Republic of Haiti (1806–1820)

While the Republic of Haiti had control in the south, Henri Christophe ruled over the north of the country as President of the State of Haiti until 1811 when he proclaimed the Kingdom of Haiti with himself as King Henri I. Following King Henri's death in 1820, Haiti was unified as a single republican state under Boyer.

Domestic policies

Initially a supporter of democracy, Pétion modified the terms of the presidency in the Revision of the Haitian Constitution of 1806 on 2 June 1816, making the post of president a position for life, with the president having the power to appoint his successor. Furthermore, he found the constraints imposed on him by the Senate onerous and suspended the legislature in 1818.

Pétion named General Jean-Pierre Boyer as his successor; the Senate approved his choice. Boyer took control in 1818 following the death of Pétion from yellow fever. After Henri I and his son died in 1820, Boyer reunited the two parts of the country in 1820; he went on to unify the entire island of Hispaniola under his rule in 1822, and presided over the unified Republic of Haiti until his overthrow in 1843.

Economic policies

Pétion seized commercial plantations from the rich gentry. He had the land redistributed to his supporters and the peasantry, earning him the nickname Papa Bon-Cœur ("good-hearted father"). The land seizures and changes in agriculture reduced the production of commodities for the export economy. Most of the population became full subsistence farmers, and exports and state revenue declined sharply, making survival difficult for the new state.