Edouard Jean. Toussaint Dirige Vers la Bataille

"In overthrowing me, you have cut only the trunk of the tree of liberty. It will spring again from the roots for they are numerous and deep."

INTRODUCTION

In August 1791, a massive slave uprising erupted in the French colony Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti. The rebellion was ignited by a Vodou service organized by Boukman, a Vodou houngan (High Priest). Historians stamp this revolt as the most celebrated event that launched the 13-year revolution which culminated in the independence of Haiti in 1804.

This pathfinder is a bibliographic guide designed to identify introductory sources that will be useful particularly for students and educators at the University at Albany who want to learn about the Haitian Revolution. All of the materials listed in the pathfinder are available at the University of Albany's campus libraries, through interlibrary loan, or on the World Wide Web.

ULIB = University at Albany Main Library Stacks
REF=Reference

These subject headings may be used when searching for books and other materials related to the Haitian Revolution. They are most useful for searching online catalogs, but they can also be used in searching indexes and abstracts as well as the World Wide Web.

Haitian Revolution: Haiti--History Haiti--History--Revolution, 1791-1804 Haiti--Politics and government--1791-1804	Toussaint L'Ouverture
Famous Characters: Toussaint Louverture, 1743?-1803 Dessalines, Jean-Jacques, 1758-1806 Henri Christophe, King of Haiti, 1767-1820 Boyer, Jean Pierre Leclerc, Charles Sonthonax, Leger Felicite, 1763-1813 Petion, Alexandre

Sometimes it is difficult to find relevant information through the online catalog. So, one may choose to browse the shelves that contain materials on the Haitian Revolution instead. The following ranges of call numbers represent the areas where these materials are located.

F 1901 - F 1930   =  ULIB (Third Floor)
REF F 1401 - F2161   =   ULIB Reference (First Floor)
REF Z 1511 - REF Z 1605   =   ULIB Reference (First Floor)

There are a number of texts on the Haitian Revolution which are recommended or considered classics. The texts listed below are just a few of these. While not a comprehensive list of the literature, they are considered seminal works in the study of the Revolution. Many of them also include good bibliographies which provide access to further readings.

• Fick, Carolyn E. The Making of Haiti: The Saint Domingue Revolution from Below. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1990.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1923 F5 1990
  
  This book argues that Haiti's movement for independence was put in motion by the 1791 slave revolt. It seeks to show that the slaves were the chief architects of the independence movement as well as their own freedom. Most accounts of the Haitian Revolution focus on the role of the North and famous leaders like Toussaint L'Ouverture, Dessalines, and Henri Christophe. Fick finds that independent expressions of popular slave resistance were just as significant to the triumph of the revolution as were the acts of the famous leaders. She also emphasizes the role of the South and West in the struggle toward independence. Includes original archival research in France and Britain on former slave troops in the South. Bibliography. Index.
  
  
• Heinl, Robert Debs, Gordon Heinl, Nancy. Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People, 1492-1995. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1996. pp. 37-156.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1921 H44 1996
  
  Provides a thorough history of Haiti from 1492 to the end of 1995. Chapters dealing specifically with the Haitian Revolution include: chapter one, Bois Cayman and Carmagnole, 1788-1794; chapter three, I Am Toussaint Louverture, 1794-1801; chapter four, The Death of St. Domingue, 1801-1803; and chapter five, We Must Live Free or Die, 1804-1820. Provides a chronology and a glossary for definitions of Creole and French terms.
  
  
• James, C.L.R. (Cyril Lionel Robert). The Black Jacobins: Toussaint Louverture and the San Domingo Revolution. New York: Vintage Books, c1963.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1923 T85 1963
  
  This classic, well-written and detailed book is considered to be the definitive account of the Haitian Revolution. James, a Trinidadian Trotskyist challenges the assumption held by the revolutionary Left that the revolution required specially trained leaders. James suggests an alternative strategy-a popular revolution led by ordinary people. The book is well documented and contains a good bibliography for further reference. A must read for anyone wanting to learn about the Haitian Revolution.
  
  
• Korngold, Ralph. Citizen Toussaint. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1944.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1923 T855
  
  This is a biography of Tousssaint L'Ouverture, a former slave who rose to become one of the most prominent leaders of the Haitian Revolution. Well worth reading. "…the kind of book that professional scholars talk about but never write-a work of scholarship that reads like a first-rate fiction" (J.S. Redding). No sources or footnotes given. Bibliography. Index.
  
  
• Ott, Thomas O. The Haitian Revolution 1789-1804. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press, 1973.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1923 O87
  
  "Attempts to provide an objective presentation of the beginning, events and conclusion of the Haitian Revolution. The bibliography lists manuscript collections, newspapers containing sailors' accounts, ships' logs, public documents, journals, memoirs, diaries and secondary sources, and includes a brief bibliographic essay evaluating previous publications on the period." (Chambers, Frances. Haiti, World Bibliographical Series, v. 39 , 1994. p.56.)
  
