The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 1/18 The Haitian Revolution Laurent Dubois, Julia Gaffield LAST REVIEWED: 05 MAY 2017 LAST MODIFIED: 28 OCTOBER 2011 DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199766581-0030 Introduction The Haitian revolution was a complicated and trans-regional event, one that brought together actors, ideas, and institutions from three empires—France, Spain, and Great Britain—as well as the United States. The scholarship on the Haitian revolution, too, has been produced in a wide range of contexts and languages. The past decades have seen an explosion of such scholarship, notably in the United States, which has substantially expanded our understanding of the cultural, social, and political dynamics of the colony of Saint Domingue and the process that led to the creation of independent Haiti in 1804. But this scholarship has built on essential work by previous generations, most importantly on the work of Haitian historians going back to the 19th century, which those interested in the period should also continue to consult. This bibliography, necessarily selected, attempts to foreground what we consider to be the essential works on the period. While it is tilted toward the presentation of English-language sources, we have also included a selection of important French- language works. Colonial Saint Domingue The French acquired the western third of Hispaniola, Saint Domingue, as a colony in 1659. During the 18th century, French colonists transformed the colony into a land of export agriculture by establishing large sugar and coffee plantations as well as smaller indigo, cacao, and cotton plantations. The colonists purchased slaves from Africa through the transatlantic slave trade to labor these plantations. Saint Domingue quickly became an enormous source of wealth for metropolitan France. The population of the colony was overwhelmingly enslaved with a minority of whites and free people of color. Hector and Moïse 1990 is an excellent French-language overview of the history of Saint-Domingue. Cauna 2003 provides a detailed study of plantation life, and Garraway 2005 explores representations of sexuality in the colony. Frostin 1975 explores the political activities of the white population before the revolution, while McLellan 1992 examines the intellectual and scientific activities among the colony’s elite. Garrigus 2006 and King 2007 provide the most detailed studies of free people of color in Saint Domingue. Cauna, Jacques de. Au temps des isles a sucre: Histoire d’une plantation de Saint-Domingue au XVIIIe siècle . Hommes et Sociétés. Paris: Karthala, 2003. One of the most detailed studies of plantation life in Saint Domingue, based on plantation papers and correspondence from one major sugar plantation. Frostin, Charles. Les révoltes blanches à Saint-Domingue aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles . Collection Histoire et Littérature Haïtiennes. Paris: L’École, 1975. Examines the political mobilization among whites in Saint Domingue from its earliest days as a colony, providing a rich portrait of the governance and social life of the colony. The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 2/18 Garraway, Doris Lorraine. The Libertine Colony: Creolization in the Early French Caribbean . Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005. A study of French accounts of the social world of the French Antilles during the 17th and 18th centuries, with an emphasis on discourses surrounding gender and sexuality. Garrigus, John D. Before Haiti: Race and Citizenship in French Saint-Domingue . Americas in the Early Modern Atlantic World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Provides an analysis of research on free people of color from the southern province of Saint Domingue, following the history of the group from colonial times through the revolution. Emphasizes the frontier nature of the colony and argues that this characteristic allowed for the development of a large mixed-race population and a society organized by a class hierarchy. Hector, Michel, and Claude Moïse. Colonisation et esclavage en Haïti: Le régime colonial français à Saint-Domingue (1625–1789) Port-au-Prince: H. Deschamps, 1990. An excellent overview of the colonial history of Saint Domingue by two of Haiti’s most important historians. King, Stewart R. Blue Coat or Powdered Wig: Free People of Color in Pre-Revolutionary Saint Domingue . Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2007. Studies the free colored population in Saint Domingue primarily using notarial records. Emphasizes distinctions between urban and rural groups and the occupations of individuals as planters or policemen and soldiers. McLellan, James E. Colonialism and Science: Saint-Domingue in the Old Regime . