The first and only successful slave revolution in the Americas began in 1791 when thousands of brutally exploited slaves rose up against their masters on Saint-Domingue, the most profitable colony in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world. Within a few years, the slave insurgents forced the French administrators of the colony to emancipate them, a decision ratified by revolutionary Paris in 1794. This victory was a stunning challenge to the order of master/slave relations throughout the Americas, including the southern United States, reinforcing the most fervent hopes of slaves and the worst fears of masters.
But, peace eluded Saint-Domingue as British and Spanish forces attacked the colony. A charismatic ex-slave named Toussaint Louverture came to France’s aid, raising armies of others like himself and defeating the invaders. Ultimately Napoleon, fearing the enormous political power of Toussaint, sent a massive mission to crush him and subjugate the ex-slaves. After many battles, a decisive victory over the French secured the birth of Haiti and the permanent abolition of slavery from the land. The independence of Haiti reshaped the Atlantic world by leading to the French sale of Louisiana to the United States and the expansion of the Cuban sugar economy.
Laurent Dubois weaves the stories of slaves, free people of African descent, wealthy whites, and French administrators into an unforgettable tale of insurrection, war, heroism, and victory. He establishes the Haitian Revolution as a foundational moment in the history of democracy and human rights.
Laurent Dubois is the John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor in the History & Principles of Democracy at the University of Virginia.
Table of Contents
Prologue
1. Specters of Saint-Domingue
2. Fermentation
3. Inheritance
4. Fire in the Cane
5. New World
6. Defiance
7. Liberty’s Land
8. The Opening
9. Power
10. Enemies of Liberty
11. Territory
12. The Tree of Liberty
13. Those Who Die
Epilogue: Out of the Ashes
Notes
Index
What People are Saying About This
Madison Smartt Bell
What Laurent Dubois has achieved is a synthesis of the most current research in a strikingly accessible and appealing presentation, be it to experts or to general readers unfamiliar with the subject. Avengers of the New World is more than likely to become the new standard work in English on one of the most under-reported events in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls Rising and Master of the Crossroads
James C. Scott
Avengers of the New World is a luminous model for the history of revolution, for a 'people's' history of freedom, and, not least, for a history that is truly Atlantic in scope. At once original, deeply learned, and gracefully written, Dubois' achievement is worthy of its great lineage: that of C.L.R. James and Aime Cesaire." James C. Scott, author of Domination and the Arts of Resistance and Weapons of the Weak
Thomas Holt
Brilliantly conceived, beautifully rendered, Laurent Dubois's narrative places the Haitian Revolution at the center of the Age of Revolutions-one of three that shook the world--challenging in the process the stubborn academic myopia that divides the history of Europe from its colonies, and whites from blacks.
Thomas Holt, author of The Problem of Race in the 21st Century
John Garrigus
By abolishing slavery and granting citizenship to all men, the Haitian Revolution fulfilled the ideals of the Age of Democratic Revolution in a way that France, the United States and other nations were not yet ready to accept. Dubois demonstrates the revolutionary determination of enslaved Caribbean- and African-born people and captures the voices of key actors including Toussaint Louverture, individual slaves, free people of color, rival black generals, and white women. This is a story that needs to be told in the engaging yet scholarly voice that Dubois achieves.
John Garrigus, Professor of History, Jacksonville University
Sidney Mintz
The course of the Haitian Revolution was as checkered as the storyline of an Italian opera. Laurent Dubois wisely and eloquently reduces that complexity to understandable proportions. He shows how the revolutionary leadership evolved over time, both defining its own objectives and winning its battles along the way. With care and good judgment, Dubois builds for us a compelling picture of the emergent consciousness of the slaves. His distinctive contribution is to bring to life one of the most significant events in modern political history, an event that has been deliberately misrepresented for the past two centuries. Sidney Mintz, author of Caribbean Transformations and Sweetness and Power