  
• Stein, Robert Louis. Léger Félicité Sonthonax: The Lost Sentinel of the Republic. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, c1985.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1923 S66 S73 1985
  
  "Supplies a biography of Sonthonax, appointed Civil Commissioner in Saint-Domingue by the Terror regime, who abolished slavery in the North province of the colony on August 29, 1793. Stein uses primary sources to re-evaluate Sonthonax's contribution to this period of Haitian history." (Chambers, Frances. Haiti, World Bibliographical Series, v. 39, 1994. p.49.)

Bibliographies are an excellent starting point when trying to find good books and prominent authors in a certain field. The following sources provide such information on Haitian Revolution literature.

• Latin American and the Caribbean: A Critical Guide to Research Sources. Eds. Covington, Paula H. et al. NY: Greenwood Press, 1992. (Bibliographies and Indexes in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, no. 2.)
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF F 1408 Z999 L385X 1992
  
  A key reference guide and the starting place for advanced students, scholars and researchers. It seeks to identify relevant bibliographic sources. The book is arranged by discipline and subdivided by country. Every section starts with an essay written by an authority in the particular field. Following the essays are annotated bibliographies of the major sources. Sections usually finish with a short-listing of related special collections. Basic sources are listed in some sections. Materials published before 1988 receive strongest coverage. Includes title, author, and subject indexes.
  
  
• Laguerre, Michel S. The Complete Haitiana: A Bibliographic Guide to the Scholarly Literature 1900-1980. Vol. 1. Millwood, NY: Kraus International Publications, c1982. pp. 277-414.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1915 Z999 L35X 1982
  
  This is the most extensive bibliography to the scholarly literature on Haiti, comprehensive and international in scope. Contains over 10,000 citations to books, dissertations, theses, essays, government documents, newspaper and periodical articles, and pamphlets arranged in sixty-five categories. Citations for works on the Haitian Revolution are located in chapters in the History of Haiti section. These chapters include: chapter eleven, General History, 1492-1980; chapter twelve, Slavery, Maroonage and Emancipation, 1492-1803; and chapter thirteen, Post Independence, 1804-1914.
  
  
• Pratt, Frantz. Haiti: Guide to the Periodical Literature in English, 1800-1990. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. pp. 171-76.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1915 Z999 H35 1991
  
  Provides an indexed bibliography of more than 5000 un-annotated citations to English periodical articles, entries in Dissertation Abstracts, and book reviews on Haiti. Arranged in nine categories, subdivided by subject. Citations to works on the Haitian Revolution are located in chapter VI in sections: E, Revolutionary Period, 1791-1804; and F, Independence, 1804-1825. Includes subject, author, and periodical source indexes.
  
  
• Lawless, Robert. Haiti: A Research Handbook. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1915 Z999 L39 1990
  
  "The handbook is organized into thirty-one subject chapters, each having an introductory section followed by an un-annotated listing of bibliographical citations. The introductory section provides selective and sometimes critical details on the books, articles and theses listed. Both English and Haitian Creole items are included in the bibliography, but publications in French and other foreign languages have been largely omitted. The author states that this book is aimed at both scholars and the lay public." (Chambers, Frances. Haiti, World Bibliographical Series, v. 39, 1994. p. 232.)
  
  
• Chambers, Frances. Haiti, World Bibliographical Series, v. 39. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara California; Denver, Colorado: Clio Press, c1994. pp. 37-66.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1915 Z999 C47 1994
  
  This bibliography contains 42 chapters of annotated entries of published works on Haiti. Includes such topics as Geography, Flora and Fauna, History, Folklore, Religion, Social Conditions, Politics and Government, Foreign Relations, Economy, Education, Language, and more. Entries dealing specifically with the Haitian Revolution are located in the History chapter in the section titled, Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804. Author, title, and subject indexes.
  
  
• Griffin, Charles C.. Latin America: A Guide to the Historical Literature. Austin: Published for the Conference on Latin American History by the University of Texas Press, 1971.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: Z 1601 G75
  
  Although this book was published in 1971, it continues to be one of the most useful bibliographic print sources for historical literature on Latin American. The compilers, experts in their field, provide some 7000 annotated citations under the broad headings of Reference, Background, Colonial Latin America, Independence, and Latin America Since Independence.
  
  
• Bibliographic Guide to Latin American Studies. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1978-.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF, F 1408 Z999 B52X
  
  This is an annual bibliography of publications cataloged by the Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, supplemented with additional works from the Library of Congress. Especially useful for finding current sources on Latin America on a particular subject, title, subject catalog, and author. Citations to works on the Haitian Revolution can be found by searching the indexes.
  
