James Harden-Hickey
Encyclopedia
James Harden-Hickey was a Franco-American
author
, newspaper
editor
, duel
list, adventurer and self-proclaimed Prince
.
on December 8, 1854. To avoid the violent city still in the madness of the gold rush
, James' French
mother took him to live in Paris
, then an Empire under the rule of Napoleon III. The nephew of Napoleon I
left his mark on James by making France
a wild, flamboyant stage for ornate theatrical displays and public works, and mystifying ceremonies. As a child, James was fascinated with the French court and all of its glamor and pomp. Also, because of the lively brilliance of the live theater, he acquired a life-long liking of adventure. During boyhood he was taught in Belgium
by the Jesuits and later studied law at the University of Leipzig
. He entered the French military academy
, Saint-Cyr
, at 19. In 1875, he graduated with high marks.
Shortly thereafter, his father died. Three years later, Harden-Hickley married the Countess de Saint-Pery and fathered two children. By then he had mastered French, was accounted a master swordsman and began writing novels.
s, several dozen lawsuits and numerous fines. Sadly for Harden-Hickey and his fellow royalists
, their funds were exhausted by 1887.
As of 1880, he had 11 novels published. Two of the novels are borrowed from Michael Strogoff
, by Jules Verne
and another is based on "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. His novels praise the virtues of monarchies and are blatantly anti-democratic. James was made a baron of the Holy Roman Empire
(which had legally ceased to exist in 1806) for his strong defense of the church in his works and in practice.
His novels include the following, all published under the pen name Saint Patrice:
Sometime after, James Harden-Hickey divorced his first wife and renounced Catholicism
; he acquired an interest in Buddhism
and Theosophy
. This was a turning point in his life, and he took the opportunity to travel around the world, staying a year in India, learning Sanskrit
and studying the philosophy
of the Buddha
. He returned to Paris and met Annie Harper Flagler, daughter of John Haldane Flagler, head of a successful pipe company and one of Andrew Carnegie
's partners in the steel business. They were married at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), 1891. He lived with and off the Flaglers in New York for two years. Traveling to Tibet
before his marriage, his crew made a stop in the South Atlantic. He proclaimed himself King of Trinidad
, or, more correctly, James I, Prince of Trinidad. He wanted an independent state with himself as military dictator, and later in 1893, he got just that.
and began making secretarial appointments, such as M. le Comte de la Boissiere as his Secretary of State
.
Trinidad was seized by Great Britain, however, in 1895 as a telegraph cable-relay station, and James I was forced to surrender it to them, leaving him with only a homemade crown, a schooner
, and the title of "King without a Country." While the Brazilians and British were threatening war over their respective claims, James I was forgotten. Appeals to the United States to act as a mediator did nothing for his cause when US Secretary of State John Milton Hay released his letter appealing for American mediation to the press, opening James I to harsh ridicule in the popular press.
After the British invaded "his" Trinidad island in 1895, James I designed a plan to invade England
from Ireland
and even asked the wealthy Henry Flagler to finance his invasion plan, but Flagler demured, and denied his request. James I then tried to raise money by selling his ranch in Mexico
but failed to assemble enough funds to continue operating.
Although somewhat apocryphal, there is evidence to suggest that during this time, James I was approached by a certain filibuster
named Ralston J. Markowe with a plan in 1895 to make him the King of Hawai'i (per Richard Harding Davis
, but any such plans as may have existed never came to fruition.)
James Harden-Hickey had once written a book called Euthanasia: The Aesthetics of Suicide, showing that suicide was a powerful art form and "a privilege." He wrote that life wasn't so important or even worth living if one was to suffer, and stated clearly that "it is of greater moment to live well than to live long, and that often it is living well not to live long." Destitute and depressed, he lived up to his ideology by living and dying as a strong proponent of suicide: James I, Prince of Trinidad, Baron of the Holy Roman Empire, took an overdose of morphine
on February 9, 1898, in an El Paso, Texas
hotel, when he could not sell his Mexican ranch that he acquired while living with the Flaglers. Found among his effects were a suicide note to his wife and his memorabilia from his glory days with him...including his hand-made crown.
Franco-American
Franco-American is a brand name of the Campbell Soup Company.The original Franco-American Food Company was founded by Alphonse Biardot, who immigrated to the United States from France in 1880. In 1886, he and his two sons opened a commercial kitchen in Jersey City, New Jersey, featuring the foods...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
, duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
list, adventurer and self-proclaimed Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
.
Early life
James Aloysius Harden was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on December 8, 1854. To avoid the violent city still in the madness of the gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
, James' French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
mother took him to live in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, then an Empire under the rule of Napoleon III. The nephew of Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
left his mark on James by making France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
a wild, flamboyant stage for ornate theatrical displays and public works, and mystifying ceremonies. As a child, James was fascinated with the French court and all of its glamor and pomp. Also, because of the lively brilliance of the live theater, he acquired a life-long liking of adventure. During boyhood he was taught in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
by the Jesuits and later studied law at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. He entered the French military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
, Saint-Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
, at 19. In 1875, he graduated with high marks.
