Claim: Citadelle Laferrière is also known as the Citadelle Henry Christophe after the governor of Haiti who oversaw its founding.

Henri Christophe -LRB- -LSB- ɑ̃ʁi kʁistɔf -RSB- ; 6 October 1767 -- 8 October 1820 ; used the anglicized version of Henry Christopher -RRB- was a former slave of Bambara ethnicity , and perhaps of Ibo descent , and key leader in the Haitian Revolution , which succeeded in gaining independence from France in 1804 . In 1805 he took part under Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the capturing of Santo Domingo -LRB- now Dominican Republic -RRB- , against French forces who acquired the colony from Spain in the Treaty of Basel .   After Dessalines was assassinated , Christophe retreated to the Plaine-du-Nord and created a separate government . On 17 February 1807 , he was elected President of the State of Haiti , as he named that area . Alexandre Pétion was elected president in the South . On 26 March 1811 , Christophe created a kingdom in the North and was later proclaimed Henry I , King of Haïti . He also created a nobility and named his legitimate son Jacques-Victor Henry as prince and heir .   He is known for constructing Citadel Henry , now known as Citadelle Laferrière , the Sans-Souci Palace , and numerous other palaces . Under his policies of corvée , or forced labor , the Kingdom earned revenues from agricultural production , primarily sugar ; but the people resented the system . He reached agreement with Great Britain to respect its Caribbean colonies in exchange for their warnings to his government of any French navy activity threatening Haiti . Unpopular , ill and fearing a coup , he committed suicide . His son and heir was assassinated 10 days later . The general Jean-Pierre Boyer came to power and reunited the two parts of Haiti .