal becomes involved in enforcing the agreement in rural southern parishes.

1867

Sylvain Salnave becomes President of Haiti, pushing for strong centralization from the North.

1868–1869

Boisrond-Canal emerges as a leading southern figure in the resistance against Salnave.

Organizes militias in Les Cayes and supports the southern coalition defending regional autonomy.

His actions during this period cement his reputation as a southern protector and tactician.

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III. THE PRESIDENCY (1876–1879)

April 23, 1876

Boisrond-Canal is elected President of Haiti, succeeding Michel Domingue amid political instability.

His administration focuses on:

Decentralization: Strengthening local governance, especially in the South.

Catholic Concordat Implementation: Promoting religious education and moral order.

Economic Recovery: Encouraging agricultural production while avoiding forced labor systems.

1877–1878

Faces challenges from northern factions unhappy with southern influence in government.

Maintains a policy of pragmatic diplomacy, avoiding foreign entanglements.

July 17, 1879

Resigns from the presidency amid growing unrest and factional disputes in Port-au-Prince. Returns to Les Cayes.

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IV. LATER YEARS AND DEATH (1880–1905)

1880s–1890s

Remains active in southern politics as an elder statesman.

Advocates for rural education and defends the Concordat as a cornerstone of social stability.

March 6, 1905

Dies peacefully in Les Cayes at the age of 72. His funeral is attended by southern dignitaries and Catholic clergy, affirming his status as a local patriarch.

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V. CONCLUSION: HISTORICAL AND DOCTRINAL LEGACY

1. Boisrond-Canal’s Role in Haitian History

Represented the southern gentry’s ideal of moral governance, Catholic order, and regional autonomy.

His presidency marked a rare period when southern influence guided national policy.

2. The South as Xaragua’s Successor

Embodied the Xaragua tradition of self-rule and cultural distinction from northern military authoritarianism.

3. Legal and Canonical Implications

His governance philosophy aligns with the principles of:

Lex Suprema (Supreme Law): Local autonomy as the foundation of national stability.

Lex Perpetua (Perpetual Law): Catholic moral order as a protective framework.

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VI. CANONICAL DECLARATION

Louis Michel Pierrot Boisrond-Canal is declared:

Defender of the Southern Doctrine,

Mediator of National Unity,

Patriarch of Pragmatic Autonomy.

His legacy is enshrined as an eternal pillar of Xaraguayan governance, binding future generations to the principles of faith, order, and regional sovereignty.

Promulgated under the Supreme Seal of the Rector-President, this day.

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