Editing Henri Christophe (section)

==Independent Haiti==
The French deported Toussaint Louverture to France, and brought in more than 20,000 new troops under the [[Vicomte]] de [[Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau|Rochambeau]] in an effort to regain control of the colony and re-establish slavery. [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]] led the fight to defeat the French forces. The French withdrew their 7,000 surviving troops in late 1803. As leader, Dessalines declared the independence of Saint-Domingue with its new name of Haïti in 1804.<ref>"Haiti." The Encyclopedia of World History, edited by Peter N. Stearns, and William L. Langer, Houghton Mifflin, 6th edition, 2001. Credo Reference, https://login.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/hmencyclwh/haiti/0?institutionId=3205. Accessed 23 Oct. 2019.</ref>

Christophe was in charge of the northern section of the country, where he notably supervised the first steps of the construction of [[Citadelle Laferrière]]. In 1805, General Nicolas Geffrard, commander in the south, approached Christophe with a plot to kill Dessalines, the self-proclaimed emperor of Haiti; Christophe did not warn Dessalines. Christophe's influence and power in the north was such that Dessalines, though aware of opposition brewing against him in the highest circles of power, found himself unable to strike against his general.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R98CAAAAYAAJ|title=Histoire d'Haïti Tome 3|last=Madiou|first=Thomas|publisher=Courtois|year=1849|pages=226–290}}</ref> The conspiracy involved the majority of Dessalines's senior officers, including his minister of war and navy [[Étienne Élie Gerin]], General [[Alexandre Pétion]], commander-in-chief of the second division in the west, [[Nicolas Geffrard (general)|General Nicolas Geffrard]] and many others. On 16 October 1806, they signed a proclamation entitled "Resistance to Oppression", declaring the necessity to overthrow Dessalines's government, and proclaimed Christophe head of the provisional Haitian government.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R98CAAAAYAAJ|title=Histoire d'Haïti, Tome 3|last=Madiou|first=Thomas|publisher=Courtois|year=1849|pages=313–316}}</ref> Dessalines was assassinated on 17 October 1806.