Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History; A Play in Three Acts

The C. L. R. James Archives

by C.L.R. James, Christian Høgsbjerg (Editor), Laurent Dubois (Contributor)

In 1934 C. L. R. James, the widely known Trinidadian intellectual, writer, and political activist, wrote the play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History , which was presumed lost until the rediscovery of a draft copy in 2005. The play's production, performed in 1936 at London's Westminster Theatre with a cast including the American star Paul Robeson, marked the first time black professional actors starred on the British stage in a play written by a black playwright. This edition includes the program, photographs, and reviews from that production, a contextual introduction and editorial notes on the play by Christian Høgsbjerg, and selected essays and letters by James and others. In Toussaint Louverture , James demonstrates the full tragedy and heroism of Louverture by showing how the Haitian revolutionary leader is caught in a dramatic conflict arising from the contradiction between the barbaric realities of New World slavery and the modern ideals of the Enlightenment. In his portrayal of the Haitian Revolution, James aspired to vindicate black accomplishments in the face of racism and to support the struggle for self-government in his native Caribbean. Toussaint Louverture is an indispensable companion work to The Black Jacobins (1938), James's classic account of Haiti's revolutionary struggle for liberation.

Genres: Plays, History, Drama, Politics, Read For School, College, Race

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

C. L. R. James (1901–1989), a Trinidadian historian, political activist, and writer, is the author of The Black Jacobins, an influential study of the Haitian Revolution and the classic book on sport and culture, Beyond a Boundary. His play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History was recently discovered in the archives and published Duke University Press.

Reviews

[Shanice Mcbean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading some of the reviews from the bourgeois press after the two day showing of the play in 1936, you'd be led to believe C. L. R. James was a rigid and 'wooden' play-write whose sole concern was portraying historical fact rather than displaying a creative flare with the theatrical form. Trust the bourgeois press to completely and utterly miss the point.

'Toussaint Louverture' cannot be abstracted from it's performance within a context. Two key things are important here. First, the nature of racism at the time. Popular racism stipulated that black people were oppressed not for social, political and economic reasons but because of our supposed biological and thus innate inferiority. The 'destined for nothing Negro' trope defined the nature of racism in a very sharp way. It is in this context that James writes 'Toussaint Louverture' not at all as a base and boring display of historical fact, but as a showing of genius, bravery, skill, power, will and dissent embodied in a real, (once) living black man: Toussaint Louverture.

The play is, intrinsically, a counter-narrative; a direct assault on biological racism. He used the form of theatre as a way of creating a living, breathing affront to the destined for nothing Negro bull and this was done perfectly by Paul Robeson, who stole the show in the same way Toussaint stole the show in politics and military.

Secondly, at the time of performance in 1936 Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was under threat from the imperialist noose of fascist Mussolini. Telling the story of the only successful slave revolt in history through the historically accurate play 'Toussaint Louverture' was a political warning mouthed through performance. Black people are not docile, dumb and doomed for nothingness. We are strong, powerful, can lead and can win our freedom. This was what the play said; it was a political message and the historical accuracy of the play made that political message real.

So, bun the bourgeois press and their narrow minded empty reviews of this play.

I hope one day I get to see the masses rise in the way they did in this play. Hopefully, the stage won't be in a theatre.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful thing to write the history of the Haitian revolution and then a brilliant play to get at its tragic essence.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[r · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great play, the dialogue is striking, bold and powerful; no character felt irrelevant to the play. As someone (ashamedly I admit) unfamiliar with the Haitian Revolution, I found the political events relayed largely straightforward to follow.

I'm not usually a fan of fictional retellings of historical events, but this I really enjoyed. It starts off a little slow, but perseverance is rewarded with a brilliantly written, enlightening play.

Editor has included a deleted scene, which I think should have been included, it is a little bloated in dialogue but clarifies some political events, which would have helped.

[bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

hurt my feelings. especially since it's based on the haitian revolution. everyone should read this. of course, it makes more sense when read with The Black Jacobins, but you can get necessary context from documentaries all the same.

i read the 1934 version of the play so i can't speak for the other versions, but i can say james' portrayal of toussaint louverture was quite heart wrenching. not that he is the most noble figure, but to see him rise, becoming to a great leader, then stumble and stagnate as he seemingly clings to power and certainly clings as a loyal subject would to france—

As long as the French do not try to re-establish slavery in San Domingo we shall be loyal to France. We are no longer Africans. We who live here shall never see Africa again, some of us born here have never seen it. Language we have none. French is now our language. Your English language we do not speak. We have no education, the little that some of us know we have learnt from France. France must teach us more. Those few of us who are Christians follow the French religion. Your English religion is different. Our future is with France, General. As long as she does not seek to re-establish slavery.

