The Revolutionary Committee (Haitian Creole: Komite Revolisyonè, french: Comité Révolutionnaire) was a governmental council that governed Haiti from July 28 to August 11, 1915.[1] The committee took power after the death of Vilbrun Guillaume Sam and de facto controlled the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, with its activities having as its background the American invasion of Haiti and the rebellion of Rosalvo Bobo.[2] Committee was composed of: Charles de Delva, Charles Zamor, Edmond Polynice, Léon Nau, Ermane Robin, Eribert Saint-Vil Nöel and Samson Monpoint.[3]
Revolutionary Committee | |
|---|---|
| President of Haiti | |
| In office 28 July 1915 – 11 August 1915 | |
| Leader | Charles de Delva |
| Preceded by | Vilbrun Guillaume Sam |
| Succeeded by | Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave |
History edit
In the context of a revolution led by Rosalvo Bobo against President Sam, a revolutionary plot attacked the national palace on the night of 26 to 27 July. The plot was carried out by generals Charles de Delva, Ermane Robin and Edmond Polynice. Sam's police chief Charles Oscar Étienne, in retaliation, ordered the executions of the political prisoners. When the population learned of the massacre, a mob went to the places where Sam and Oscar Étienne were and took revenge on them with a lynching.[4][5] A Revolutionary Committee was formed in Port-au-Prince, led by Charles de Delva and made up of insurrection leaders.[6] Committee members were closely linked with July events: Delva, started the insurrection; Charles lost his brother Oreste Zamor and Polynice his sons, respectively, in the massacre of political prisoners perpetrated by Sam's loyal forces.[7] At the same time, the United States carried out an intervention in Haiti with its troops landing and gradually occupying the country.[2] One of the incidents of the short-lived government of Port-au-Prince was the arrest of Senator Joseph Dessources, motivated by his political agitation against the Revolutionary Committee.[8][9] The committee, in practice, wanted to ensure Rosalvo Bobo's rise to power.[10] In early August, the Committee held peace negotiations with the revolutionary Bobo in a special committee.[2] Faced with Bobo's possible defeat, the Committee attempted to dissolve Congress on August 11 to prevent the election of a pro-American president. In reaction to this maneuver, General William Banks Caperton disbanded the Revolutionary Committee.[11][12] The next day, Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave was elected under American supervision and Bobo chose exile in the following days.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Juntes et Conseils Exécutifs" (in French). 2005-08-22. Archived from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
- ^ a b c d "1915 - 100 years ago, the American occupation of Haiti chose its first president". Alterpresse (in Haitian Creole). Archived from the original on 2015-08-13.
- ^ François Pacquement, Margaux Lombard (2018). L'histoire de l'AFD en Haïti.: A la recherche de la juste distance. Numilog. p. 48. ISBN 9782811119751.
- ^ "Haiti History 1843-1915" (in French). 2005-08-22. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
- ^ "Asalto a la misión dominicana en Haití en 1915". Hoy Digital (in Spanish).
- ^ Georges Corvington (1975). Port-au-Prince au cours des ans: La métropole haitienne du XIXe siècle, 1888-1915 (in French). Imprimerie Henri Deschamps. p. 317.
- ^ David Healy (1976). Gunboat Diplomacy in the Wilson Era: The U.S. Navy in Haiti 1915-1916. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-299-06980-3.
- ^ Robert Debs Heinl, Nancy Gordon Heinl (1996). Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People, 1492-1995. University Press of America. p. 397
- ^ Alan McPherson (2014). The Invaded. How Latin Americans and Their Allies Fought and Ended U.S. Occupations. OUP USA. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-19-534303-8.
- ^ Military Review. Command and General Staff School. 1996.
- ^ Arthur C. Millspaugh. "Dartiguenave and the 1915 Treaty". Haiti An Island Luminous. Digital Library of the Caribbean. Archived from the original on 2021-06-13.
- ^ Mary A. Renda (2004). Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism 1915-1940. University of North Carolina Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8078-6218-6.