  

These sources contain biographies of famous individuals of the Haitian Revolution. In addition to the biographies that the following sources give, there are bibliographies which direct you where to go for further information.

• Biography Index. New York: H.W. Wilson Co.
  Online Access: Biography Index
  Location: UALB ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF CT 28 Z999 B56 1946-49-.
  (Note: For University at Albany faculty, staff, and students only.)
  
  A guide to biographical materials from primarily English language periodicals and books covering biographies, autobiographies, obituaries, dairies, critical studies, interviews, book reviews, memoirs, and more. Indexed arranged alphabetically by names of biographees: another section organizes these names by occupations and professions. Each year a bound cumulation covering September through August is produced. Access the online version to locate biographical sources for prominent figures of the Haitian Revolution in the UA Libraries.
  
  
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index. The Gale Group. Farmington Hills, MI.
  Online Access: Biography & Genealogy Master Index
  (Note: For University at Albany faculty, staff, and students only.)
  
  This index of names and their biographical sources is a good resource for locating basic biographical information. Sources indexed include: biographical dictionaries and who's whos, volumes of literary criticism, subject encyclopedias, and indexes. It contains more than 13.3 million biographical sketches. It does not index biography books about a single person; it only indexes reference works which contain numerous biographies.
  
  
• Biographical Dictionary of Latin American and Caribbean Political Leaders. Ed. Alexander, Robert Jackson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF F 1414.2 B48 1988
  
  Book contains 450 lengthy and signed biographies of 19th and 20th century political figures. Included are biographies on several Haitian Revolution leaders, such as Jean-Pierre Boyer, Henri Christophe, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Toussaint L'Ouverture, and Alexandre Pétion. The entries include cross-references and bibliographies. Name index.
  
  

The following sources provide useful background information for the study of the Haitian Revolution. They also provide bibliographies and reading lists that allow users to begin further research. These sources should primarily be used as reference works or as an introduction to the research topic.

• Perusse, Roland. Historical Dictionary of Haiti. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1977.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: F 1913 947
  
  This dictionary is a handy source for brief information on Haiti's individuals, historical events, politics, chronologies, sociology, places, publications, regionalisms, etc. Provides short definitions for some of the terms found in the literature on the Haitian Revolution. Includes a bibliography with other sources.
  
  
• The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean. Eds. Collier, Simon, Skidmore, Thomas E. and Blakemore, Harold. 2nd ed. Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. pp. 216-17.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF, F 1406 C36 1992
  
  A basic one-volume handbook which provides brief overviews within six sections: Physical Environment, The Economy, The Peoples, History, Politics and Society, and Culture. Information about the Haitian Revolution is located in the History section in: The Colonial Period, The Struggle for Independence and the Non-Latin American Caribbean since 1815. Indexed by subject, place, country region, and proper and personal name.
  
  
• Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Ed. Tenenbaum, Barbara A. Vol. 3.
  New York; London: C. Scribner's Sons, c1996. pp. 164-66.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF F 1406 E53 1996 V.3
  
  Contains 5287 articles ranging in length from one paragraph to several pages on history, economics, politics, class, warfare, gender, literature, and art. Includes index and bibliographical references. Provides a brief, basic overview of the Haitian Revolution.
  
  
• Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 13. Danbury, CT: Grolier, c2000. pp. 701-02.
  Location: ULIB (First Floor)
  Call Number: REF AE 5 E333 2000 V.13
  
  This encyclopedia provides limited, but useful introductory information on the Haitian Revolution suitable for the undergraduate. Discusses some causes and outcomes of the Revolution. Covers such issues as slavery and colonialism, class divisions, key people, and details of the battle.
  
  
• The Cambridge History of Latin America. Ed. Bethell, Leslie. Vol. 2. Cambridge; NY: Cambridge University Press, 1984-. pp. 234-37.
  Location: ULIB (Third Floor)
  Call Number: F 1410 C1834 1984 V.2
  
  This volume is one among eight which seeks to be the "first large scale authoritative survey of Latin America's unique historical experience during almost five centuries from the first contacts between the Native American Indians and Europeans (and the beginnings of the African slave trade) in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries to the present day " (Pref.). Provides information on the Haitian Revolution in chapter IV, The Independence of Latin America under the heading of section 4, The Independence of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A useful bibliography accompanies each chapter.
  
  

Research about the Haitian Revolution is found in the literature of Haiti history and Latin American and the Caribbean. To find related information, look in the indexes listed below under such topics as Haiti-history and Haiti-history-revolution. The order the indexes are displayed below reflects which ones are more likely to have a greater number of references to relevant published materials. For example, WorldCat is more likely to have a greater number of articles about the Haitian Revolution than Expanded Academic ASAP. Most of the indexes and abstracts listed below are available for University at Albany faculty, staff, and students only. They can be accessed through the UA Library Databases and Online Journal page at http://library.albany.edu/search.asp.

