Sudhir Hazareesingh Black Spartacus : The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture Paperback Book Multicolor

The definitive modern biography of the great slave leader, military genius and revolutionary hero Toussaint LouvertureThe Haitian Revolution began in the French Caribbean colony of SaintDomingue with a slave revolt in August 1791, and culminated a dozen years later in the proclamation of the worlds first independent black state. After the abolition of slavery in 1793, Toussaint Louverture, himself a former slave, became the leader of the colonys black population, the commander of its republican army and eventually its governor. During the course of his extraordinary life he confronted some of the dominant forces of his age slavery, settler colonialism, imperialism and racial hierarchy. Treacherously seized by Napoleons invading army in 1802, this charismatic figure ended his days, in Wordsworths phrase, the most unhappy man of men, imprisoned in a fortress in France. Black Spartacus draws on a wealth of archival material, much of it overlooked by previous biographers, to follow every step of Louvertures singular journey, from his triumphs against French, Spanish and British troops to his skilful regional diplomacy, his Machiavellian dealings with successive French colonial administrators and his bold promulgation of an autonomous Constitution. Sudhir Hazareesingh shows that Louverture developed his unique vision and leadership not solely in response to imported Enlightenment ideals and revolutionary events in Europe and the Americas, but through a hybrid heritage of... Sudhir Hazareesingh Black Spartacus : The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture Paperback Book