Sabotaged: Dreams of Utopia in Texas

by James Pratt

Alongside the various people moving into and through the nineteenth-century Texas frontier was a group of European intellectuals bent on establishing a socialist utopia near the hamlet of Dallas. Their inspiration, French philosopher Charles Fourier, envisioned a society in which basic human ambitions would be expressed and cultivated, tied together by the bonds of emotion. Fourier’s self-appointed disciple Victor Considerant led the establishment of La Réunion in 1855, organized under a Paris stock company. James Pratt weaves together the dramatic story of this utopia: the complex tale of a diverse group of Europeans who sought a new society but were forced to face the realities of life in nineteenth-century Texas.

Considerant’s followers endured a long ocean voyage with Spanish gunboats following in their Caribbean wake. They brushed blooming magnolias through Buffalo Bayou between Galveston Bay and Houston—so narrow a channel that two ships could not pass simultaneously. They walked for three weeks across barren country, came into conflict with the Texas legislature over land, and had to buy their stolen horses back from Chief Ned, a famous Delaware Indian living in Texas. They were buffeted in the rising political winds of abolition, and droughts ruined their crops. In the end, however, it was their flamboyant leader Victor Considerant who sabotaged their dream.
 

Genres: History

336 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2020

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Reviews

[Justin Bitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well-researched book with lots and lots of detail. I was expecting there to be more about the lives of the La Reunion colonists, but the majority of the book focuses on the build-up and demise, which I suppose is the main point (I was not familiar with the history before reading it).

[Ted Izatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories about the successes (rarely if ever) and failures (frequently) of groups that strive to create a utopia are fascinating to study. It is fascinating to see the philosophy and vision that drove a group of people to leave their lives in France and Belgium for what they were convinced would be a much better life in frontier Texas. The book is well documented from diaries and other reports and provides glimpses into what motivated these people and how their leaders were able to convince them to do things that they normally would not have done. While it was not a religious mission, the leaders felt they could do in Texas what Brigham Young had done in motivating the Mormons to cross the plains. Yet, that is the only comparison that seemed valid as this mission was sabotaged by misleading statements and leaders that couldn't hold things together. The story is very interesting and provides another glimpse into Texas history and the establishment of La Reunion near Dallas. I would have given it a higher rating if the author had provided more color on the personalities of the people and dug deeper into motivations and comparisons with other movements.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book focused far too long on the indulgences of one pompous aristocrat and doesn't even end up in Texas until you've read 100 pages. This book offered little to my understanding of the the state's history.