Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789-1804: A Brief History with Documents

by Laurent Dubois and John D. Garrigus

Book Overview

This volume details the first slave rebellion to have a successful outcome, leading to the establishment of Haiti as a free black republic and paving the way for the emancipation of slaves in the rest of the French Empire and the world. Incited by the French Revolution, the enslaved inhabitants of the French Caribbean began a series of revolts, and in 1791 plantation workers in Haiti, then known as Saint-Domingue, overwhelmed their planter owners and began to take control of the island. They achieved emancipation in 1794, and after successfully opposing Napoleonic forces eight years later, emerged as part of an independent nation in 1804. A broad selection of documents, all newly translated by the authors, is contextualized by a thorough introduction considering the very latest scholarship. Laurent Dubois and John D. Garrigus clarify for students the complex political, economic, and racial issues surrounding the revolution and its reverberations worldwide. Useful pedagogical tools include maps, illustrations, a chronology, and a selected bibliography.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031241501X
• ISBN13: 9780312415013
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Bedford Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

College Coursework

I purchased this book for college coursework in a core history class. We were assigned a paper on the book. Other people in my class did some outside research, but there was enough information between the text and all the source documents that I didn't find outside sources necessary.

Fascinating

I could not be helped but be moved by the documents in this book. The author did an incredible job of helping the reader understand the importance of San Domingue and the other French colonies by including letters, articles and transcripts. This was so important to my research about the nation that would eventually become Haiti and other colonies that found themselves in similar circumstances. These accounts tell the real truth about life in the French colonies and the resolve of the inhabitants.