Cap-Haïtien paid tribute on Thursday, October 8, to Henri Christophe, the independence hero who became King Henri I, on the 206th anniversary of his death.

The municipality called him a “visionary builder” and invited residents, especially young people, to draw from his work “the values of courage, discipline, hard work and patriotism” needed to rebuild the country.

Christophe was one of the generals who won Haiti's independence in 1804. After the assassination of Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1806, the country split in two. Christophe ruled the North and was crowned king in 1811.

From his capital at Cap-Henry, today's Cap-Haïtien, he built schools, a legal code and the two monuments that still define the North: the Sans-Souci Palace at Milot and the Citadelle Laferrière, the mountain fortress meant to guard the new nation against a French return. Both have been UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1982.

Weakened by a stroke and facing a rebellion, Christophe died at Sans-Souci on October 8, 1820. He was buried inside the Citadelle.

The anniversary comes as the North waits for visitors to return. American Airlines is due to resume daily flights between Miami and Cap-Haïtien on November 1, while cruise ships remain away from nearby Labadee.