Lydia Bailey

Oof, I did not consider that I may have reason to remove an author from my devour list, which admittedly, seems quite short-sighted of me... but Roberts' physical descriptions of the black inhabitants of Haiti almost stopped me from continuing the history lesson. I am shocked I missed this racism in the works I've already absorbed. Yet, I am itching to read a biography of Toussaint: "we have no other resources than destruction and fire. Bear in mind that the soil bathed with our sweat must not furnish our enemies with the smallest sustenance. Tear up the roads with shot; throw corpses and horses into all springs and wells; burn and annihilate everything in order that those who have come to reduce us to slavery may have before their eyes show more the image of that hell which they deserve."

I suppose most humans only partially see the light. I'm still deciding on whether or not I'll pursue Roberts to shed any more: "the pages of history are sprinkled with dolts, idiots, drunkards maintained in the highest offices -- mediocrities whose stubbornness has sacrificed armies, whose blindness has destroyed navies, whose bad judgement has ruined their countries' prestige, starves helpless people by the million, wrecked cities, toppled arts, civilization, learning and understanding in the dust -- and most of these fools' names hold unsullied place in the lying annals of their respective nations." show less

An interesting historical piece--both from the point of view that it was written over 60 years ago, and that it discusses a time more than 200 years before that.

Roberts clearly admired L'Ouverture (though he thought Dessalines a barbarian), and much of the achievements of the revolution, but his racism shines through, nevertheless.

Written from an unusual perspective when dealing with this topic--that is the American trade going on with Haiti before and during the revolution itself, It is a worthwhile read for many reasons. Not high art, not the last word on Haiti, but an informative and readable book that was very popular in its day and was made later into a movie.