The Words of the Last Emperor of the Americas

…you, arms in hand, your sacred and inalienable rights.

After the terrible example I have just given, sooner or later divine justice will unleash itself upon the earth. These strong souls, above the weaknesses of the common, for the downfall and terror of the wicked; tremble, tyrants, usurpers, scourges of the new world; our daggers are sharpened, your tortures are ready.

Sixty thousand men, armed, seasoned, obedient to my orders, burn to offer a new holocaust to the spirits of their slaughtered brothers.

Let that power come, mad enough to dare attack me! Already at its approach, the angry spirit of Hayti, rising from the bosom of the seas, appears — his threatening brow stirs the waves, excites the tempests; his powerful hand breaks or scatters the ships; to his formidable voice, the laws of nature obey: diseases, plague, devouring hunger, fire, and poison fly at his side… but why count on the aid of climate and elements?

Have I then forgotten that I command souls uncommon, nourished in adversity, whose audacity grows from obstacles, and strengthens in danger?

So let these murderous cohorts come! I await them with firm footing, a fixed eye. I leave them the shore and the place where cities once stood — but woe to him who approaches!