I’m on a short trip to Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

Cap-Haitien is in the North of Haiti, well away from the troubles in Port-au-Prince. It is tolerably safe and also has some of the most interesting historical sights in Haiti, from the time of the Haitian Revolution, when the slaves overthrew the French and established a free black state.

The #1 target on my list was Citadelle Laferrière, which was built by King Henri I (née General Henri Christophe) around 1820 to deter a French return. It’s seriously impressive, perched on top of a mountain, with giant walls, and with more that enough cannon to deter any sane general.

Nearby are the grand ruins of Henri’s palace complex of San Souci. “The greatest palace in the Caribbean.” Designed to impress haughty Europeans.

I also visited a key revolutionary site at Bois Caiman, where supposedly the first revolutionaries bound themselves in a voodoo ceremony in 1791.  They swore to kill all the French, naturally. There’s nothing left of the original site, but the government have constructed two modern ersatz voodoo sites. Not actually for tourists, but rather to highlight to locals what is seen as a key national-origin story.  (I stumbled and grazed my hand on the way up to the sacred voodoo cave, but I mostly managed not to drip any blood inside. I’m sure nothing bad will happen.)