What do you all know of Jean-Baptiste Conzé and his motivation for his betrayal.
Hello! Many thanks for your question.
First of all, I want to apologise for this rather long delay!
Now, in all honesty, I know very little that goes beyond conventionally accepted truths. It is widely acknowledged that Jean-Baptiste Conzé, a farmer (?) from Grande-Rivière-du-Nord, was a key figure in efforts orchestrated by occupying American forces to capture the great caco and rebel leader Charlemagne Péralte (1886-1919).
Typically, the story goes that Jean-Baptiste Conzé infiltrated Péralte’s rank only to turn him over the Americans at a convenient time. There seems to be a dispute about whether or not Jean-Baptiste Conzé was, in fact, part of the US-Haitian gendarme before being asked to defect and join the cacos insurgents in order to quell any suspicions on Péralte’ s part. This is a possibility that authors like Philippe Girard (2010) take to heart. Whatever the case may be, Conzé was crucial to a plan to ambush and then finally capture Péralte with whom the Americans had been at war particularly since 1918.
Whatever the case may be, we can guess some of his motivation for acting against Charlemagne Péralte. Some historians like Laurent Dubois (2010) – who I think is basing his analysis on the works of earlier Haitian historians – believe that Conzé may have held a personal animosity towards Péralte and the broader caco movement. It bears repeating, as Brenda Gayle Plummer (1992) explained that the caco were “’peasant mercenaries’ that “based their partisanship on traditional kinship, godfather connections and other clientelistic relations (compèragé), and regional royalties. The reward for supporting particular candidates [who were interested in becoming President]…included the right to pillage cities, and town that fell prey to revolutionary struggles and loot the homes and properties of their patron’s adversary.” According to Dubois, Conzé, who came from a well-to-do family, disliked the cocos. It is reported that in 1914 (before the official start of the occupation), he had been stopped twice by local cacos and forced to hand-in a ransom. (While we may be tempted to see a certain class element as to why Conzé opposed the cacos, they were in many instances also despised by peasants, especially for their pillages.) In any case, Dubois states that Conzé ultimate desire to act against Péralte may have indeed been inspired by his own experiences with the cacos but that in all likelihood it was the result of financial incentives by the Americans. Conzé, it would appear, was a rather ambitious man who saw a great opportunity in temporary siding with the Americans for financial gains.
At any rate, I suppose, if you asked this question that you knew or were vaguely aware of most of this. I apologise for not having more to say! Anyhow, I still hope it was somewhat useful and I would suggest, if you read French, to browse the works of Haitian historians on the US Occupation of Haiti. I am certain they would discuss Jean-Baptiste Conzé in more details. I suggest perhaps L'occupation Américaine d'Haiti by Suzy Castor (1988), Charlemagne Péralte le caco, 1918-1919 by Roger Gaillard (1982) and Les paysans haitiens et l'occupation americaine d'Haiti, 1915-1930 by Kethly Millet (1978). *From experience, these books are not easy to locate so, I would suggest you ask a librarian for help.
Have a good evening!