After receiving his ornate crown and scepter,

海地皇室伉儷徐徐駛進加冕會場

Henry Christophe ascended his throne, towering 20 meters in the air.

國王在如雷掌聲中接過皇冠、權仗

But little did the cheering onlookers know that the first king of Haiti

亨利·克里斯托夫 (Henry Christophe) 登上離地 20 米的寶座

would also be its last.

夾道歡呼的民眾誰能料到

Enslaved at birth on the island of Grenada,

開國太祖又會是末代後主

Christophe spent his childhood being moved between multiple Caribbean islands.

在島嶼國家格瑞那達 (Grenada) 生為奴隸

Just 12 years old in 1779,

國王的童年遷徙多個加勒比海群島

he accompanied his master to aid the American revolutionaries

1779 年，才 12 歲的他

in the Battle of Savannah.

伴隨主子扶助美國革命

This prolonged siege would be Christophe's first encounter with violent revolution.

身陷薩凡納戰役 (Battle of Savannah)

There are few surviving written records

這場持久城戰讓國王初嘗勇武革命

about Christophe's life immediately after the war.

戰後初期克里斯托夫生活如何

Over the next decade,

記載文獻早已散逸

we know he worked as a mason and a waiter at a hotel

然而隨後十年

in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, as Haiti was then known.

後世知道他當過石匠、客棧小二

In 1791, when the colony's slaves rose up in rebellion,

在法屬殖民地聖多明哥 (Saint-Domingue) 謀生，即今海地

Christophe got another opportunity to fight for freedom.

1791 年，當殖民地奴隸群起叛變

Led by Toussaint Louverture, the rebels fought against plantation owners,

克里斯托夫再遇上爭取自由的契機

as well as British and Spanish forces seeking control of the island.

首領杜桑·盧維杜爾 (Toussaint Louverture) 率同一眾義士

Christophe quickly rose through the ranks,

反抗廠主，以至染指掌控 島嶼的英國和西班牙部隊

proving himself the equal of more experienced generals.

克里斯托夫的階級扶搖直上

By 1793,

力證自己能力堪稱上將

Louverture had successfully liberated all of Saint-Domingue's enslaved people,

到 1793 年

and by 1801 he'd established the island as a semi-autonomous colony.

盧維杜爾成功解放聖多明哥奴民

But during this time, Napoleon Bonaparte had assumed power in France,

1801 年建立起島上半自主殖民地

and made it his mission to restore slavery and French authority

與此同時，拿破崙·波拿巴 (Napoleon Bonaparte) 在法國登位

throughout the empire.

誓要回歸奴隸制及法國主權

French attempts to reinstate slavery met fierce resistance,

一統帝國

with General Christophe even burning the capital city

法軍復施奴隸制遇上頑強抵抗

to prevent military occupation.

克里斯托夫將軍不惜付諸一炬

Finally, the rebellion and an outbreak of yellow fever

也不讓敵軍佔領首都

forced French soldiers to withdraw— but the fight was not without casualties.

最終，反抗巧遇黃熱病爆發

Louverture was captured, and left to die in a French prison;

迫使法軍撤退，但一仗功成豈無枯骨

a fate that Christophe's nine-year-old son would share only a few years later.

盧維杜爾淪為俘虜，法軍牢中終歿

Following the revolution,

就數年後，克里斯托夫 9 歲大的兒子也遭逢同一厄運

Christophe and generals Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Alexandre Pétion

革命之後，克里斯托夫與將領

rose to prominent positions in the new government.

讓-雅克·德薩林 (Jean-Jacques Dessalines) 和亞歷山大·佩蒂翁 (Alexandre Pétion)

In 1804, Dessalines was proclaimed the emperor of independent Haiti.

晉升新政府中顯赫要職

But his desire to hold exclusive power alienated his supporters.

1804 年德薩林自擁海地獨立後始皇

Eventually, Dessalines' rule incited a political conspiracy

獨攬大權的欲望卻為支持者所背棄

that ended in his assassination in 1806.

最終，德薩林治下激起政治圖謀

The subsequent power struggle led to a Civil War, which split the country in two.

1806 年遇刺身亡

By 1807, Christophe was governing as president of the north in Cap-Haïtien,

之後權爭引來內戰，國家一分為二

and Pétion was ruling the south from Port-au-Prince.

1807 年克里斯托夫北據海地角 (Cap-Haïtien) 成為北方總統

Pétion tried to stay true to the revolution's democratic roots

佩蒂翁則坐鎮太子港 (Port-au-Prince) 統領南方

by modeling his republic after the United States.

佩蒂翁嘗試忠於革命的民主初心

He even supported anti-colonial revolutionaries in other nations.

塑造心目中仿效美國的共和國

These policies endeared him to his people,

甚至支持異域的反殖民革命

but they slowed trade and economic growth.

這些舉措贏得民心

Christophe, conversely, had more aggressive plans for an independent Haiti.

然而無濟於貿易及經濟增長

He redistributed land to the people, while retaining state control of agriculture.

克里斯托夫卻對獨立海地鴻圖大計

He also established trade with many foreign nations,

他配給人民土地，農業卻集權中央

including Great Britain and the United States,

拓展與殊方異域的經貿往來

and pledged non-interference with their foreign policies.

包括大不列顛和美國

He even built a massive Citadel in case the French tried to invade again.

並揚言對外不干涉的政策

To accomplish all of this, Christophe instituted mandatory labor,

甚至築起巨大堡壘以防法軍再侵襲

and to strengthen his authority, he crowned himself king in 1811.

為樹立偉績，克里斯托夫強徵勞工

During his reign, he lived in an elegant palace called Sans Souci

為鞏固勢力，1811 年更自封為王

along with his wife and their three remaining children.

在位其間他與王后及其餘三名子女

Christophe's kingdom oversaw rapid development of trade, industry, culture,

住在冠冕堂皇的聖蘇西宮 (Sans Souci)

and education.

治下王國貿易、工業、文化、教育

He imported renowned European artists to Haiti's cultural scene,

迅速發展

as well as European teachers, in order to establish public education.

文化方面引進著名歐洲藝術家

But while the king was initially popular among his subjects,

又羅聘歐洲教師籌辦公共教育

his labor mandates were an uncomfortable reminder

儘管國王初時受子民愛戴

of the slavery Haitians fought to destroy.

徵召夫役卻戳中海地人心中

Over time, his increasingly authoritarian policies lost support,

拼生盡死破除奴隸制的痛

and his opponents to the south gained strength.

與日俱增的鐵腕統治終歸失去人心

In October 1820, his reign finally reached its tragic conclusion.

南方宿敵日漸得勢

Months after a debilitating stroke left him unable to govern,

1820 年 10 月，統治終以悲劇收場

key members of his military defected to southern forces.

中風後數個月國王憔悴無力執政

Betrayed and despondent, the king committed suicide.

軍方主將紛紛變節投奔南方

Today, the traces of Christophe's complicated history

國王眾叛落寞下自盡，一死謝天下

can still be found in the crumbling remains of his palaces,

克里斯托夫交錯一生的蹤跡

and in Haiti's legacy as the first nation to permanently abolish slavery.

今散落一眾宮殿的破瓦頹垣