1811, April 4 (Queen Maria-Louisa’s Reply to the Nation): Following the decree of the Council of State, Her Majesty Queen Maria-Louisa responded by stating t…
1811, April 4 (Queen Maria-Louisa’s Reply to the Nation): Following the decree of the Council of State, Her Majesty Queen Maria-Louisa responded by stating that the title of Queen united her more closely with the “fortunes of the Haytian people.” She declared it her “pleasing duty” to superintend the education of her children with peculiar care, as the destiny of the nation would one day depend on them. The Queen expressed a desire to be a “tender mother” to the Haytians and pledged never to be unmindful of the duties enjoined by Royal Majesty. She viewed her children not merely as her own, but as the “dearest decorations” of the state and the future guardians of its independence. This response emphasized the domestic and maternal stability that the new monarchy promised to the war-torn country.