Disaffected members of the administration of Jacques…
October 1806 CE
On his way to fight the rebels, he is assassinated north of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, at Pont Larnage (now known as Pont-Rouge, on October 17, 1806.
The exact circumstances of his death are uncertain.
Some historians claim that he was actually killed at Pétion's house at Rue l'Enterrement, after a meeting to negotiate the power and the future of the young nation.
Some reports say that he was arrested and was dealt a deadly blow to the head.
Another report says he was ambushed and killed at first fire.
Yet another account recalls a brutal attack on him by his men.
It says he was shot at twice and hit once.
Then, his head was split open by a sabre's blow and he was finally stabbed three times with a dagger, with the crowd shouting "the tyrant is killed".
The mob desecrates and disfigures his remains, which are abandoned on Government Square.
There is great resistance to providing him with a proper burial; but, Défilée (Dédée Bazile), a black woman from a humble background, takes the mutilated body of the Emperor and buries it.
A monument at the northern entrance of the Haitian capital marks the place where the Emperor was killed.
Shortly after his death, many men on the island change their last names from their slave names to "Jean-Jacques" in honor of Dessalines.
Some historians believe these men were soldiers of Dessalines.
Pétion champions the ideals of democracy and clashes with Henri Christophe, who wants absolute rule.
Christophe is elected president, but he does not believe the position has sufficient power, as Pétion keeps powers for himself.
Christophe goes to the north with his followers and establishes an autocracy, declaring the State of Haiti.
The loyalties of the country divide between them, and the tensions between the blacks and mulattoes of the North and South, respectively, are reignited.