Case file · Folklore / legend
Faustin Wirkus, 'white king' of La Gonâve
During the US occupation of Haiti, Marine sergeant Faustin Wirkus was posted to the island of La Gonâve, where islanders were said to have crowned him as the returned emperor Faustin Soulouque in a Vodou ceremony.
1926 CE · 18.85, -73.05 · status: disputed
The account
He later wrote The White King of La Gonave (1931). The story fascinated American readers and fed a wave of exotic writing about Haiti.
The sceptical view
Haitian historians see the 'coronation' as a misread local ceremony and a product of occupation-era sensationalism.