The Slaves Who Defeated Napoléon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence, 1801-1804

by Philippe R. Girard Ph.D.

Overview

A deeply researched and definitive account of the climactic battle at the end of the Haitian Revolution

Among the many rebellions against European colonial empires, the Haitian Revolution against France is among the most dramatic and complex. Having begun in 1791 as France was in the throes of its own young revolution, the conflict reached its dramatic climax when Napoleon dispatched a heavily armed expeditionary force led by his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc to re-establish slavery and the sugar economy that had so enriched France. Philippe Girard’s Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon is a deeply researched and engrossing account of this invasion and its spectacular defeat.

For this ambitious account, Philippe Girard has studied not only primary records in Haiti itself but also rare documents from nineteen public and private archives and research libraries in French, U.S., British, and Spanish collections. His more inclusive approach provides a fuller, more accurate and detailed narrative. He reveals not only key military movements, but also less-known aspects like the activities of U.S. merchants, in-fighting within Napoleon’s government, and communication between both sides and other European powers. Girard fills the work with unforgettable stories of those who led or were caught up in the war, people like poorly armed Black soldiers who ambushed Bonaparte’s columns, French child drummers, Jewish bankers in Kingston, weapon smugglers from Quaker Philadelphia, Polish artillerists, and mixed-raced people struggling to preserve their freedom against both Black and white opponents.

Transcending pat ideological and racial categories, the book brings into focus an Atlantic society at the crossroads of African and European influences, where Haitian rebels fought France while embracing its ideals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817358204
Publisher:	University of Alabama Press
Publication date:	07/15/2024
Series:	Atlantic Crossings
Edition description:	First Edition, First Edition
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	15 - 18 Years

About the Author

Philippe R. Girard is an associate professor and head of the Department of History at McNeese State University. He is the author of Clinton in Haiti: The 1994 U.S. Invasion of Haiti and Haiti: The Tumultuous History—From Pearl of the Caribbean to Broken Nation.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations  

Acknowledgments  

Introduction     

1. The Black Napoléon: Louverture and the 1801 Constitution

2. The White Toussaint: Bonaparte's Decision to Invade Saint-Domingue  

3. Eve of a Battle: Planning the Leclerc Expedition  

4. King of the Tropics: The Atlantic Crossing and the Moyse Uprising   

5. Parley: The French Landing

6. Supply and Demand: Leclerc's Diplomacy with the United States, Cuba, and Jamaica

7. Ash and Iron: The Spring Campaign     

8. Lull: Love, Loot, Labor, and Louverture's Exile   

9. Mal de Siam: The Yellow Fever Epidemic

10. Faux Pas: The Maroon Uprising  

11. Revolt: The Defection of the Colonial Army 

12. Reprieve: Rochambeau and the French Counteroffensive   

13. Unity Is Strength: Dessalines and the Unification of the Rebel Army

14. Echoes of Saint-Domingue: Louverture's Captivity and the Louisiana Purchase    

15. New Enemy, New Partner: The British Navy at War   00

16. Sodom and Gomorrah: Life in Besieged French Towns

17. Resolution: The Rebel Victory  

18. Liberty and Death: Haitian Independence    

19. The Long Way Home: French Refugees and the Fall of Santo Domingo   

Conclusion 

Notes

Glossary of French and Kreyol Terms

Bibliographic Essay    

Index

 

Editorial Reviews

"This fast-paced narrative is an excellent modern treatment that offers a welcome micro-examination of the day-to-day events that turned Toussaint Louverture from a loyal French governor into a formidable independence leader. Essential." —CHOICE

“It is readable and lively, and details an important and little-studied episode that had important implications for the long-term success of Napoleon and on the territorial expansion of the United States.” —Stewart R. King, author of Blue Coal or Powdered Wig: Free People of Color in PreRevolutionary Saint Domingue and editor of Encyclopedia of Free Blacks and People of Color in the Americas



“This is an well-researched and important contribution to the study of the Haitian Revolution. Girard has drawn together a wide range of archival materials, as well as thoroughly mining printed primary sources, to present a richly detailed account of the war of independence.” —Laurent R. Dubois, author Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution

From the Publisher