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Through an exploration of Enlightenment culture and thought in colonial Saint Domingue, this book provides one of the most detailed portraits of the social and cultural life among the planter elite in the colony. Slave Resistance Slave resistance laid the foundation for the insurrection of 1791. These works explore how slaves survived and responded to conditions on the plantations and include diverging perspectives on the role of marronage in the Haitian revolution. Debien 2000 is a classic analysis of slave life, based largely on plantation papers. Debbasch 1961, Fouchard 1981, and Fouchard 1988 examine the phenomenon of marronage in the colony, while Fouchard and Simon 1988 discusses the role of writing within communities of African descent. Debbasch, Yvan. “Le Marronnage: Essai sur la désertion de l’esclave antillais.” Année sociologique , 3d ser., (1961): 1–112. A classic and often-cited early study of marronnage, which emphasizes the way in which specific plantation conditions shaped the process of marronnage. Debien, Gabriel. Les Esclaves aux Antilles Françaises (XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles) . Gourbeyre, Guadeloupe: Société d’Histoire de la Guadeloupe, 2000. Based on extensive research on plantation records and correspondence in a range of France archives, this text covers both Saint Domingue and the Eastern Caribbean colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique. It remains one of the best overviews and introductions to The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 3/18 plantation life in the French Caribbean. First published in 1974. Fouchard, Jean. The Haitian Maroons: Liberty or Death . Translated by A. Faulkner Watts. New York: E. W. Blyden, 1981. An English translation of the classic and influential study of the history of marronage in Haiti, which argues that it was central in laying the foundations for the Haitian revolution. Fouchard, Jean. Les Marrons De La Liberté . Rev. ed. Regards sur le Temps Passé 3. Port-au-Prince: H. Deschamps, 1988. A classic work that argues that marronage helped to lay the foundation for the insurrection of the enslaved in 1791. First published in 1972. Fouchard, Jean, and Pierre-Henri Simon. Les Marrons du Syllabaire: Quelques aspects du problème de l’instruction et de l’éducation des esclaves et affranchis de Saint-Domingue . Port-au-Prince: H. Deschamps, 1988. An important and innovative study of the question of literacy among people of African descent in colonial Saint Domingue. Contemporary Accounts The Haitian revolution was the subject of great interest throughout the Atlantic world. News of events occurring in the Caribbean circulated in newspapers, letters, by word of mouth, and in published accounts. This section includes a selection of accounts that are written by individuals who experienced or participated in the revolution in some manner. These informants allowed disparate populations to learn of the changes occurring in the Caribbean. The early period of the revolution is described in Puech Parham 1959 and Garran de Coulon 1797; the former is an eyewitness account, while the latter uses testimony and documentation. Lacroix 1995 and Métral 1988 (first published in 1825) provide accounts of the Leclerc expedition, and both are valuable for their primary-source material. Rainsford 1805 provides a history of the revolution with some eyewitness accounts. Garran de Coulon, Jean-Philippe. Rapport sur les troubles de Saint-Domingue fait au nom de la Commission des Colonies, des Comités de Salut Public, de Législation et de Marine, réunis . 4 vols. Paris: De l’Imprimerie Nationale, an V–VII de la République, 1797. The first attempt to write a history of the early years of the Haitian revolution, produced on the basis of testimony in the National Convention and consultation of correspondence from the colony. It is invaluable notably because it reprints many documents from the period. Lacroix, Pamphile. La Révolution de Haïti . Edited by Pierre Pluchon. Collection Relire. Paris: Karthala, 1995. The memoirs of a French general who participated in the Leclerc expedition in Saint Domingue in 1802–1803, Lacroix’s work provides key insight into the military events of the period as well as influential portraits of key figures such as Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Métral, Antoine. Histoire de l’expédition des français à Saint-Domingue: Sous le Consulat de Napoléon Bonaparte, 1802–1803 suivie des Mémoires et notes d’Isaac Louverture, sur la même expédition, et sur la vie de son père . Paris: Karthala, 1988. An early attempt to tell the history of the Leclerc expedition and more broadly of the revolution, this book also provided in its appendix the memoir of Isaac Louverture, Toussaint Louverture’s son, about the events of the period. First published by Fanjat Aîné [etc.], 1825. Also available on microfilm. The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 4/18 Puech Parham, Althéa de, ed. My Odyssey, Experiences of a Young Refugee from Two Revolutions . