BLACK SPARTACUS

A thorough reconsideration of the legendary Haitian leader, whose deployment of republican ideals of racial equality were radical and transformative—and still resonate today.

As Hazareesingh shows, Toussaint L’Ouverture (1743-1803) possessed remarkable military and leadership skills, which allowed him to effect a “just war for national liberation which foreshadowed the anti-colonial struggles of the modern era.” He was raised by African-born slaves in what was still the French colony of Saint-Domingue, and his impressive character was evident from an early age. Intelligent, educated, and valued for his facility with horses, he served as a coachman on the estate, which was inculcated with both Vodou and Catholic practices as well as the French revolutionary ideals that sparked the initial slave uprising in 1791. The author, who has written multiple books about French cultural history, closely examines the many contradictory accounts of Toussaint’s dealings before and after this key date, as he served as a mediating force between the slaves and the White masters. Hazareesingh emphasizes that it was in his “ability to take existing social and political forms, absorb them full and then redeploy them to his own ends that Toussaint’s genius lay.” He was a leader behind the scenes, a brilliant writer of revolutionary tracts, and an effective military strategist. He could also be an opportunist, writes the author, and eager not to alienate the French and Napoleon in pushing too hard for independence—though he never wavered on his stance for emancipation of the slaves. “Toussaint,” writes the author, “embodied the many facets of Saint-Domingue’s revolution by confronting the dominant forces of his age—slavery, settler colonialism, imperial domination, racial hierarchy and European cultural supremacy—and bending them to his will.” Though not entirely accessible to general readers, the book is evenhanded in its treatment of Toussaint and will be a useful addition to library collections.

A knowledgeable biography that carefully considers the nuances of Toussaint’s character and the legends that surround him.