Philanthropy and Race in the Haitian Revolution (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies)

"This book examines the ways in which a minority of primarily white, male, French philanthropists used their social standing and talents to improve the lives of peoples of African descent in Saint-Domingue during the crucial period of the Haitian Revolution. They went to great lengths to advocate for the application of universal human rights through political activities, academic societies, religious charity, influence on public opinion, and fraternity in the armed services. The motives for their benevolence ran the gamut from genuine altruism to the selfish pursuit of prestige, which could, on occasion, lead to political or economic benefit from aiding blacks and people of color. This book offers a view that takes into account the efforts of all peoples who worked to end slavery and establish racial equality in Saint-Domingue and challenges simplistic notions of the Haitian Revolution, which lean too heavily on an assumed strict racial divide between black and white."-- Provided by publisher Annotation This book examines the ways in which a minority of primarily white, male, French philanthropists used their social standing and talents to improve the lives of peoples of African descent in Saint-Domingue during the crucial period of the Haitian Revolution. They went to great lengths to advocate for the application of universal human rights through political activities, academic societies, religious charity, influence on public opinion, and fraternity in the armed services. The motives for their benevolence ran the gamut from genuine altruism to the selfish pursuit of prestige, which could, on occasion, lead to political or economic benefit from aiding blacks and people of color. This book offers a view that takes into account the efforts of all peoples who worked to end slavery and establish racial equality in Saint-Domingue and challenges simplistic notions of the Haitian Revolution, which lean too heavily on an assumed strict racial divide between black and white Preface and Acknowledgements 6 Note on Transliteration and Terminology 9 Contents 10 Introduction 12 Faith in Humanity: Philanthropists in the Colonial Clergy 33 Freeing the Mind: Breaking the Chains of Ideological Enslavement 78 Revolutionary Instruction: Creating Educational Equality in the Revolutionary French Atlantic 104 Liberating Public Opinion: The Press and a Saint-Dominguan Public Sphere 122 Brothers in Arms: Racial Equality in the Saint-Dominguan Colonial Forces 150 Representatives of Each Race: Abolishing Inequalities in Colonial Politics 184 Conclusion: Atlantic Philanthropists in Revolutionary Saint-Domingue 222 Chronology 235 Bibliography 239 Primary Sources 239 Archival Manuscript Sources 239 Printed Contemporary Sources 240 Newspapers and Journals 242 Secondary Sources 243 Monographs, Edited Volumes, and Dissertations 243 Articles and Book Chapters 248 Index 252