State of Haiti
Boyer worked closely with Pétion in the South to create a Republican Constitution similar to that of the United States. President Pétion taught Boyer what to do, and what not to do. Pétion succeeded in winning the hearts of his people and grew to be the most liked of any leader. In 1816, Pétion had the constitution amended to allow him to name his own successor. Before dying in 1818, Pétion anointed Boyer, and the Senate immediately approved his choice.
Boyer believed Haiti had to be acknowledged as an independent nation, and that this could be established only by cutting a deal with France. On 11 July 1825, Boyer signed an indemnity treaty stipulating that Haiti would pay France a certain amount of money to compensate for the lost property in slaves and trade in exchange for formal diplomatic recognition of its independence.
As soon as Boyer came to power, he was confronted with the continuing competition with Henri Christophe and the Kingdom of Haiti in the north. Christophe's autocratic rule created continued unrest in the Kingdom of Haiti. After his soldiers rebelled against him in 1820, in failing health and fearing assassination, Christophe committed suicide. Boyer reunited Haiti without a single battle.
Read more about this topic: Jean Pierre Boyer
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“For four hundred years the blacks of Haiti had yearned for peace. for three hundred years the island was spoken of as a paradise of riches and pleasures, but that was in reference to the whites to whom the spirit of the land gave welcome. Haiti has meant split blood and tears for blacks.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)