Faustin Soulouque Faustin - Élie Soulouque ( 15 August 1782 – 6 August 1867 ) or Faustin I . He was a career officer and general in the Haïtian army when he was elected President of Haïti in 1847 . In 1849 he was proclaimed Emperor of Haïti under the name " Faustin I " . He soon purged the army of the ruling elite , installed black - skinned loyalists in administrative positions , and created a secret police and a personal army . In 1849 he created a black nobility in the country . However , his unsuccessful attempts to reconquer the neighbouring Dominican Republic undermined his control and a conspiracy led by General Fabre Nicolas Geffrard forced him to in 1859 . Early years . Born into slavery in Petit - Goâve in 1782 , Soulouque was one of two sons of Marie - Catherine Soulouque . He was freed as a result of a 1793 decree of Léger - Félicité Sonthonax , the Civil Commissioner of the French colony of Saint - Domingue , that abolished slavery in response to slave revolts in 1791 . As a free citizen , and with his freedom in serious jeopardy due to attempts of the French government to re - establish slavery in its colony of Saint - Domingue , he enlisted in the black revolutionary army to fight as a private during the Haïtian Revolution between 1803 – 1804 . During this conflict , Soulouque became a respected soldier and as a consequence he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army of Haïti in 1806 and made aide - de - camp to General Lamarre . In 1810 he was appointed to the Horse Guards under President Pétion . During the next four decades he continued to serve in the Haïtian Military , rising to the rank of Colonel under President Guerrier , until finally promoted to the highest command in the Haïtian Army , attaining the rank of Lieutenant General and Supreme Commander of the Presidential Guards under then President Jean - Baptiste Riché . Reign . In 1847 President Riché died . During his tenure he had acted as a figurehead for the Boyerist ruling class , who immediately began to look for a replacement . Their attention quickly focused on Faustin Soulouque , whom the majority considered to be a somewhat dull and ignorant man . At the age of 65 he seemed to be a malleable candidate and was subsequently enticed to accept the role offered him , taking the Presidential Oath of Office on 2 March 1847 . At first Faustin seemed to fill the role of puppet well . He retained the cabinet - level ministers of the former president and continued the programs of his predecessor . Within a short time however , he overthrew his backers and made himself absolute ruler of the Haitian state . Supported by a gang of highly loyal militia known as " zinglins " , Soulouque continued to consolidate his power over the government . This process included a massacre of the mulattoes in Port - au - Prince on 16 April 1848 , and culminated in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies proclaiming him Emperor of Haiti on 26 August 1849 . Soulouque ' s reign was marked by a violent restrictions towards opposition and numerous murders . Soulouque himself was reported to participate in cannibalism of his opponents and drinking of their blood . In December 1849 Faustin married his long - time companion Adélina Lévêque . On 18 April 1852 at the capital Port - au - Prince , both emperor and empress were crowned in an immense and lavish ceremony in emulation of the coronation of the French Emperor Napoleon I . During his subsequent reign , Faustin attempted to create a strong centralized government , which while retaining a profoundly Haïtian character , borrowed heavily from European traditions , especially those of the First French Empire . One of his first acts after being declared emperor was to establish a Haitian nobility . By September 1850 , Faustin had issued Letters Patent creating 4 Princes of the Empire , 59 Dukes , 2 Marquis , 99 Counts , 215 Barons , and scores of Hereditary Chevaliers and lesser nobles . In order that he might reward loyalty to his regime as well as add to the prestige of the Haïtian Monarchy , he established the Military Order of St . Faustin and the Civil Order of the Haïtian Legion of Honor on 21 September 1849 . Later , he created the Orders of St . Mary Magdalene and the Order of St . Anne in 1856 . That same year he founded the Imperial Academy of Arts . Faustin ' s foreign policy was centered on preventing foreign intrusion into Haitian politics and sovereignty . The independence of the Dominican Republic ( then called Santo Domingo ) during the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti was , in his view , a direct threat to that security . Faustin launched successive invasions into Dominican territory , in 1849 , 1850 , 1855 and 1856 , each with the objective of seizing the eastern half of the island and annexing it to Haiti . However , all of the attempts ended in defeat for the Haitian Army . During his reign , Faustin also found himself in direct confrontation with the United States over Navassa Island , which the United States had seized on the somewhat dubious grounds that guano had been discovered there . Faustin dispatched warships to the island in response to the incursion , but withdrew them after the United States guaranteed Haiti a portion of the revenues from the mining operations . Faustin ' s marriage to Empress Adélina produced one daughter , Princess Célita Soulouque , who had no issue . The emperor also adopted Adélina ' s daughter , Olive , in 1850 . She was granted the title of Princess with the style Her Serene Highness . She married Jean Philippe Lubin , Count of Pétion - Ville , and had issue . The emperor had one brother , Prince Jean - Joseph Soulouque , who in turn had eleven sons and daughters . Jean - Joseph ' s eldest son , Prince Mainville - Joseph Soulouque , was created Prince Imperial of Haiti and heir apparent upon the succession of his uncle to the throne . He later married Marie d ' Albert . Exile and death . In 1858 a revolution began , led by General Fabre Geffrard , Duc de Tabara . In December of that year , Geffrard defeated the Imperial Army and seized control of most of the country . As a result the emperor abdicated his throne on 15 January 1859 . Refused aid by the French Legation , Faustin was taken into exile aboard a British warship on 22 January 1859 . Soon afterwards , the emperor and his family arrived in Kingston , Jamaica , where they remained for several years . Allowed to return to Haïti , Faustin died at Petit - Goâve on 6 August 1867 and was buried at Fort Soulouque .