The Haitian Revolution
"A landmark collection of documents by the field's leading scholar. This reader includes beautifully written introductions and a fascinating array of never-before-published primary documents. These treasures from the archives offer a new picture of colonial Saint-Domingue and the Haitian Revolution. The translations are lively and colorful." —Alyssa Sepinwall, California State University San Marcos
"Extraordinary . . . offers a fascinating window into the slave uprising that began in Saint-Dominique in 1791 and culminated with the emergence of an independent black Haiti in 1803. . . . [Geggus] offers more detailed coverage than Laurent Dubois and John D. Garrigus's Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789-1804: A brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006) by providing twice the number of primary documents. . . . The introduction is crisp and concise. . . . Summing up: Essential."
—B.N. Newman, Virginia Commonwealth University, in CHOICE
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Selected by CHOICE Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2015: "Extraordinary . . . offers a fascinating window into the slave uprising that began in Saint-Dominique in 1791 and culminated with the emergence of an independent black Haiti in 1803. . . . [Geggus] offers more detailed coverage than Laurent Dubois and John D. Garrigus's Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789-1804: A brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006) by providing twice the number of primary documents. . . . The introduction is crisp and concise. . . . Summing up: Essential."
—B. N. Newman, Virginia Commonwealth University, in CHOICE
"Geggus’s superb collection of primary source material . . . is an invaluable resource for students, teachers, professors and researchers in diverse disciplines and fields. This is an exemplary work of true Atlantic scholarship that emphasizes the complexity of the Age of Revolution. It offers a concise and rigorous introduction to the Haitian Revolution as well as material for specialized studies.
"What is particularly extraordinary about this collection is the inclusive presence of many voices from the Revolution. Geggus pays particular attention to women and people of color in a successful effort to include those who shaped the Revolution but who often did not leave written traces in the archives.
"The reader, therefore, is exposed to both the major events in the narrative and the leading figures of the rival forces as well as to the day-to-day events and the lived experiences of the Revolution for ordinary people. This volume will benefit students and instructors at all levels and can be used for a single class or —as I have done—for an entire unit."
—Julia Gaffield, Georgia State University, in Slavery and Abolition
"A landmark collection of documents by the field's leading scholar. This reader includes beautifully written introductions and a fascinating array of never-before-published primary documents. These treasures from the archives offer a new picture of colonial Saint-Domingue and the Haitian Revolution. The translations are lively and colorful."
—Alyssa Sepinwall, California State University San Marcos
"Not only the best source-book [on the topic] available in English, but also an excellent model of research and interpretation. Geggus's concise account of the Revolution is clear, efficient, and remarkably free of the usual mythologies, hagiographies, and demonizations, while his excellently selected documents outline the story very well on their own. . . . ideal for students who want to learn how the craft of recording history is practiced."
—Madison Smartt Bell, Goucher College
"A phenomenal resource. . . [This book] provides a clear and compelling introductory essay and a wonderful array of revealing documents, many drawn from Geggus's own thorough research in multiple archives in Europe and the Americas."
—Ada Ferrer, New York University
"At once clear, concise, affordable, and comprehensive, [this book] will likely become the standard reader at U.S. universities for years to come, serving at the same time as a useful reference source for many scholars wishing to enter the field.
"The strengths of The Haitian Revolution: A Documentary History are twofold. The first is the author’s unrivaled command of the history of the era.
"Equally impressive as Geggus's introductions and annotations is the sheer range and diversity of the primary sources reproduced in the text. Some were originally written in Spanish, French, or English; some were authored by white planters, free people of color, slave rebels, or French administrators; some are private letters, newspaper ads, interrogations of slaves, parliamentary debates, or printed pamphlets. . . . . [P]ublication of this reader, even though it is ostensibly intended for the undergraduate market, is likely to become an important milestone in the English-language historiography of the Haitian Revolution."
—Philippe Girard, McNeese State University, on H-Net Reviews
About the Author:
David Geggus is Professor of History, University of Florida.
