The African Revolution: C.L.R. James’s Black Jacobins and the Haitian Revolution

The publication of C.L.R. James Black Jacobins in 1938 was a watershed moment in the historiography of the Haitian Revolution. Widely read and cited to this day, it is not an exaggeration to say that Black Jacobins continues to influence how scholars and popular readers alike understand the Haitian Revolution. One of the most important contributions of James’ work was to emphasize the role of Africans in what he rightly termed “the only successful slave revolt in history.” Indeed, one of James primary goals was, as he put it, to “write a book in which Africans or people of African descent instead of constantly being the object of other peoples’ exploitation and ferocity would themselves be taking action on a grand scale and shaping other people to their own needs” (v). However, James’ work presents a dilemma: on the one hand, much of what he wrote has been revised by subsequent historians; one the other hand, his work continues to present perhaps the most passionate portrayal of Haiti’s African revolutionaries. In this paper, I will assess James’ contribution and continued relevance to the study of the Haitian Revolution through a critical reappraisal of his portrayal of Africans in light of recent research.