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1959. An adaptation and presentation of a manuscript produced by a participant and witness to the insurrection of 1791 and subsequent events in Saint Domingue. The original text, penned largely in French verse, is in the Historic New Orleans Collection and has been retranslated in part by Jeremy Popkin in Facing Racial Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007). Rainsford, Marcus. An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti .London: J. Cundee, 1805. An influential and largely positive description of Toussaint Louverture and of the Haitian struggle for independence, written by a British officer who spent a short time in Saint Domingue in the late 1790s. The illustrations from this work have been widely reproduced. Available in microform and microfiche. Histories of Haiti The Haitian revolution created the second independent country in the New World, and the event is central to the country’s history. However, the legacy of the revolution continues to affect the population. These general histories of Haiti contextualize the revolution and offer analyses on the trajectory of the country after its beginning. Madiou 1847–1848 and Ardouin 1856 are the founding texts of Haitian historiography and devote several volumes each to the Haitian revolution. Corvington 2003–2004 is a history of Port-au-Prince with extensive details on urban history during colonial and revolutionary times. Anglade 1982 presents a historical geography of Haiti that emphasizes the crucial shift incited by the revolution. Anglade, Georges. Atlas critique d’Haïti . Montreal: Groupe d’Études et de Recherches Critiques d’Espace, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), 1982. Both through its textual analysis and a series of interpretive maps of Saint Domingue and Haiti, this book offers a long-term geographical analysis of changes in land use and economy. Ardouin, Beaubrun. Études sur l’histoire d’Haïti . Vol. 7. Paris: Chez l’Auteur, 1856. An essential reference on the Haitian revolution produced in the mid-19th century, with the use of archives as well as public memory of the period. Ardouin reproduces lengthy extracts from many texts, which remain invaluable references today. Available in microform and in Volume 2 of a three-volume set (Port-au-Prince: Éditions Fardin, 2005). Corvington, Georges. Port-Au-Prince au cours des ans . 7 vols. Montreal: Editions du CIDIHCA, 2003–2004. The most detailed urban history produced about Haiti, this work describes Port-au-Prince from its 18th-century founding to the 20th century, with many details about the revolutionary period. Madiou, Thomas. Histoire d’Haïti . Vol. 3, 1803–1807 . Port-au-Prince: J. Courtois, 1847–1848. This founding text of Haitian historiography presents a great deal of information gleaned from public memory about the revolution and is therefore a crucial source for aspects of cultural and social history of the revolution. Available in microform and microfiche. Modern Overviews The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 5/18 Only recently have scholars of the Atlantic world begun to acknowledge the impact of the Haitian revolution on the history of the 19th century. Blackburn 1988 contextualizes the Haitian revolution and highlights its impact on antislavery advocacy in other countries. Cooper 1988, originally submitted as the author’s dissertation in the 1830s and translated into English in 1925, highlights strategic use of historical research and studies the actions and rhetoric of French revolutionaries with respect to slavery. James 1963 remains a classic interpretation of the revolution, with an emphasis on revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture, and is often used in undergraduate courses. Fick 1990 argues against the emphasis on Louverture and highlights the actions of marooned slaves and local acts of resistance that contributed to the success of insurgent forces. Dubois 2004 brings these themes together and provides a local and international overview of the Haitian revolution and its connections with changes occurring in France and in other Atlantic empires. Geggus 2002 provides a collection of essays that also provide a broad overview and highlight both local and international topics. Blackburn, Robin. The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery, 1776–1848 . London: Verso, 1988. An overview of the struggles against slavery in the Atlantic world, this book argues that the Haitian revolution played a central role in the broader destruction of slavery and the slave trade. Cooper, Anna Julia. Slavery and the French Revolutionists (1788–1805) . Translated by Frances Richardson Keller. Studies in French Civilization 1. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1988. Written by an African American writer who studied history at the University of Paris, this thesis represents a crucial early treatment of the revolution, emphasizing the link between abolitionists and insurgents in Saint Domingue. Dubois, Laurent. Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution . Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2004. Narrative account of the Haitian revolution that seamlessly integrates primary-source evidence with historical analysis. Highlights the interrelationship of events in the colonies and the French metropole and argues that the revolution was central to the definition of democracy and human rights. Fick, Carolyn E. The Making of Haiti: The Saint Domingue Revolution from Below . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1990. Account of the revolution that emphasizes the actions of the enslaved in securing their own destiny. Argues that the slaves drew on experiences of resistance and marronage to achieve their goals successfully. Geggus, David P. Haitian Revolutionary Studies . Blacks in the Diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002. Collection and revision of previously published essays and two new pieces. Covers key issues throughout the revolution, including discussions of resistance, religion, race, and the international context. Based on extensive research in international archives. James, C. L. R. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution . 2d ed. New York: Vintage, 1963. Emphasizes the role of revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture and his relationship to the political changes occurring in metropolitan France. Narrative and creative description of the social and political structure of the colony and the revolution. Used frequently in undergraduate courses. Collections of Essays and Primary Sources These recent collections provide wide-ranging perspectives on the Haitian revolution as well as translations of primary sources into English, and are therefore useful resources for both research and teaching on the period. Gaspar and Geggus 1997 studies the impact of the The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 6/18 French Revolution elsewhere in the Caribbean and highlights international trends and changes taking place. Geggus and Fiering 2009 highlights the international nature of the Haitian revolution and emphasizes the two-way relationship that Saint Domingue held with the Atlantic world. Dubois and Garrigus 2006 provides a primary-source overview of the revolution as well as reproductions of key texts. Popkin 2007, in contrast, translates and contextualizes narrative accounts produced during the revolution. Both of these primary-source readers are excellent teaching resources. Dubois, Laurent, and John D. Garrigus. Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789–1804: A Brief History with Documents . Bedford Series in History and Culture. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. Provides an overview of the Haitian revolution as well as translations of key documents that changed its course. Each document is introduced and contextualized to allow for better analysis. Excellent for undergraduate course readings. Gaspar, David Barry, and David Patrick Geggus. A Turbulent Time: The French Revolution and the Greater Caribbean . Blacks in the Diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997. Collection of essays that study the French, British, and Spanish Caribbean during the time of the French Revolution. Highlights the ways that European ideologies interacted with local trends of resistance among all classes of Caribbean societies. Studies in detail little-known uprisings and connects each to broader trends. Geggus, David Patrick, and Norman Fiering, eds. The World of the Haitian Revolution . Blacks in the Diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009. This collection studies in detail key moments among the events leading up to and during the revolution as well as its impact on the greater Caribbean. This is a valuable synthesis of diverse issues that are crucial for the study of this period. Michel, Hector, ed. La Révolution française et Haïti: Filiations, ruptures, nouvelles dimensions . Vol 2. Papers presented at a symposium organized by the Haitian Society of History and Geography and the Haitian Bicentennial Committee of the French Revolution, 5–8 December 1989. Port-au-Prince: Société Haïtienne d’Histoire et de Géographie, 1995. This collection foregrounds the work of many of the key intellectuals working in Haiti, France, and the United States on the revolution. Popkin, Jeremy. Facing Racial Revolution: Eyewitness Accounts of the Haitian Insurrection . