FAUSTIN I., fiVstAN' ( 1735-1367 ) . An em peror of llaiti, known before his elevation to the throne as Faustin Soulongue. Ile was a negro, and was born in very humble circum stances at Petit Goave in Ilaiti. In his youth he acted as a servant, and later as adjutant to General La M arre, and took part in the negro in surrection of 1803. He subsequently served un der the Presidents Potion and Boyer, and was raised by the latter to the rank of captain. After the year 1844, when the Haitian Republic was dissolved by the rebellion of the eastern part of the island, which established the Republic of Santo Domingo, a struggle for the supreme power ensued, in which Faustin, as Governor of Port-au-Prince and (mmilander of the Presi dential Guard, played an important part. In 1847 he was appointed President of the Re public by the Senate, which hoped to find a pliable tool in him; but he speedily began to fol low his own inclinations. He was an implacable
enemy of the mulattoes, and on April 16, 1848, a massacre of the mulatto population in Port-au Prince took place at his instigation. In August, 1349, he caused himself to be proclaimed Emperor, a title which he held for about ten years. Be tween 1849 and 1857 he made four attempts to conquer Santo Domingo, but failed. His reign was marked by oppression and cruelty; he plundered the country to meet the expenditures of his Court, which he conducted in apish imita tion of that of Napoleon Ill. A revolution, headed by General Geffrard, broke out in 185S, and a republic was declared. Faustin was forced to abdicate in January, 1359. but was allowed to live and sent off to Jamaica. He re turned to Haiti shortly before his death, which occurred on August 6, 1867.