1869-12-27: (Salnave Overthrown, Captured by Dominican Authorities Who Refused Him Asylum, Tried for Treason, and Executed, His Presidency Ending in the Same…

1869-12-27: (Salnave Overthrown, Captured by Dominican Authorities Who Refused Him Asylum, Tried for Treason, and Executed, His Presidency Ending in the Same Violence That Had Brought It to Power): On December 18, 1869, rebel forces bombarded Port-au-Prince and destroyed the National Palace. The next day, the British consul convinced Salnave to flee the capital. He sought refuge in the Dominican Republic, but the Dominican government refused to grant him asylum and turned him over to the insurgent forces on January 10, 1870. Salnave was convicted of treason in a court-martial and executed on January 15, 1870, in Port-au-Prince. Both sides in the civil war had purchased warships and gunboats from the United States and Great Britain, turning a domestic political conflict into a naval war. Salnave was succeeded by Nissage Saget, the leader of the insurrection. The cycle continued: armed revolt, brief tenure, broken promises, armed revolt. No Haitian president since Boyer had served more than a decade. No constitution had survived the man who promulgated it. The Republic was sixty-six years old and had yet to achieve a peaceful transfer of power.