I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom

by Julia Gaffield

A moving and humane portrait of the abolitionist revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led Haiti's fight for independence from French colonial rule
"My name has become a horror to all those who want slavery," declared Jean-Jacques Dessalines as he announced the independence of Haiti, the most radical nation-state during the Age of Revolution and the first country ever to permanently outlaw slavery. Enslaved for the first thirty years of his life, Dessalines (c. 1758-1806) joined the revolution that abolished slavery within the French colony. Then he became a general in the colonial army of the new French Republic. When it was discovered that France once again supported slavery, Dessalines declared war on his former allies. Fighting under the slogan "Liberty or Death," his army forced the French to evacuate in late 1803. At the start of the new year, Dessalines declared independence from France and became the leader of a free Haiti.

A hero to Haitians for centuries, Dessalines is portrayed abroad as barbarous and violent. Yet this caricature derives not from facts--as Julia Gaffield demonstrates with extensive new research--but from the fears of contemporary enslavers. Showcasing the man behind the myths, Gaffield reveals Dessalines's deep suffering, warm friendships, and unwavering commitment to destroying slavery, racism, and colonialism, and his bold insistence on his people's right to liberty and equality.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

345 pages, Hardcover

First published June 17, 2025

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Liberté ou la mort"
While Dessalines was seen as a hero to the Haitian people, he has generally been vilified outside of that nation. So, I was excited to come across a biography of Dessalines, the abolitionist and revolutionary who led the country that issued the “world’s second successful Declaration of Independence”. Using more contemporary sources, the author Julia Gaffield shows us a man much more complex than he is usually given credit for, and dispels some of the myths that, sadly, have been associated with him. A great read.

[Douglas Grion Filho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the most fascinating people to have ever lived. The last two pages of the epilogue go really hard.

[Tyara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dessalines was a remarkable man, fighting at the vanguard of a remarkable people to whom we owe so much. The book makes a point I've often pondered myself: the discrediting of Haiti necessitates the (racist) caricaturing of Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the discrediting of the Haitian Revolution. The fact that the Western popular and historiographic understanding of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and the Haitian Revolution as a whole, are based largely on the accounts of the colonists who just lost their "property" (i.e. slaves) and French Napoleonic propagandist Dubroca, is damning. I think Gaffield has done a good job in (re)contextualising the history, accessing primary sources as much as possible, working with Haitian historians and providing ample footnotes and references I got to double check. She also has a website which contains a lot of her research on Dessalines and the Haitian Revolution which I think is worth checking out.

I'll end with a quote directly from the book: "It is clear today, however, that Dessalines was one of the greatest revolutionaries of recent centuries. Jean-Jacques Dessalines issued the world's second successful Declaration of Independence, and in doing so he founded the first abolitionist state in the Americas. His was a revolution fought by enslaved people, but it was also the founding of a modern polity by enslaved people. As such, its significance is simply unequaled. To Haiti and to Dessalines, the world continues to owe an immense debt. Dessalines's Haiti opened the door to abolition around the world."

[Mason Wyss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes an important, measured intervention in the debate around the massacres of white people during the revolution for Haitian independence. Most importantly, Gaffield emphasizes that the formerly enslaved and self-emancipated people of Haiti did not know that Leclerc and Rochambeau’s expedition and war of subjugation would be the last. It was still possible that white supporters of Rochambeau would provide intelligence and material support to the French in the event of another invasion. So, one can understand why people might kill those who had supported and might support again their subjugation.

Her writing style is a bit grating at times, though. The worst of this, to me, is that sometimes she anticipates what Dessalines would do later at early points in the biography. I would prefer she had just told the narrative instead of letting the figure of Dessalines at the height of his power cast a shadow on his early life. And in general the writing on his early life could be better. In one instance she writes in chapter 2 that the relationships he formed in early life were the foundation for his success in the revolution, but does not elaborate which relationships or how. Later on chapter 2 she also writes, “Each week these thousands were policed and surveilled by agents of the state. Nevertheless, in the hustle and bustle of the market enslaved people also found freedom, kinship, and community, using these occasions to socialize and worship,” but again does not say how freedom was found or in what ways they worshiped in the market.

