[2] Faustin's unsuccessful invasions (in part due to the diplomatic interference of the United States and Spain)[3] in an attempt to reconquer the Dominican Republic (in 1849, 1850, 1855 and 1856), which had declared independence from Haiti in 1844, undermined his control over the country.

This process, which included a massacre of mulattoes in Port-au-Prince on 16 April 1848, culminated in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies where he was proclaimed Emperor of Haiti on 26 August 1849.

His coronation took place on 18 April 1852, in a ruinous splendor for the finances of this country, and the payment of the debt had to be interrupted[clarification needed].

Soulouque paid £2,000 for his crown and £30,000 for the rest of the accessories (according to Sir Spenser St John, British chargé d'affaires in Haiti in the 1860s, on his account: "Hayti ou La République noire", pp.

Faustin I also commissioned a crown, one for the empress, a scepter, a globe, a hand of justice, a throne and all other accessories, such as those used during Napoleon's coronation. "

The coronation is illustrated in the "Imperial Album of Haiti", engraved by Severyn, published in New York, 1852 (available at the British Library).

To affirm his legitimacy, Faustin brought the sons of the first emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, back to Haiti.

To have offspring on the throne, Faustin arranged the marriage of his eldest daughter, Princess Olive Soulouque, to her cousin Prince Mainville-Joseph.

The emperor tried to create a strong centralized government that, while retaining a deeply Haitian character, was heavily inspired by European traditions, especially the Napoleonic Empire.

Volumes 5 and 6 of The National by John Saunders and Westland Marston (published in 1859) explain that the Empire consisted of 59 dukes, 90 counts, 30 knights, and 250 barons.

In 1858, a revolution led by General Fabre Geffrard, Duke of Tabara and former loyal follower of the emperor, began.

On the night of 20 December 1858, Geffrard left Port-au-Prince in a small boat, accompanied by his son and two faithful disciples, Ernest Roumain and Jean-Bart.

On 23 December, the departmental committee of Gonaïves, which had been organized for that purpose, decreed the abolition of the Empire and the arrest of several members of the imperial family.

Authorized to return to Haiti by the government of Sylvain Salnave, Faustin died at Petit-Goâve on 6 August 1867 and was buried at Fort Soulouque.