Chapter 36: Haiti 1826

Felipe looked at the port on which they were docking.

The skyline of the port city was different than what he remembers; the docks themselves were totally different, and they all looked new and somewhat well organized.

It has been 11 years since Felipe has been to Haiti, yet he remembers his time there vividly.

He could see the number of people on the dock; aside from them, there were a lot of guards and soldiers making sure to contain the many people there to look at him.

Felipe just smiled.

Over the decade, Haiti has changed as The Colombian Empire changed; even though neither of the countries was wealthy, both countries followed the same recipe, though in distinct ways nonetheless.

Haiti has been divided for a long time; the Republic of Haiti constantly threatened the existence of the Kingdom of Haiti.

Henry the 1st, the first king of Haiti, should have died in 1821 in a situation where it only resembles the collapse of an entire nation, yet, the king is no longer king. If he had not died, he abdicated last year to his son, the now King Henry the 2nd. In other words, he retired after a bloody war between the republic and the Kingdom.

Now, Haiti is whole once again and due to the size of the country, it could be argued that they were doing way better than the Colombian Empire.

"Your majesty, a lot of people know you here." The soldier Casablanca said, quite surprised at the number of people on the dock.

"…Yes, they think of me as a saint," Felipe said as he looked at the ship's captain. They were already making preparations to dock. Such big galleys are nothing too easy to park, especially without the use of tugboats.

"..." The soldier didn't want to annoy his prince anymore and just looked at the dock once again.

Felipe's reputation as Saint has been anointed by multiple popes of the Haitian Kingdom; for once, he was able to survive kidnapping and was able to survive the Baron. Ever since the Crown Prince of the Colombian Empire arrived in Haiti, many things changed; the quality of life changed, and people began linking that to the crown prince's arrival.

Aside from his past feats, people got the news about his accomplishments in the Colombian Empire, especially the battle of Meta, where thousands died, and only a dozen survived. Among them was the crown prince; what is it if that is not a saint?

'That explains the crosses.' Casablanca, though, while noticing the number of unnatural crosses in the crowd.

Docking took several minutes; all in all, the sailors for Felipe to go down were put. It was quite the warm reception, but Felipe felt more overwhelmed than well received.

His own guards were accompanying him, and only 10 soldiers that fought with him decided to take the trip to the USA with him; others were wounded and wanted to go back to their homes and loved ones.

As for the guards, they were surprised by the number of people that were celebrating and cheering Felipe's arrival to their nation. Moreover, it was their first time seeing a country where the majority were black; there was no white or brown person in sight.

"This... It is a country full of former slaves?" Morales asked his partner in a low voice.

"Yes, they all liberated themselves when there were too many slaves and very few masters… they killed all of them." Casablanca, who knew a bit of history, said.

"Eh!? Doesn't the Empire also have slaves? Won't this happen to us?" Morales asked, worried.

"Idiot, there is no more slavery in the Empire; at least there will not be. All men are born free under the sky of the Empire." Casablanca said while looking everywhere for potential threats, like someone with a hand musket or something similar.

"…" Morales began to wonder about his own thoughts. Even though he is mixed, White and indigenous, he mostly looks white, so he had not experienced too much indigenous discrimination, but he knew it existed.

The crown prince was in the front, so the king of Haiti came close to him and shook hands like pals.

Felipe, even though he has not been in Haiti for over a decade, has been exchanging correspondence with the king from time to time. Though Felipe ignored Att, the beginning of his letters was relatively immature. But constant communication with the previous king maintained their relationship going.

Felipe has been practically advising the king on what to do; Felipe would answer those letters in his free time. And even though he was not really a huge genius about the increase of the socio-economic state of a nation, he was better than anything.

"It's been a while," Felipe said in fluent French, not even a single hit of accent.

Henry was surprised and smiled and then answered in Spanish: "Eh, you have grown." He had a Spaniard accent. Clearly, he had obtained a Spanish tutor to learn Spanish.

"You have matured," Felipe said in Spanish, as he was not going to ignore the effort of Henry learning Spanish.

"… You are as cold as I remember." Henry chuckled as he had a huge smile; for him was like reuniting with a brother; the things both of them had experienced were life-changing and bonding.

"So, friend, you are the friend to be king, huh." Felipe looked at the crowd, and so he just waved.

"Yes. Thanks to you only. Creating stability within the country. That is what you said, didn't you?" Henry asked as he remembered Felipe's letter about the fact that the previous king had fallen ill and it would create weak leadership in the Kingdom.

Felipe nodded. Over time, the Haitian monarchy's royal house has been warming up to him. He considers Henry, a friend, so he would naturally help them. "I see you have followed my advice."

"Yes… now, let's stop chitchatting; go inside; I bet you are begging for a good dinner and shower." Henry laughed as he felt instead associated with the fact that many people were there to look at Felipe.

The title of King of Heitian has been strengthening as Henry also survived the Baron, yet, the main protagonist was Felipe, and no matter how humble Henry was, he felt that matter was going under his skin.

"Indeed." The journey from the eastern coast of the Colombian Empire to Haiti was long, yet, Felipe wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to talk with Henry; after all, he had business.

Nevertheless, Felipe began to look at the architecture as he was being transported in a 4 wheel cart pulled by 2 horses.

Before, Felipe could only categorize the houses as weak wooden ones; now, they all look made from cement and stone. There was architecture there; it was not just novice house building.

"We hired an Austrian architect at great expense. He has been able to modernize almost every city of my kingdom." Henry said, still speaking in Spanish.

"That was indeed a good investment... how about foreign investment?" Felipe asked, quite curious as he was surprised about the complexity of the people. They all look fed and not in rags, not fancy clothing but not in rags.

"No one wants to invest in a kingdom full of negros." He said as he looked at Felipe as if he was waiting for something, but continued, "Everything you see has been created through exports; almost all the profits have been used to build the country."

There was an awkward moment in the cart as Felipe outperformed the Haitians in sugar cane production. The Valley of the Cauca region was just too fertile; constant sugar cane production outmatched the Haitian side. Especially when Felipe took control of the area.

Even though he had almost zero control over the region of Venezuela, Felipe had obtained vast amounts of influence in the core regions of the Colombian Empire, furtherly creating a huge industry through good administration… though they were making a lot of money, the Empire was massive, almost all the profits through taxes and private property were spent in the creation of in fracture.

"Admirable indeed… how is your father." Felipe quickly change the topic.

"He is well, though he refuses to get out of his castle… according to him, it was the burden of being king that made him sick."

"I don't doubt that." Felipe chuckled. Ever since he obtained power, he has acquired a constant level of stress, whether it be of the regular responsibilities he has to endure or the continuous threats being in power implicates.

In no time, they arrive at a government building. Felipe got a great tour of the city on his way there; he cannot compare after all, he has never been there; the city's capital was moved to a place where docking would be more effortless, thus, creating a lot of direct economic control.

The reception looked almost the same as a British abbey full of servants. The building was also new, and the ceiling was relatively high, which was refreshing. Felipe towers over anyone in the place.

The whole thing was quite direct. They arrived at the primary government building, and even though it served as congress, there was also a side of it: the palace for the King of Haiti. The place was also quiet on the land; it took around 25 minutes to get there.

Felipe was settled in his own room, and so were his soldiers, who looked like tourists and not actual soldiers. Felipe chuckled as he was having a sponge bath as he reminisced about the past; he had been through so much—Haiti was where his difficult path to power began, and it had not even been half done. After all, he is only 16.