Overview
- Focuses on a little-known group of primarily white, male, French philanthropists and their efforts to improve the lives of peoples of African descent in Saint-Domingue during the Haitiain Revolution
- Challenges simplistic notions of the Haitian Revolution that lean too heavily on a purported strict racial divide between black and white
- Considers the activities of philanthropists on both sides of the Atlantic to achieve universal human rights, looking beyond to the larger Atlantic abolition movement
Part of the book series: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies (CIPCSS)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
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.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Erica R. Johnson is Assistant Professor of History at Francis Marion University, USA. She specializes in the French Atlantic world.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Philanthropy and Race in the Haitian Revolution
Authors: Erica R. Johnson
Series Title: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76144-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-76143-5Published: 06 July 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-09413-3Published: 26 January 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-76144-2Published: 19 June 2018
Series ISSN: 2635-1633
Series E-ISSN: 2635-1641
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 249
Topics: Latin American History, Imperialism and Colonialism, History of France, Social History