knows the material better than any predecessor. Shelf Awareness Thoughtful and insightful. is a detailed and sympathetic account of a powerful historical figure. Read more of its virtues is to stand knowledgeably and disputatiously in the shadow of its predecessor, the first of the extensively researched books in English, which was 'The Black Jacobins,' from 1938, by C.L.R. New Yorker Any number of books have been written over the centuries about the leader of the Haitian slave revolution, but Toussaint Louverture, by Philippe Girard, is only the second in English to draw deeply on the original documents. Girard writes thoughtfully about the various contradictions of Louverture's life. Deeply researched and bracingly original, Toussaint Louverture is the definitive biography of one of the most influential people of his era, or any other. He warded off French invasions but embraced the cultural model of the French gentility.In death, Louverture quickly passed into legend, his memory inspiring abolitionist, black nationalist, and anti-colonialist movements well into the 20th century.

He helped free Saint-Domingue's slaves yet immediately restricted their rights in the interests of protecting the island's sugar production. He strove not only for abolition and independence, but to build Saint-Domingue's economic might and elevate his own social standing. As Girard shows, in life Louverture was not an idealist, but an ambitious pragmatist. In 1802, he was exiled to France, dying soon after as one of the most famous men in the world, variously feared and celebrated as the Black Napoleon. Louveture's ascendency was short-lived, however. Read more statesman who forged treaties with Britain, France, Spain, and the United States,empires that feared the effect his example would have on their slave regimes. By 1801, he was general and governor of Saint-Domingue, and an international. In 1791, the unassuming Louverture masterminded the only successful slave revolt in history. He even purchased slaves of his own.In Toussaint Louverture, Philippe Girard reveals the dramatic story of how Louverture transformed himself from lowly freedman to revolutionary hero. Yet he managed to secure his freedom and establish himself as a small-scale planter. Born into bondage in Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), the richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, he witnessed first-hand the torture of the enslaved population. Toussaint Louverture's life was one of hardship, triumph, and contradiction. BIC Classification: 1KJH 3JF BGH HBJK HBTV. The definitive biography of the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, leader of the only successful slave revolt in world history Num Pages: 352 pages, TBD. Description for Toussaint Louverture: A Revolutionary Life Hardcover.

Toussaint Louverture by Philippe Girard