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4.5
Most histories of Hispaniola, Saint-Domingue, and Haiti adopt the perspectives of European conquerors. By contrast, Casimir (Univ. of Haiti) begins his story not with the conquerors but with the conquered. He re-theorizes slavery in Haiti by asking how Africans—living at the apex of European imperialism—were able to instigate a successful revolution and sustain a sovereign state. His focus is on Haiti's rural peasants and their persistence despite total disenfranchisement. In Saint-Dominique, it was the colonizers who determined land use. Nevertheless, European colonists permitted their slaves to occupy small plots of "family land" (lakou) which was handed down through generations. These small plots became the locus for what Casimir calls a "counter-plantation system," encompassing gender relations, religion, markets, and art. Casimir underscores the importance of Haitian Kreyòl for promoting resistance over time, claiming that Haitians utilized their own language rather than adopt colonial discourse. Casimir has little interest in the West and its objectives. His focus is in how Haitians received the West, how they created their own worlds, and how they resisted replicating Western institutions in their own society. He provides a sweeping historical narrative comparable in scope to Joan Dayan's HAITI, HISTORY, AND THE GODS. This book is highly recommended for graduate students and faculty. -- Stephen D. Glazier, Yale University
