The Haitians: A Decolonial History

Latin America in Translation

by Jean Casimir, Walter D. Mignolo (Foreword), Laurent Dubois (Translator)

In this sweeping history, leading Haitian intellectual Jean Casimir argues that the story of Haiti should not begin with the usual image of Saint-Domingue as the richest colony of the eighteenth century. Rather, it begins with a reconstruction of how individuals from Africa, in the midst of the golden age of imperialism, created a sovereign society based on political imagination and a radical rejection of the colonial order, persisting even through the U.S. occupation in 1915.

The Haitians also critically retheorizes the very nature of slavery, colonialism, and sovereignty. Here, Casimir centers the perspectives of Haiti's moun andeyo—the largely African-descended rural peasantry. Asking how these systematically marginalized and silenced people survived in the face of almost complete political disenfranchisement, Casimir identifies what he calls a counter-plantation system. Derived from Caribbean political and cultural practices, the counter-plantation encompassed consistent reliance on small-scale landholding. Casimir shows how lakou, small plots of land often inhabited by generations of the same family, were and continue to be sites of resistance even in the face of structural disadvantages originating in colonial times, some of which continue to be maintained by the Haitian government with support from outside powers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Grad School, Audiobook, Race

446 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2020

Reviews

[Linus · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me 5 months to finish and may have been the longest, challenging book I've ever read but it was wholly worth it! A beautiful and complex telling of the history of the Haitian people and their uncompromising resistance to colonial oppression of every kind (US, French, etc). So much can be learned from their story and history about how to Live and Survive and Resist amidst a despotic state (like the US) by building strong constellation of familial and communal relations and mutual aid outside the capitalist evils of market economics. Could not recommend enough.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this expecting a history... That is in the title, after all. My assumption was that the aim of the book was a strongly revisionist history of Haiti, but that isn't the 'Decolonial' in the title at all... It is less a history than a Meta analysis of Haitian history. Perhaps if I had a strong grounding in the history of Haiti I would have gotten more out of this, but in the end, I mostly felt lost and confused, and if anything feel even more confused about Haitian history than I was at the start! It is barely organized thematically, and has not even a pretense of a chronological approach, not to mention clearly assuming I already have a fairly deep knowledge of 18th/19th c. Haitian history and various figures therein.

I guess the mistake of choosing this one is partly on me... but I also would never have suspected *this* to be a book chosen for recording as an audiobook given just how niche it is in appeal! I don't feel I know anything more about Haiti beyond the occasional highly specialized vignette, which is nevertheless quite divorced from understanding its context.

It is clearly a well written, and well done, book for what the author presumably intended, but utterly not what I expected.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not the ideal reader for this book, so I assume my rating will change with a second reading after getting some background in Haitian history. It is hard to follow a work challenging the dominant narrative when you don't know the dominant narrative.

I'm guessing further reading and a second read will show nuance where now I see only repetitiveness.

[Isaiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A foundational understanding of the Haitian Revolution is essential before delving into this text. While it is not imperative to possess an exhaustive knowledge, familiarity with key figures such as Louverture, Dessalines, Christophe, Pétion, and Boyer is highly recommended. Do not be misled by the title…this work does not present a strictly chronological decolonial narrative of Haitian history.

Although it adheres to such a framework in certain sections, it also ventures into theoretical analysis and, to a significant extent, historiography.

[Aina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so sorry but this was such a lengthy read that seemed to only talk in circles, making the same points several times and with no proper chronological organization and specific examples. Just lengthy descriptions of the same point. I know not every historical book could be as good and readable as The Indigenous History of the United States, but goodness. What a disappointment.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing piece of writing. Opened my eyes to new perspectives on history. A definite must read for someone interested in history (especially of the Americas).

[Brant · Rating 2 out of 5]

More critical theory than historiography at times.

[Fran Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shouldn’t be considered a history book instead critical theory, requires extensive knowledge that I feel the general reader wouldn’t have and I certainly didn’t have

[Djamilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I might have bit more than I could chew with this one lol. It took me forever to read since this is very different from what I usually read. I was already 20% I when I realized that this book had first been published in French which would have definitely made it easier for me to go through…. However, it was very very informative. It talked about the Haitian revolution but more importantly about the language we use when we talk about it. I never realized how Eurocentric it actually is. A lot of semantics, some of it I’m sure went right over my head. It also made the book unnecessarily tedious and dry (for me, at least).

My main takeaway is really how the Haitian leaders of the revolution never took the time to conceptualize what freedom is to Haitian people so they’ve always been guided by capitalistic, imperialistic, even racist/colorist and classist ideals. It was quite disturbing, but it also explains so much IMO...

This book ignited so many conversations with my family and really made me think which I enjoyed. However, it was a bit too complex for me considering that my knowledge of Haitian history was limited to conversations I’ve witnessed at family gatherings.

Overall, this is a 3.5.