Bruno Blanchet (1760?1822) was secretary of state of the Republic of Haiti .

Political context [ edit ]

By nationalizing the land left abandoned by French planters, Jean-Jacques Dessalines incurred the enmity of those who sought to become landowners based on their family ties. ^[1] Blanchet was fired from his post as treasurer of Jeremie and became an agent of Henri Christophe tasked with convincing general Nicolas Geffrard to lead an insurrection against Dessalines, ^[2] who was assassinated by his collaborators on 17 October 1806 in Pont-Rouge north of Port-au-Prince. ^[3]

During the secession of the North of Haiti by King Henry, the South of the country became a republic under the military authority of Alexander Petion. During the first months of 1807, there was no civilian leader of the new republic.

Political responsibility [ edit ]

Bruno Blanchet took part in the Constituent Assembly on 18 December 1806. He was one of the dominant voices in the crafting of a democratic constitution with a rigid separation of powers between the Senate and the President, which Petion thought Christophe would not accept. It was adopted by the national assembly on 27 December 1806. ^[4] As expected, Christophe did not accept the terms of this new Constitution, refused the presidency and subsequently tried but failed to take Port-au-Prince in early January 1807. Pushed back by Petion's army, he retreated to his stronghold in the North leaving the position of president vacant. ^{[5] [6]}

Bruno Blanchet was named Secretary of State on 19 January 1807. ^[7]

On 10 March 1807, Alexander Petion officially became President of the Republic and appointed Bruno Blanchet Secretary General of the Government. ^[8]

Bibliography [ edit ]

• Dubois, Laurent (2012). Haiti: The Aftershocks of History . New York: Picador.

• Gaffield, Julia (October 2015). "The "States of Hayti" and the British Empire". Haitian Connections In the Atlantic World: Recognition after Revolution . University of North Carolina Press. doi : 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625621.003.0006 .

• Madiou fils, Thomas (1848). Histoire d'Haiti: tome troisieme (in French). Port au Prince: J. Courtois.

References [ edit ]