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Vilbrun Guillaume Sam

President of Haiti (1859–1915)

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Vilbrun Guillaume Sam
24th President of Haiti
In office 25 February 1915 – 28 July 1915
Preceded by	Joseph Davilmar Théodore
Succeeded by	Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave
Minister of War and Navy
In office 13 December 1897 – 12 March 1902
President	Tirésias Simon Sam
Preceded by	Septimus Marius
Succeeded by	Pierre Nord Alexis
Personal details
Born	Jean Simon Guillaume (1859-03-04)4 March 1859 Ouanaminthe, Haiti
Died	28 July 1915(1915-07-28) (aged 56) Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Spouse	Lucie Parisien
Profession	Military officer

Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ vilbʁœ̃ ɡijom sam]; 4 March 1859 – 28 July 1915) was PresidentofHaiti from 4 March 1915 until his assassination months later. He was the son of Tirésias Simon Sam, Haiti's president from 1896 to 1902.

Career[edit]

Sam was the commander of Haiti's Northern Division when he led the revolt which brought President Cincinnatus Leconte to power. He later headed the revolt which toppled President Oreste Zamor. On 25 February 1915 Sam was proclaimed president when his predecessor, Joseph Davilmar Théodore, was forced to resign, because he was unable to pay the militiamen, known as the "Cacos", who had helped him overthrow Zamor.^{[citation needed]}

As Haiti's fifth president in five turbulent years, Sam was forced to contend with a revolt against his own regime, led by Dr. Rosalvo Bobo, who opposed the government's expanded commercial and strategic ties with the United States. Fearing that he would share the same fate as his predecessors, Sam acted harshly against his political opponents, particularly the better-educated and wealthier mulatto population. On 27 July 1915, his repression culminated in his ordering the execution of 167 political prisoners—including former president Zamor, who was being held in a Port-au-Prince jail. This infuriated the Haitian people, who rose up against Sam's government as soon as news of these executions reached them.

Assassination[edit]

Sam fled to the French embassy, where he received asylum. The rebels' mulatto leaders broke into the embassy and found Sam. They dragged him out and beat him senseless, and then threw his limp body over the embassy's iron fence to the waiting populace, who then ripped his body to pieces and paraded the parts through the capital's neighborhoods.

Legacy[edit]

For the next two weeks, the country was in chaos. News of the murder soon reached the American Navy ships anchored in the city's harbor. President Woodrow Wilson, who was wary about the turn of events in Haiti, and especially the possibility that Bobo would take power, ordered American troops to seize the capital. They landed on 28 July 1915, and continued to occupy the country for nineteen years, until August 1934.

Sam's chief of police, Charles Oscar Étienne, who cleaned out the jails by executing his political opponents, inspired the boogeymen Haitian carnival disguises known as "Chaloska".^{[citation needed]}

In literature and the arts[edit]

Eugene O'Neill stated that Sam was the inspiration for his 1920 play The Emperor Jones.^[1][2]

Sam is the main figure in Arthur J. Burks's short story "Thus Spake the Prophetess" (Weird Tales, November 1924).

Sam appears as a supporting character in the 1993 Doctor Who novel White Darkness which is set during his presidency.^[3] The novel takes several liberties with history, having Sam committing suicide rather than being murdered by the rebels as was actually the case.

References[edit]