• WorldCat. Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Center, Inc., 1000 B.C.-.
  Online Access: World Cat
  
  Contains all the records cataloged by member libraries of Online Computing Library Center. Consists of more than 41 million records from before 1000 BC to the present. Entries are of any type of material (e.g., books, computer data files, computer programs, films and slides, journals, magazines, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes, archival materials, etc). Records representing 400 languages are included. In addition to locating worldwide sources on the Haitian Revolution, one can limit searches to locate items held strictly at the UA Libraries and/or the Internet.
  
  
• Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS Online)
  Online Access: HLAS Online
  Print Access: ULIB (First Floor), REF Z 1605 H23
  
  A selective bibliography on Latin American issues containing publications chosen and annotated by academics, edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. Alternates yearly publications between the humanities and social sciences. More than 5,000 works are chosen to be included each year by 130 worldwide scholars. Provides subject and author indexes.
  
  
• Historical Abstracts. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, c1998-.
  Online Access: Historical Abstracts
  
  Encompasses world history from 1450 to the present, excluding Canada and the United States. Covers economic, political, military, diplomatic, intellectual, cultural, social and religious history as well as the history of medicine, science and technology. Almost half of the articles come from English-language journals. This is a good database for locating scholarly resources on the Haitian Revolution.
  
  
• JSTOR Journal Storage: The Scholarly Journal Archive
  Online Access: JSTOR Journal Storage
  
  Provides citations and full text to journal articles in the disciplines of African American Studies, Asian Studies, Anthropology, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, Language and Literature, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Sociology, Statistics, Population Studies and more. Provides an assortment of articles on the Haitian Revolution.
  
  
• EBSCO Academic Search Elite. EBSCO Publishing.
  Online Access: Academic Search Elite
  
  This is a comprehensive, general index to academic journals covering the social sciences, humanities, education, general science, and multi-cultural studies. Full text is provided for almost 1,530 academic journals. The database also offers abstracts and indexing for close to 2,720 journals. Full text files date from January of 1990, while abstract and indexing files start from January of 1984.
  
  
• Dissertations Abstracts. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International (UMI), 1861-.
  Online Access: Dissertations Abstracts
  
  Contains abstracts of more than 1,560,000 doctoral dissertations and theses submitted by about 400 cooperating universities. Covers most U.S. and many Canadian, British and other European universities. The major list of the print version is alphabetically arranged by subject field and then by university. Includes subject and author indexes in each issue. The print version is separated into two volumes: (A) the humanities and social sciences; and (B) the sciences and engineering. Dissertations can be ordered from UMI in microfilm or hardcopy.
  
  
• Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI Online)
  Online Access: HAPI Online
  Print Access: ULIB (First Floor), REF F 1408 Z999 H25X
  
  This is a searchable web version of the Hispanic American Periodicals Index. It indexes over 400 social science and humanities journals with information about Latin America and the Caribbean. Contains bibliographic citations to documents, articles, original literary works, book reviews, and additional materials.
  
  
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences. Norwood, Mass.: SilverPlatter International.
  Online Access: International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
  
  This database indexes bibliographic information from international publications, including more than 2600 journals, in sociology, political science, economics and anthropology. Records come from over 70 languages and 100 countries. Almost 30 percent of the published records are in languages other than English. English translations are provided for most non-English titles.
  
  
• Expanded Academic ASAP. Information Access Co., 1980-.
  Online Access: Expanded Academic Index
  
  A general database containing information on history, sociology, religion, current events, astronomy, communications, psychology, humanities, law, communications and the general sciences. Provides access to newspapers, news magazines, and scholarly journals. Offers limited information on the Haitian Revolution.
  

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. The selection in this pathfinder represents some of the finest Internet resources on the Haitian Revolution.

• Bob Corbett's Haiti Page
  
  This site by Bob Corbett is the best place on the Internet to find reliable and authoritative information on the Haitian Revolution. Bob Corbett is a professor at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri who teaches classes on the Haitian Revolution. The site provides an excellent, four-part, historical essay on the revolution (see below), a chronology of important dates, an extensive bibliography, and links to other sites on Haiti. Corbett also has a popular Haiti Listserv which is highly recommended for individuals who are interested in Haiti.
  
  
• Bob Corbett's Haitian Revolution Essay
  Part One
  Part Two
  Part Three
  Part Four
  
  
• Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)
  Online Access: LANIC
  
  LANIC is a comprehensive site of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin on Latin America and the Caribbean. The site is searchable by both subject area and country. LANIC has a substantial amount of information on the Haitian Revolution.
  
  
• Knight, Franklin W., The Haitian Revolution. The American Historical Review 105.1 (2000): 29 pars.
  

  This informative, well-written article on the Revolution is well worth reading. Knight is a professor of history at John Hopkins University. Includes citations.