Edmond Polynice

Edmond Sylvestre Polynice
Provisional President of Haiti
In office
January 27, 1914 – February 8, 1914
Preceded byMichel Oreste
Succeeded byOreste Zamor
Provisional President of Haiti
In office
October 29, 1914 – November 6, 1914
Preceded byOreste Zamor
Succeeded byJoseph Davilmar Théodore
Member of the Revolutionary Committee of Haiti
In office
July 28, 1915 – August 11, 1915
Personal details
Born(1855-01-21)21 January 1855
Died1915(1915-00-00) (aged 59–60)

Edmond Sylvestre Polynice was a Haitian military and political figure who served as interim President of Haiti twice in 1914, both times acting as head of a Committee of Public Safety.[1] Previously, Polynice had been a member of the May 1902 committee headed by Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal.[2]

In the 1910s, Haiti experienced a severe political crisis.[3] These turbulent years were marked by successive ephemeral governments and Cacos revolts. After the deaths of generals Cincinnatus Leconte and Tancrède Auguste, civilian Michel Oreste was elected president in 1913. He was forced to resign on January 27, 1914, because of an insurrectional coup led by the Zamor's cacos.[4] Edmond Polynice temporarily assumed power in Haiti, presiding over a civil-military committee responsible for maintaining political order.[5] Immediately after Michel Oreste's fall, American, British, German and French marines landed to protect their interests - General Polynice called this a "national humiliation".[6] Polynice transferred power to Oreste Zamor on February 8, after the National Assembly elected him as president. After Zamor's fall in the same year, General Polynice took power again with an provisional committee, ruling from October 29 to November 6, transferring the presidency to Joseph Davilmar Théodore.[5][6]

Edmond Polynice, together with Charles de Delva and Ermane Robin, formed a revolutionary plot against President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam which culminated in the early hours of July 27, in an attack on the National Palace. Cornered, President Sam took refuge in the French Legation. In retaliation, Sam's loyal police chief, Charles Oscar Étienne, ordered the execution of political prisoners. Polynice, who lost three sons during the executions, appeared in person at the Dominican Legation, finding Charles Oscar Étienne and shoot him dead. Around the same time, a mob invades the French Legation and kills the President Sam.[7][8]

After the murder of Vilbrun Sam, Polynice became a member of the Revolutionary Committee (28 July to 11 August 1915, led by Charles de Delva).[5] In fact, the committee only controlled the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, and its activities took place against the backdrop of the American invasion of Haiti and the rebellion of revolutionary Rosalvo Bobo. Polynice was part of a special commission that negotiated with Bobo. In August, the committee transferred power to Philippe Dartiguenave.[9]

References

  1. ^ François Pacquement, Margaux Lombard (2018). L'histoire de l'AFD en Haïti.: A la recherche de la juste distance. Numilog. p. 48. ISBN 9782811119751.
  2. ^ "PAPERS RELATING TO THE FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH THE ANNUAL MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS DECEMBER 2, 1902". history.state.gov.
  3. ^ "La fin du mandat des Présidents haïtiens". Actualite News.
  4. ^ "Haiti History 1843-1915" (in French). 2005-08-22. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  5. ^ a b c "Juntes et Conseils Exécutifs" (in French). 2005-08-22. Archived from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  6. ^ a b Robert Debs Heinl, Nancy Gordon Heinl (1996). Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People, 1492-1995. University Press of America. pp. 355 and 360.
  7. ^ "Asalto a la misión dominicana en Haití en 1915". Hoy Digital (in Spanish).
  8. ^ Deibert, Michael (2017). Haiti Will Not Perish: A Recent History. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-78360-799-0.
  9. ^ "1915 - 100 years ago, the American occupation of Haiti chose its first president". Alterpresse (in Haitian Creole). Archived from the original on 2015-08-13.