Nous Allons au Citadel Roi Henri Christophe (we go the the citadel of King Henry Christopher)

Early this morning, Tiffany, Richard, Beth, and Renada left for home. There was some last-minute shuffling of flights, but all four left. They should be in Charlotte in a couple of hours. Bernard patiently waited for them to board the plane.

Later, Bernard picked up the trainers (Adam, Junior, Evance, Elizabeth, and Mishna) at their hotel, and then picked up us (Katelyn, Shaun, and myself) and took us to Milot to hike up to the citadel. I'll get to Milot later; I want to talk about the citadel first. Eddie, our tour guide, told us a great deal of information.

Le Citadel de Roi Christophe is (quite literally) monumental. It was built from 1806-1813 by 200,000 Haitians; about 10% lost their lives. Ed: Wikipedia says 20,000 workers.

The forward part of the citadel is built like a ship's prow, and juts forward into view as you come into (and up) Milot. It's perched on a steep incline. It was built by Roi Christophe (King Christopher), who helped free the slaves. The slave revolt occurred in 1802-3, and Haiti (an indigenous word meaning heights, due to the hills) became the first free black republic, and also only the second colony to declare (and take!) independence, just 25 years after the US. At the time, actually, there were two republics, the north, led by Christophe, and the south, led by Petion.

The citadel was built as the last line of defense against the French, who had been pushed out during the slave revolt, although there were concerns that other colonial powers might try to take Haiti. While the citadel was never used, it represents Haitian independence and will.

The citadel is built from local stone and mortar, all of which was carried up (by hand, or rather head - like many, Haitians learned to balance heavy loads on their heads and carry them) from the surrounding areas. There is no concrete in the citadel; the mortar was mixed from a variety of ingredients, including cow's blood and gelatin. I've never been to the pyramids of Mexico or Egypt, but Adam said he was more impressed by the citadel. It certainly compares favorably to any European monument I've seen, and nothing in the US that started as a fortress is comparable.

This first point of reference is a large plaza, and at the edge of the plaza is a moat. While the moat is empty and a wooden bridge spans it, you can still see the pulleys used for the drawbridge when you step inside.

Next, up a dark set of stairs (fortunately with a handrail) you come to the first hall of cannons. Each cannon is in a separate room with a large passageway leading down the hall. The cannon rooms are about 20-25 feet and have a large window and (as expected) a large cannon. The cannons were seized from French, Spanish, and English warships. The inscriptions on the cannons vary, and oddly the French cannons are inscribed in Latin and the English cannons are inscribed in French. One particular cannon carries the French motto "the last argument of kings). At the back of the cannon there is a large semicircular groove in the floor; the cannons were mounted on wooden frames that could be turned to different angles. Most of the cannons are on the floor, but a few still have their wooden frames.

After the cannons, up a large and well-lit staircase, we come to another plaza, which presumably served as an area to muster the 2,000 soldiers who lived and worked in the citadel. They had enough supplies stocked to keep the citadel running for a year.

Near the center of the plaza is a monument to le Roi Christophe. My French is limited, but the basic idea is that Christophe committed suicide on October 8 1820. Our guide explained that he had a stroke and was paralyzed. The very night he died, he was buried in the foundation. The location of his body was a secret that the soldiers took to their graves.

In a room off of the courtyard is another monument, this time for Christophe's brother-in-law. He was killed in a gunpowder explosion, and all that was recovered was his hand. There was another such explosion later after which a new hall, as yet unreconstructed, was built to house the gunpowder.

Up more stairs, and we're near the top of the entire citadel, and at the top of what has been restored. Oh, the citadel was restored from 1979-1990, sponsored by the Haitian national historic preservation society. Massive effort, again involving many Haitians and lots of steep hiking carrying stones and other building material, but far fewer deaths.

There's a wide and unguarded ledge at the wall of the citadel. We did look over BUT we did it lying on our stomachs. Quite a view and quite steep. The ledge was for riflemen with muskets. Down the stairs, up a new set of stairs, and we were in another area, this time looking down into another set of cannon rooms. This view was different, though; along the spine of the hill, the ruins of several redoubts stood. Down the stairs, and Eddie explained that each of the areas was named for a member of the king's family.

To repeat, the citadel was crucial to the Haitian sense of will, strength, and love of independence and freedom. It made me think of all of the historic landmarks in the US devoted to the same concept, and remembered just as fondly. I won't say that the Haitians are particularly like Americans, but there are parallels in our history.