Toussaint Louverture : a revolutionary life / Philippe Girard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Girard, Philippe R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Toussaint Louverture, 1743-1803.

Toussaint Louverture.

Haiti--History--Revolution, 1791-1804--Biography.

Haiti.

History.

Revolutionaries--Haiti--Biography.

Revolutionaries.

Generals--Haiti--Biography.

Generals.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

340 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, [2016]

Summary:

"Toussaint Louverture's life was one of hardship, triumph, and contradiction. It began on Saint-Domingue, the richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, where he witnessed first-hand the torture of the enslaved population. Yet he managed to earn his freedom and establish himself as a small-scale planter. He even purchased slaves of his own. In Toussaint Louverture, Philippe Girard tells the incredible tale of how Louverture transformed himself from lowly freedman to revolutionary hero. Working as a coachman for his wealthy, white owners, Louverture traveled across Saint-Domingue, building a network among slaves and free blacks that would form the basis of the slave revolt he engineered in 1791. What followed was a decade of unprecedented bloodletting: about 200,000 people in the colony of Saint-Domingue were killed in battle or murdered. By 1801, Louverture was general and governor of the colony, now called Haiti. But his lifelong quest to be accepted as a member of the French colonial elite ended in despair: in 1802, on Napoleon's orders, he was exiled to France, where he spent the last year of his life in a prison cell. Ten years in the making, Toussaint Louverture is based on extensive archival research in France, Britain, Spain, the United States, and the Caribbean. The book contains many revelations about Louverture's life, from a previously unknown first marriage to the circumstances of his manumission, his exact role in the outbreak of the 1791 Haitian slave revolt, his actions as governor of France's richest colony, and the tragic nature of his death."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Aristocrat, c. 1740

Child, c. 1743-1754

Slave, 1754

Revolutionary apprentice, 1757-1773

Family man, 1761-1785

Freedman, c. 1772-1779

Slave driver, 1779-1781

Muleteer, 1781-1789

Witness, 1788-1791

Rebel, 1791

Monarchist, 1792

Spanish officer, 1793-1794

French patriot, 1794-1796

Politician, 1796-1798

Diplomat, 1798-1800

Planter, 1800-1801

Governor general, early 1801

God? Late 1801

Renegade, early 1802

Prisoner, 1802-1803

Icon, 1803-present.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-323) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Girard, Philippe R., author. Toussaint Louverture.

ISBN:

9780465094134

0465094139

OCLC:

965960185

Publisher Number:

40026642341