The Black Jacobins

The Black Jacobins

Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution

Summary

'James is a titan of twentieth-century politics and culture' Sunday Times

'The Black Jacobins is not only a groundbreaking historical work; it is a masterpiece in storytelling and analysis' Gary Younge

The iconic study of the Haitian revolution, by one of the most important historians of the twentieth century


C. L. R. James's pioneering account of the 1791 San Domingo slave revolt and the creation of the republic of Haiti changed the way colonial history was written. By putting the experiences of the slave rebels, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, centre stage, James made them agents of their own story. His work, written as part of the fight to end colonialism in Africa, helped inspire radical liberation movements worldwide, from Black Power to Castro's revolution in the Caribbean.

With an Introduction by Christienna Fryar

Reviews

  • The black Plato of our generation ... the founding father of African emancipation.
    The Times

About the author

C L R James

C. L. R. James was born in Trinidad in 1901 and was one of the prominent figures in the West Indian diaspora. He wrote extensively on Caribbean history, Marxist theory, literary criticism, Western civilisation, African politics, cricket and popular culture. He died in 1989.
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