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Auction: 22003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 547

An exceptionally rare Badge of the Haitian Order of St Henry

Haiti, Kingdom, Order of St. Henry, First Class (either sash or Collar) Badge, 94mm, gold and enamel with large ring, enamel chipping and loss, one ray tip missing and others bent through wear, nearly very fine but of the highest rarity

Provenance:
Passed via descent through an English family with links to the region. Sold together with an old envelope with ink inscription stating:

'Medal cut off the body of the son of Christophe, Emperor of Haiti, when fleeing from the riot in Port-au-Prince.'

The Royal and Military Order of St. Henry was founded by King Henry I on 20 April 1811 to reward outstanding valour and exceptional military and civil merit to the nation. King Henry I was the only King of Haiti and had been born a slave. His rise to prominence started during the Slave Uprising of 1791, emerging from the ranks of the Haitian revolutionary military. The revolution succeeded in gaining independence from France in 1804. In 1805 he took part, under Dessalines, in the capturing of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), against French forces who acquired the colony from Spain in the Treaty of Basel.

After Dessalines was assassinated, he retreated to the Plaine-du-Nord and created a separate government. On 17 February 1807, he was elected President of the State of Haiti and created a kingdom in the North and was proclaimed Henry I, King of Haiti in March 1811. Given that the Kingdom only existed for a little over nine years, any insignia of the Order must be considered rare.

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Sold for
£32,000

Starting price
£4500