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Collection of translated excerpts of firsthand narrative accounts of the revolution, written primarily by white planters. Provides introduction and analysis of the content and veracity of each document. Excellent source for university students. Translated from the French. The French Revolution and the Colonies The French Revolution provided the opportunity for various groups to demand far-reaching changes to their legal and social statuses. Events in Paris influenced the governance of France’s colonies, and the status of colonial populations, namely the free people of color and the enslaved, came under debate. These groups, as well as whites, used the political and military divisions created by the French Revolution to further their own interests. Bénot 1987 and Gauthier 1992 provide accounts of debates about the colonies among French political circles in Paris during the Revolution. Dorigny 2003, Gauthier 2007, and Sepinwall 2005 examine the activities of antislavery and antiracist activists. Michel 1995 presents a wide range of essays about the relationship between the French and Haitian revolutions. Auguste and Auguste 1980 focuses on the international implications of the Leclerc expedition. The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 7/18 Auguste, Marcel Bonaparte, and Claude Bonaparte Auguste. La Participation Étrangère à L’expédition française de Saint- Domingue . Quebec: C. et M. B. Auguste, 1980. A study of the diplomatic and military debates surrounding the formation of the Leclerc expedition in 1801–1802. Bénot, Yves. La Révolution Française et la fin des colonies . Textes à l’Appui. Paris: La Découverte, 1987. Details the debates about the colonies in the French National Assembly and the broader public sphere in Paris from 1791 to 1794. Dorigny, Marcel. The Abolitions of Slavery, From L. F. Sonthonax to Victor Schoelcher, 1793, 1794, 1848 . Slave Route series. New York: Berghahn, 2003. An edited collection of essays, a number of which focus on the context for the abolition of slavery in 1793–1794. Dorigny, Marcel, and Bernard Gainot. La Société des Amis des Noirs, 1788–1799: Contribution à l’histoire de l’abolition de l’esclavage . Paris: UNESCO, 1998. Details the activities of the major French abolitionist society both in its first years of activity and after its refounding in the late 1790s. Provides both analysis and a reprint of the registers of the society. Gauthier, Florence. Triomphe et mort du droit naturel en Révolution 1789–1795–1802 . Pratiques Théoriques. Paris: Presses Universitaires de Paris, 1992. An intellectual and political history of debates about the colonies during the French Revolution. Gauthier, Florence. L’aristocratie de l’épiderme: Le combat de la Société des Citoyens de Couleur, 1789–1791 . Histoires pour Aujourd’hui. Paris: CNRS Éditions, 2007. A history of the political mobilization and arguments of free people of color in Paris during the early years of the revolution. Michel, Hector, ed. La Révolution française et Haïti: Filiations, ruptures, nouvelles dimensions . Vol 1. Papers presented at a symposium organized by the Haitian Society of History and Geography and the Haitian Bicentennial Committee of the French Revolution, 5–8 December 1989. Port-au-Prince: Société Haïtienne d’Histoire et de Géographie, 1995. Proceedings of a 1989 conference; Volume 1 contains a number of significant articles on revolutionary politics and links between Saint Domingue and France. Sepinwall, Alyssa Goldstein. The Abbé Grégoire and the French Revolution: The Making of Modern Universalism . S. Mark Taper Foundation Imprint in Jewish Studies. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. A political biography of one of France’s most important abolitionists during this period, with important material on his role during the revolutionary period and his perspectives on post-independence Haiti. Political Thought The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 8/18 The American, Haitian, and French revolutions created what is now known as the Age of Revolutions. Haiti has only recently been acknowledged as a central event in the historiography. These three revolutions cannot be considered in isolation, because each shaped the perspectives and interpretations of individual participants and onlookers. Discussions on human rights, colonialism, and slavery called into question long-standing political, social, and legal institutions and brought about unexpected changes to the Atlantic world. Blackburn 2006 is a broad argument about the centrality of Haiti during the Age of Revolution, while Buck-Morss 2009, Fischer 2004, and Nesbitt 2008 all explore the philosophical and cultural implications of the event in Europe and the Americas. Blackburn, Robin. “Haiti, Slavery, and the Age of the Democratic Revolution.” William and Mary Quarterly 63.4. (October 2006): 643–674. This article demonstrates the interconnectedness of the American, French, Haitian, and Spanish-American revolutions and argues for the centrality of the Jacobin revolutionaries in Saint Domingue in the destruction of slavery. Focuses on historiographic discussions about Haiti’s role in the Age of Revolution. Available online to subscribers. Buck-Morss, Susan. Hegel, Haiti and Universal History . Illuminations. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009. An influential work, based on an earlier article, which argues that the history of the Haitian revolution influenced the thought of Hegel and challenges scholars to more fully incorporate the history of the event into understandings of political philosophy. Fischer, Sibylle. Modernity Disavowed: Haiti and the Cultures of Slavery in the Age of Revolution . Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004. Highlights the suppression of the actions of enslaved persons during the revolution in contemporary memory and argues that the denial of the revolutionary antislavery to these individuals was central to the development of modern cultural, political, and philosophical thought. Nesbitt, Nick. Universal Emancipation: The Haitian Revolution and the Radical Enlightenment . New World Studies. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008. Argues that the revolution in Haiti achieved the universal application of human rights and equality by expanding French proclamations to include members of all races and legal statuses. Emphasizes the revolution’s role in the development of contemporary political and intellection theory. From Insurrection to Emancipation In 1789, free people of color observed the revolutionary declarations of human rights in metropolitan France and perceived these ideologies to be incompatible with the socio-racial hierarchy of the colonies. Free people of color agitated, sometimes violently, for what they declared was rightfully theirs: political equality with the white population. Conflicts between free people of color and whites provided the opportunity for the enslaved population to demand changes to their situation as well. A well-coordinated uprising in 1791 in the north by a group of plantations slaves marked the beginning of what we now know as the Haitian revolution. The complex and changing alliances and conflicts between whites, free people of color, and slaves, which were also quickly engulfed by the international war between the French, British, and Spanish, destabilized the slavery-based colonial system and forced the French commissioners to abolish slavery in the colony in 1793. The National Convention in Paris ratified this decision the next year and applied the ruling to the entire French empire. Dorigny 1997, Piquionne 1997, Popkin 2010, and Stein 1985 examine the abolition of slavery in Saint Domingue in 1793 from various perspectives, while Hoffmann 1993 and Hurbon 2000 examine the religious aspects of the 1791 insurrection. Dorigny, Marcel, ed. Léger-Félicité Sonthonax: La première abolition de l’esclavage, La Révolution française et la révolution de Saint-Domingue . Papers presented at a meeting in Paris, 7–8 September 1990. Bibliothèque d’Histoire d’Outre-Mer 16. Paris: The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 9/18 Association pour l’Étude de la Colonisation Européenne, 1997. A collection of essays focusing on the role of Sonthonax in the abolition of slavery in Saint Domingue in 1793 and in Paris in 1794. Papers were previously published in the Revue Française d’Histoire d’Outre-Mer 84.316. Hoffmann, Léon-François. “Un mythe national: La cérémonie du Bois-Caïman.” In La République Haïtienne: État des lieux et perspectives . Edited by Gérard Barthélemy and Christian Girault, 434–448. Hommes et Sociétés. Paris: Karthala, 1993. In this famously controversial essay, Hoffman explores the sources surrounding the Bois-Caïman ceremony and concludes that it is a “national myth” rather than a historical event. Hurbon, Laënnec, ed. L’insurrection des esclaves de Saint-Domingue (22–23 août 1791): Actes de la table ronde internationale de Port-au-Prince, 8–10 déc. 1997 . Paris: Karthala, 2000. A collection of essays focusing on the beginning of the slave insurrection in 1791, and notably on its religious dimensions. Piquionne, Nathalie. “Lettre de Jean-François, Biassou et Belair, juillet 1792.” Chemins Critiques 3 (1997): 206–210. A close analysis of a letter penned by three leaders of the slave insurrection at a crucial moment in the struggle for emancipation. Popkin, Jeremy D. You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Detailed narrative of the events surrounding the abolition of slavery in Saint Domingue. Emphasizes the changing political circumstances in the French metropole and in the colony and highlights the specificity of individual decision-making in the large-scale changes that occurred. Stein, Robert Louis. Léger Félicité Sonthonax: The Lost Sentinel of the Republic . Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1985. A close study of the biography and political role of Sonthonax in Saint Domingue, focusing on his role in 1792–1793 but also on his activities in Paris after his return from the colony. Africans The brutality of plantation labor, particularly in sugar production, meant that the lives of slaves in the colony were often cut short. To maintain the laboring population, plantation owners purchased new slaves that traders brought to the New World from Africa. The population of the colony was mainly composed of diverse African tribes, ethnicities, linguistic groupings, and lineages. The Africanity of the population shaped the culture, military, and language of the country during and after the revolution. Barthélemy 2000 and Casimir 2001 emphasize the long-term impact of Africans and African culture in Haiti, while Thornton 1991 and Thornton 1993 make specific arguments about how Africans shaped the Haitian revolution. Barthélemy, Gérard. Créoles, Bossales: Conflit en Haïti . Rev. ed. Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe: Ibis Rouge, 2000. Argues that the conflict between African-born and Creoles in Saint Domingue laid the foundation for the social and cultural fissures in post- independence Haiti. The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 10/18 Casimir, Jean. La culture opprimée . Delmas, Haiti: Imprimerie Lakay, 2001. Emphasizes the impact of African culture in Haiti in the formation of what Casimir dubs the “counter-plantation” system during and after the revolution. Thornton, John K. “African Soldiers in the Haitian Revolution.” Journal of Caribbean History 25.1 (1991): 58–80. Argues that the success of the slave insurrection in Saint Domingue was partly the result of the military skills of “African veterans” recently imported into the colony from Central Africa. Thornton, John K. “I Am the Subject of the King of Congo: African Political Ideology and the Haitian Revolution.” Journal of World History 4.2 (Fall 1993): 181–214. Argues that African political ideologies shaped the course of the Haitian revolution. Available online to subscribers. British and Spanish Involvement As was the case with the many international European wars of the 18th century, the American colonies became key battlefields, and islands exchanged empires frequently. The French Revolution initiated another international battle that quickly consumed the Caribbean. Duffy 1987 provides a broader analysis of international warfare during the French Revolution. The Spanish colony of Santo Domingo occupied the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola and therefore played a unique geopolitical role in the war raging in Saint Domingue. The British colony of Jamaica, a close neighbor to Saint Domingue, was the base of a British invasion of the southwest of the island. Both the British and the Spanish found willing allies in the French colony and interfered with internal warfare to aid their own empires. Geggus 1982 analyzes the British occupation of Saint Domingue, and Girard 2009 studies the relationship between Saint Domingue and Jamaica after the British evacuation from the island. Landers 2010 highlights the international migrations that occurred during the Age of Revolutions and analyzes the experiences of certain individuals. Duffy, Michael. Soldiers, Sugar, and Seapower: The British Expeditions to the West Indies and the War against Revolutionary France . Oxford: Clarendon, 1987. Military history of the campaigns carried out both in Saint Domingue and the eastern Caribbean during the 1790s, based on British sources. Geggus, David Patrick. Slavery, War, and Revolution: The British Occupation of Saint Domingue, 1793–1798 . Oxford: Clarendon, 1982. Detailed study of the British occupation of the southern province of Saint Domingue. Based on extensive archival research. Highlights the conflicted nature of the occupation and the challenges that the British faced in their attempt to reinstitute slavery in the colony. Girard, Philippe. “Black Talleyrand: Toussaint Louverture’s Secret Diplomacy with England and the United States.” William and Mary Quarterly 66.1 (January 2009): 87–124. Study of Toussaint Louverture’s international diplomacy outside of the island’s relationship with France. Emphasizes Louverture’s limited antislavery actions and analyzes the implications of personality and personal experience in foreign policy decisions. Landers, Jane. Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 11/18 Takes a rich biographical approach to the study of the Age of Revolution, including through the story of one of the Haitian revolution’s important early leaders, Jean-François. Toussaint Louverture Toussaint Louverture quickly emerged as the principal leader of insurgent forces in the colony, following the abolition of slavery there. Louverture had been a slave and then a freed man before the revolution. He was literate and demonstrated savvy military skills and keen political know-how. He maintained an allegiance to France but sought greater autonomy for the colony. He implemented strict labor regulations to upkeep the plantation export system. Louverture published a constitution in 1801 that proclaimed him governor-general for life. The head of the French army that invaded to reestablish French authority tricked him. Louverture died in 1802 in a French prison at Fort de Joux. Beard 1863 is an English translation of Louverture’s own memoirs. Shoelcher 1982 (reprint of 1889 second edition) is an early biography, and Bell 2007 and Pluchon 1989 are the most detailed recent ones. Lundahl 1985 is an analysis of Louverture’s plantation policies, Moïse 2001 an examination of his 1801 constitution, and Césaire 1960 uses Louverture’s