Rethinking the Haitian Revolution

This new book, by one of the most eminent theorists in Haitian studies, offers a searching reinterpretation of Haitian history. Alex Dupuy revisits the early years of Haitian independence, reinscribing Haitian history into larger developments in the history of capitalism. He also offers fresh analyses of the class-color debate in Haitian history and of the controversial decision to pay an indemnity to France in 1825 in exchange for recognition. -- Alyssa Sepinwall, California State University, San Marcos
Dupuy has committed an act of scholarship. He offers a bold and provocative appreciation of the Haitian Revolution via an unapologetic application of historical materialist principles. Grounded in a class analysis of the ‘modes of production’ debate and uneven capitalist development, the author chides Haiti’s post-independence ruling classes for their dereliction in consolidating a strong state; their failure effectively to proletarianize the ex-slave peasant classes; and their overall inability to get beyond the divisive legacy of ‘race,’ color, and shade bequeathed to them by their colonial masters. In sum, this is a book about the primitive accumulation of capital in pre- and post-independent Haiti, a country that though remaining in the ‘periphery’ of global capitalism, has long been central to the development of the latter. The book offers an exquisite blend of history, philosophy, theory, and empirical evidence. -- Anton Allahar, Western University
Alex Dupuy astutely reexamines scholarship on the Haitian Revolution and post-revolutionary Haiti in this intellectually stimulating contribution. He systematically exposes the domestic and international intrigue that marked state and class formation and the contradictory consequences for former slaves and their descendant peasants and workers at the hands of the new ruling class forces in Haiti. A brilliant tour de force! -- Hilbourne Watson, Bucknell University
A trenchant assessment of the only successful slave revolution in the Western Hemisphere, this book offers a radical approach that is foregrounded in the relationship between capitalism and slavery in the French colony of Saint Domingue. Alex Dupuy cogently dismantles contemporary arguments about Haiti being the source of inspiration for Hegel’s concept of the master-slave dialectic. In addition, the book also provides an erudite and highly nuanced analysis of the practice of race, class, color, and national belonging in Haiti in the aftermath of the Revolution. This volume is important reading for all students of Haitian and Caribbean history and society. -- Linden F. Lewis, Bucknell University