Ultimately, it is a worthwhile read for those interested in the Louverturian state and in the foundation of the Haitian empire.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really excited about jumping into this book especially after having to read The Black Jacobins by C.L.R. James earlier this year. This was a refresher since Julia Gaffield utilized more contemporary sources for this book. This can be used as a master study on psychological campaigns, deception, betrayal, the failures and continuation of a revolution. We get a lesson on how propaganda can be weaponized to undermine a revolution and how that influence can last for several centuries. There are still those who try to paint Dessalines as a blood thirsty, anti-white warlord. Even Dessalines himself saw this coming and asks us to look at everything that he and other Haitians went through, and perhaps then, we’ll be less judgmental to how a people react to the brutalities of slavery and colonialism. We get a glimpse on how Dessalines navigates his environment whenever tensions arise between revolution and nation-building. Deception was essential for the survival of the Haitian Revolution, and Dessalines made very well use of it. We see his resolve and commitment to the independence of Hayti and military genius. Playing both sides and defecting from the French as soon as he got the opportunity, all the while he was recruiting and developing his rebel army. Dessalines always knew that the French were staunchly committed in reinstating slavery on the island, even when their rhetoric would say otherwise. This book could also be used as a study on who could potentially betray a revolution. Factionalism was the downfall of Dessalines, Alexandre Pétion (who fought alongside Dessalines against the French) began a conspiracy to assassinate the revolutionary leader after Dessalines’s administration and government began plans on confiscating lands that were acquired during slavery, which Pétion was very protective of. We must learn from the successes and failures of the Haitian Revolution and have this history in mind whenever we see Hayti being covered on the news today, especially from western media. Hayti is still being punished to this day for defying and challenging one of Western Civilization’s greatest sins and becoming the first abolitionist state in the hemisphere. The spirit of Dessalines will forever be called by the people of Hayti whenever they fight for their liberty and dignity.
“Liberte ou la Mort”.

[Rosa Angelone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a book on Henri Christophe earlier this year and I've Avenged America had me thinking about going back and re-reading it right away. Haiti is fascinating. Not only for what happens but the intense way people react to its history. From the first moments to today's headlines people can not help but have outsized opinions often based on second and third hand accounts. 

In a binary U.S  American way my natural inclination is to say slave holders- bad and enslaved freedom fighters are good. That is true. However, Haitian history demands more attention to be paid than that. 

What does it mean to grow up in a society where the great freedom fighter Tousiant Overture was both enslaved and a slave owner of a great general in that fight? In a terrible bloody civil war full of massacre, why does one man turn into poster boy for contemporary and future soap box conservatives but other men are ignored? 

I especially liked reading about how sincerely the men and women (because the women are not silent even if by nature of the biography they do not play a main role) took the words of liberty and equality coming out of France. 

This is a book I am glad I read but I need to read more. The story is complex and I need more..that is a sign of how good this book is though not a detriment. 

[Isaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of, if not the first, biographies for Dessalines in Anglophone literature. You couldn't ask for much more, as this biography serves as a great introduction not only to Dessalines but to other characters of the Haitian Revolution as well. It accomplishes the valiant task of exploring exactly who Dessalines was and his leadership within the Haitian Revolution and later the Haitian government. Viewed as notorious and disreputable by the larger European world, what we find in this story is, and I hate to say the cliché of a “complex individual”, but if I were to put it simplistically, a man dedicated to the freedom of his people.

[gaverne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern classic.

[Licieli Olivo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good book, but the author’s writing style can be pretty dense at times.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julia Gaffield has written a very interesting book about Dessalines and Haiti's early independence days. I haven't read much of Haiti's history beyond L'Overture's fight for independence from France and the reparations they were forced to pay France. I have found a few more books on this part of the country's history that I hope to read.