political actions as a basis for a broader analysis of the Haitian revolution. Beard, John Relly. Toussaint L’Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography . Boston: J. Redpath, 1863. An English translation of a version of Louverture’s own memoirs, written as a protest against his imprisonment by Bonaparte. Reprinted, with some omissions, from J. R. Beard’s Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture (London: Ingram, Cooke, 1853). Bell, Madison Smartt. Toussaint Louverture: A Biography . New York: Pantheon, 2007. The most recent biography of Louverture, based on extensive research, notably in private Haitian collections. Césaire, Aimé. Toussaint Louverture: La Révolution Française et le problème colonial . Portraits de l’Histoire 26. Paris: Club Français du Livre, 1960. By the famed Martinican poet and politician, the study focuses on Louverture’s political actions and writings to present a broader portrait of the revolution. Lundahl, Mats. “Toussaint L’Ouverture and the War Economy of Saint Domingue, 1796–1802.” Slavery and Abolition 6.2 (1985): 122–138. A close analysis of the economic policy of Louverture and his efforts to reconstruct the plantation system. Available online to subscribers. Moïse, Claude. Le projet national de Toussaint Louverture: La constitution de 1801 . Port-au-Prince: Mémoire, 2001. Presents Louverture’s 1801 constitution and provides careful analysis of its production and provisions. Pluchon, Pierre. Toussaint Louverture: Un révolutionnaire noir d’Ancien Régime . Paris: Fayard, 1989. Well-documented French biography exploring Louverture’s early experiences and his political career in Saint Domingue. Schoelcher, Victor. Vie de Toussaint-Louverture . 2d ed. Paris: Karthala, 1982. The Haitian Revolution - Latin https://wwwTsgD&result=81&print 12/18 One of the earliest biographies of Louverture, written by a prominent French abolitionist, which examines his role in the overthrow of slavery and the transition to a system of free labor. Reprint of the 1889 edition (Paris: P. Ollendorff, 1889), itself a second edition. The United States Throughout the Haitian revolution merchants from the United States took advantage of the economic opportunities available, and both the French military and insurgent armies benefited from American commerce. But the revolution also created complicated political challenges for rulers in the United States, many of whom were nervous about the impact news of the slave insurrection would have on slaves within the country. Logan 1941 and Montague 1940 are classic overviews of US-Haitian relations with important chapters on the revolutionary period, while Matthewson 2003 is a recent detailed study of US policy under Jefferson and Washington. Garrigus 1992 details the role of soldiers from Saint Domingue in the American Revolution, while Clavin 2010 examines the role of the idea and example of Haiti in US abolitionism and proslavery thought. White 2010 is a social and cultural history of Saint Domingue refugees in North America. Clavin, Matthew J. Toussaint Louverture and the American Civil War: The Promise and Peril of a Second Haitian revolution Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. A study of the role images of Haiti played in both abolitionist and secessionist movements in the United States, arguing that references to the Haitian revolution played a central role in the coming of the Civil War. Examines the influence of the Haitian revolution on John Brown. Dubois, Laurent. “The Haitian Revolution and the Sale of Louisiana.” Southern Quarterly 44.3 (Spring 2007): 18–41. Highlights the importance of the actions of the revolutionaries in Saint Domingue in the sale of Louisiana by the French to the United States. Argues that the decisions taken by Napoleon Bonaparte, mainly his inability to imagine an alternative to colonial slavery, led to France’s defeat in Saint Domingue and made Louisiana unnecessary. Garrigus, John. “Catalyst or Catastrophe? Saint-Domingue’s Free Men of Color and the Battle of Savannah, 1779–1782.” Revista/Review Interamericana 22.1 (1992): 109–125. The best-documented study of the role of soldiers from Saint Domingue, most of them free people of color, in the American Revolution. Logan, Rayford Whittingham. The Diplomatic Relations of the United States with Haiti, 1776–1891 . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941. The most detailed long-term study of diplomatic relations between the two countries, this book includes details about the complex reactions to the Haitian revolution in the United States. Matthewson, Tim. A Proslavery Foreign Policy: Haitian-American Relations during the Early Republic . Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Examines US foreign policy over the course of the Haitian revolution, highlighting the divergent attitudes of Adams and Jefferson and the complicated interactions between events in Saint Domingue and decisions in Washington. Montague, Ludwell Lee. Haiti and the United S