—only to see his loyalty dashed as he is betrayed by the very colonial power he loyally aligned himself with throughout. this betrayal ends with his imprisonment and lonely, cold death in the alps. there is a lot to be said about this from the play alone, but i'm not very articulate and can only gesticulate and make various sad faces about it.

toussaint's last words as a free man were brilliant, though, as he stuck to his declaration of freedom above all, even france:

“Do with me what you will. In destroying me you destroy only the trunk. But the tree of Negro liberty will flourish again, for its roots are many and deep.”

phew. a riveting work. 100 out of 10 would read again.

[Ahana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in one morning for Masterpieces in British Literature.

This is a play about double crosses and treason in service of great aims or self-interest – whichever is currently at the forefront of the minds of these historical figures. Surprisingly, James does not entirely deify Toussaint. He is presented as a military genius, sure, but he makes mistakes and frequently puts his trust in people and nations who have ulterior motives. He is complicated, which makes him human, and this play both a sympathetic and critical view of his actions. The supporting cast is just as layered, with Dessalines and the French all having their own goals. This is a story of when interests align, and the dire consequences of when they do not. A minor note is that there are a few historical discrepancies, for example Leclerc had died in 1802, yet he appears in a scene in mid 1803. I assume this is due to less information being available on these figures, and overall it does not take away from the drama and intrigue of the story, or the overall historical accuracy.
3.5 stars, but higher than the 3 stars in my list so rounded to 4 here.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second time reading this play, both times so that I can teach it to one of my classes. Though a little pricey, it’s a very teachable play, adequately incorporating many of the major figures of the Haitian Revolution. It’s a little unfortunate that this work preceded James’s magisterial The Black Jacobins, for it’s difficult to assess the play on its own merits and to see it not as simply prefiguring that work, which is superior. There aren’t too many great lines, no real memorable monologue, but Toussaint’s characterization is striking. There are hints of Hamlet during T’s most contemplative moments, but in contrast to that moody prince, T. is a man of action and moral righteousness. This edition comes with some excellent commentary, press releases, review of the English production that started Paul Robeson, and a few insightful shorter essays by James.

[Divia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the play more than the history written to contextualize it. I would have liked to see it performed bu alas no one is doing it now.

My favourite is definitely when Macaya kept on saying the same thing over and over again and Bullet finally called him an idiot and said that the King of France was guillotined and the black generals all lost it! I just loved that exchange! I read that piece alone about 5 times.

In the end Dessalines was the man! He went from a slave to the man announcing Haitian Independence. Toussaint had a decent idea. He wanted the French to aid in development of San Domingo by educating the people. He wasn't wrong really but it is unfortunate that he couldn't see the plotting of the French.

[Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read plays unless they're assigned reading for school. In this case, I was asked to read this play for my black classicism module for university and I have to say I deeply enjoyed it. I don't think I've sped through any required reading this fast since I (re)read Macbeth in year 11.
The only knowledge had before reading this play of the Haitian Revolution was through videos black historians/creators posted on social media, so getting to read some scholarship - even if this is a play based off historical events - I felt like I learnt a lot more about it. This was a great read to start off February with (yes I know Black History month is in October here in the UK but still).

[thea]

only have time to read the actual play, will explore more in the future

[Emily]

Read for school.

[Antonia Mandry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and compelling

An interesting mix of fact and fiction, history and art. Very recommended for those who are interested in Haiti and with themes that resound today.

[Joel Wall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historically interesting, but suffers from wanting to be a biography, which makes it quite overly expositional at times.

[Ilona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het toneelstuk an sich is goed geschreven en interessant, maar de opbouw van het boek zelf is heel rommelig. Het grootste gedeelte van het boek bestaat uit een uitgebreide introductie, wat geschiedenis, en na het toneelstuk nog recensies van toen het stuk in de jaren dertig van de twintigste eeuw werd opgevoerd, en een essay van C.L.R. James. Ik had gewoon een uitgeschreven toneelstuk verwacht zonder rommelige poespas eromheen, maar dat viel dus wat tegen.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume includes not only a three act play, but also tells about how Paul Robeson starred in the London 1936 production. I admire Paul Robeson a lot and felt saddened that he suffered so much from McCarthyism. In a way, Paul Robeson suffered the same fate as Toussaint Louverture because they were both betrayed by their country.

[Melina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quality play nestled in extensively researched context.