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Secondary sourcePainting1806

Coronacion de Juan Santiago Desalines primer Emperador de Hayti

Francisco Moscard Yedra · 1806

An engraving from a 1806 Mexican biography depicting Dessalines's coronation as Emperor of Haiti.

Depicts Dessalines's self-coronation as Emperor of Haiti, as seen through a hostile foreign publication.

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Engraving of a crowned man seated on a throne under draped curtains, wearing an ermine-trimmed robe and surrounded by rows of men in dark European-style coats. A checkered floor and columns frame the scene. Spanish caption below reads Coronacion de Juan Santiago Desalines primer Emperador de Hayti.
Coronación de Juan Santiago Desalines, primer Emperador de Hayti, 1806. Illustration to the Mexican edition of Dubroca's biography.

About this source

What it is

This engraving illustrates the 1806 Mexican edition of Louis Dubroca's biography of Dessalines, translated by Juan López Cancelada with illustrations credited to Francisco Moscard Yedra. It shows a crowned figure seated on a throne, surrounded by rows of attendants, captioned in Spanish as the coronation of the 'first Emperor of Haiti.'

Why it matters

The image documents how Dessalines's declaration of himself as Emperor in 1804 was viewed and depicted abroad, through a hostile French-originated biography circulated in the Spanish-speaking world. It shows how foreign publishers used the dramatic imagery of imperial coronation to frame Dessalines's rule for international readers.

Look closer

  • Why might a European-style coronation scene be used to depict Dessalines becoming emperor?
  • What does the formal, grand setting suggest about how the artist wanted viewers to see this event?
  • How might this image differ from how Dessalines or his supporters might have depicted the same event?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jean-Jacques Dessalines on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a printed broadside headed 'Armée Indigène' with 'Liberté ou la Mort' above. It has three columns of French text, a signature block of names including Dessalines, and a footer reading 'Au Port-au-Prince, de l'imprimerie du gouvernement'.Document

Primary source

Haitian Declaration of Independence

Louis Boisrond-Tonnerre · 1 January 1804

Title page of the 1805 Constitution of Hayti, printed in French with the heading 'CONSTITUTION D'HAYTI' over a list of names and preamble text, with red library stamps in the upper area. Page is aged and tan-colored.Document

Primary source

Constitution of Hayti

Jean-Jacques Dessalines · 1805

Black-and-white engraving titled DESALINES. A man in a tricorn hat with feathers raises a curved sword in one hand and holds a severed head with curly hair in the other. A woman's body lies on rocks at right, with tents and figures in the background.Painting

Secondary source

Desalines

Manuel López López · 1806

Large painting of two uniformed men standing either side of a stone tablet inscribed with text, hands on it, under a radiant figure of an old bearded God with outstretched arms in clouds above, with the Hebrew letters of the divine name. Chains lie on the ground at their feet; a battle scene and crowd fill the background.Painting

Secondary source

The Oath of the Ancestors

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière · 1822

Front cover of a worn, dark red leather-bound book, shown against a pale background. The cover is scuffed and faded, with a small lighter mark near the center and a raised spine edge on the left side. No title or text is visible.Book

Secondary source

La vie de J.J. Dessalines, chef des noirs révoltés de Saint-Domingue

Louis Dubroca · 1804

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