Shortly thereafter, his father died. Three years later, Harden-Hickley married the Countess de Saint-Pery and fathered two children. By then he had mastered French, was accounted a master swordsman and began writing novels.
Literary career
On November 10, 1878, Harden-Hickey first published the newspaper Triboulet, named for a jester of King Louis XII, eight years after Napoleon's fall from power. Though popular, the strongly anti-republican stand of this paper involved Harden-Hickey in no fewer than a dozen duelDuel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s, several dozen lawsuits and numerous fines. Sadly for Harden-Hickey and his fellow royalists
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
, their funds were exhausted by 1887.
As of 1880, he had 11 novels published. Two of the novels are borrowed from Michael Strogoff
Michael Strogoff
Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1876. Critics consider it one of Verne's best books. Unlike some of Verne's other famous novels, it is not science fiction, but a scientific phenomenon is a plot device. The book was later adapted to a play, by Verne...
, by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
and another is based on "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. His novels praise the virtues of monarchies and are blatantly anti-democratic. James was made a baron of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
(which had legally ceased to exist in 1806) for his strong defense of the church in his works and in practice.
His novels include the following, all published under the pen name Saint Patrice:
- Un Amour Vendeen
- Lettres d'un Yankee
- Merveilleuses Adventures de Nabuchodonosor Nosebreaker
- Un Amour dans le Monde
- Memoirs d'un Gommeux
Sometime after, James Harden-Hickey divorced his first wife and renounced Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
; he acquired an interest in Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
. This was a turning point in his life, and he took the opportunity to travel around the world, staying a year in India, learning Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and studying the philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
. He returned to Paris and met Annie Harper Flagler, daughter of John Haldane Flagler, head of a successful pipe company and one of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
's partners in the steel business. They were married at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on March 17 (St. Patrick's Day), 1891. He lived with and off the Flaglers in New York for two years. Traveling to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
before his marriage, his crew made a stop in the South Atlantic. He proclaimed himself King of Trinidad
Principality of Trinidad
The Principality of Trinidad was declared in 1893, when the American James Harden-Hickey claimed the uninhabited island Trindade and Martim Vaz in the South Atlantic and declared himself as James I, Prince of Trinidad. According to Harden-Hickey's plans the island would, after being recognized as...
, or, more correctly, James I, Prince of Trinidad. He wanted an independent state with himself as military dictator, and later in 1893, he got just that.
As Prince James I of Trinidad
The now-James I was given attention - most of it negative and derogatory - by various nations and news organs when he started selling government bonds, opened an office in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and began making secretarial appointments, such as M. le Comte de la Boissiere as his Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
.
Trinidad was seized by Great Britain, however, in 1895 as a telegraph cable-relay station, and James I was forced to surrender it to them, leaving him with only a homemade crown, a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, and the title of "King without a Country." While the Brazilians and British were threatening war over their respective claims, James I was forgotten. Appeals to the United States to act as a mediator did nothing for his cause when US Secretary of State John Milton Hay released his letter appealing for American mediation to the press, opening James I to harsh ridicule in the popular press.
After the British invaded "his" Trinidad island in 1895, James I designed a plan to invade England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and even asked the wealthy Henry Flagler to finance his invasion plan, but Flagler demured, and denied his request. James I then tried to raise money by selling his ranch in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
but failed to assemble enough funds to continue operating.
Although somewhat apocryphal, there is evidence to suggest that during this time, James I was approached by a certain filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
named Ralston J. Markowe with a plan in 1895 to make him the King of Hawai'i (per Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played...
, but any such plans as may have existed never came to fruition.)
Later years
Over the next two years, Harden-Hickey fell into deep depression. His vision for his island was easily realizable, and it had become the core of his existence, but, despite the validity of his claim on Trinidad and his seriousness at realizing his dream, he received little real support, only receiving such from his family and friends; and after all of his attempts at restoring his claim had failed, the world laughed at him for even trying. In truth, his only public support came from the New York Times, which gave him some praise and compassion. He gave the managing editor and a reporter for the Times the Order of Trinidad for their understanding of his passion.James Harden-Hickey had once written a book called Euthanasia: The Aesthetics of Suicide, showing that suicide was a powerful art form and "a privilege." He wrote that life wasn't so important or even worth living if one was to suffer, and stated clearly that "it is of greater moment to live well than to live long, and that often it is living well not to live long." Destitute and depressed, he lived up to his ideology by living and dying as a strong proponent of suicide: James I, Prince of Trinidad, Baron of the Holy Roman Empire, took an overdose of morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
on February 9, 1898, in an El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
hotel, when he could not sell his Mexican ranch that he acquired while living with the Flaglers. Found among his effects were a suicide note to his wife and his memorabilia from his glory days with him...including his hand-made crown.