The Black Jacobins

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The Black Jacobins (1938), written by the Afro-Trinidadian writer C.L.R. James (4 January 1901–19 May 1989), is a historical interpretation of the 1791-1804 Haitian revolution. Secker and Warburg first published this history in England in 1938. Later a second edition of the work was published in 1963. An appendix titled “From Toussaint L’Ouverature to Fidel Castro” was included in the 1963 publication.^[1]

James's book chronicles the story behind the San Domingo revolution and also the actions of the former slave Toussaint L'Ouverture to lead the revolution. First James examines the events leading up to the Revolution and how these events contributed to the social necessity for revolution. James establishes the reasons for the revolution before discussing the revolution itself. This allows him to provide context as well as a place to introduce the important factions and players in the revolution. After establishing the causes of the revolution James includes a section in which he looks at the revolution itself in depth. Throughout the entire book James puts a large emphasis on Toussaint L'Ouverture’s role in the revolution. He also discusses how he believes it was Toussaint’s unique background and skills that made him a successful leader for the rebel slaves. James views the event of the revolution from varying perspectives, notably exploring the Marxist point of view. The work also explores the economic relations between the Caribbean economy and the European economy during the era before the Haitian revolution.

This work is unique in many ways. James uses his idea of how historiography should be conducted as a justification for including his own ideas in his history. His reference to the presence of bias in the work, as well as ability to apply Marxist ideas to a history help James make this book unique. As a result, the text remains a valuable resource on the history of the Haitian as well as in the study of historiography.

Contents 1 James’s interpretation of historiography 2 Literary responses to the work 3 Bias (influence of Marxism) 4 Class struggles: Central to the work 5 Importance of Toussaint L’Ouverature 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

[edit] James’s interpretation of historiography

In the 1980 foreword, James claims he was “specially prepared to write The Black Jacobins”, having grown up in Trinidad and having researched the Russian revolution in depth while studying Marxism in England.^[2] Instead of focusing on the history of the Haitian revolution, in the foreword, written forty-two years after the first publication, James diverges to focus on the history of The Black Jacobins itself. In this section he includes information about his own background, his reasons for chronicling this history, and major people who influenced the work. He also boldly states that while he hopes others will elaborate on his research he does not believe others will be able to refute his history accuracy as he, “was never worried about what they would find, confident that my foundation would remain imperishable”^[3].

The Black Jacobins is the history of the Haitian revolution, “the only successful slave revolt in history”^[4]. In the foreword, James discusses his motives for chronicling the revolution, while also stating why this work is unique when he says “I would write a book in which Africans or people of African decent instead of constantly being the object of other peoples’ exploitation and ferocity would themselves be taking action on a grand scale and shaping other people to their own needs”^[5]. James motivation for this work is to give the people who were actually part of the revolution a voice. To do so, however, he does not stick to the traditional model of historical writing.

The preface provides James with a medium from which he can introduce the reader to both the area he will be writing about and his view on the nature of historiography. James believes that good historians must interpret historical situations and apply their own ideas and insights to them. Although this strays from a more traditional view of historical writing it is not unprecedented as often historiographers are presented with information together from unparallel sources and must piece it together. It is this unique view of historiography that allows James to include a bias in his work as he states, “the traditionally famous historians have been more artists than scientists”^[6]. The preface again helps James as it allows him to introduce the bias present in his work due to the emotions involved in the recounting of the revolution.

[edit] Literary responses to the work

Published at the onset of WWII the work was overlooked by many at first, however over the years it has established a place in academia for its historical significance as well as its contribution to historiography. Literary critics have consistently appreciated the value of this work since the publication of the first edition in 1938. In a review for The Hispanic American Historical Review (1940) Ludwell Lee Montague asserts that James “finds his way with skill through kaleidoscopic sequences of events in both Haiti and France, achieving clarity where complexities of class, color, and section have reduced others to vague confusion”^[7] . This review questions the validity of some of James’s conclusions but nevertheless complements James on the effort. While this review does not predict the impact The Black Jacobins will have on the academic community, it does appreciate the work as an “illuminating study”^[8] that will spark conversation at the very least. Another reviewer, W.G. Seabrook, gives The Black Jacobins an even warmer welcome in 1938 heralding James’s work as “a public service for which he merits the attention due a scholar who blazes the way in an all but neglected field”^[9] . Seabrook even proceeds to predict the importance of the work to Caribbean history in general and the probable extensive circulation of the book. These contemporary reviews reinforce the works importance in its field as they comment on the necessity for The Black Jacobins.

More than 25 years after the first publication of the work, The Black Jacobins was being used by authors to strengthen their arguments about Caribbean culture. For example, in his 1971 article “African Religious Survivals as Factors in American Slave Revolts” William C. Suttles uses James’s discussion of the voodoo in The Black Jacobins to describe how religion served as a means of conspiracy^[10]. James also builds from his own work in his 1963, Appendix: From Toussaint L’Ouverature to Fidel Castro.^[11] In this appendix James looks at patterns between more recent developments in the Caribbean and the Haitian revolution. Literary critic Santiago Valles summarizes what James attempts to do in the appendix: “In an appendix to the second edition, James noted intellectual and social movements in Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad during the 1920s and 1930s. First in Cuba, Haiti (1927), then in Brazil, Surinam and Trinidad (1931), other small groups faced the challenge of coming to terms with events which disrupted their understanding and connectedness to the wider world by revealing the relations of force”^[12] . Drawing from his own previous work allows James to show similarities between the Haitian revolution and recent movements in the Caribbean. This both strengthens his opinions in The Black Jacobins and allows him to make new points.

Today the book is still considered to be the one of the most authoritative texts on the Haitian revolution. Historians still continue to comment on the significance of the work and how it has paved the way for more detailed study of social and political movements in the Caribbean region. In a look at the role slaves themselves have played in Caribbean and American rebellions Adéléke Adéè̳kó̳ points specifically to The Black Jacobins influence on the perception of slaves in The Slaves Rebellion.^[13] In this modern work, published in 2005, Adéè̳kó̳ says, “The Black Jacobins stirs this high level of inspiration for its symbolic reconfiguration of the slaves’ will to freedom”^[14] . Contemporary and modern reviews appreciate both the value of James’s history and the value of James’s ideas regarding the revolution.

[edit] Bias (influence of Marxism)

In The Preface to the First Edition, James emphasizes that there may be bias in his work due to the nature of the Haitian revolution. In chronicling the story of the Africans taking action on a grand scale he attempts do to something that others before him have not. As there is no precedent to follow James establishes his own ideas in his history. As James’s historiography is somewhat unique he believes it is his duty to interpret history and insert his own ideas to it. James does not directly use the word bias however he mentions the impossibility of accurately portraying the emotions of the revolution as he says in the preface:

“The writer has sought not only to analyse, but to demonstrate in their movement, the economic forces of the age; their moulding of society and politics, of men in the mass and individual men; the powerful reaction of these on their environment at one of those rare moments when society is at boiling point and therefore fluid. The analysis is the science and the demonstration the art which is history. The violent conflicts of our age enable our practiced vision to see into the very bones of previous revolutions more easily then heretofore. Yet for that very reason it is impossible to recollect historical emotions in that tranquility which a great English writer, too narrowly, associated with poetry alone”^[15] .

Here James directly compares a historian’s job to that of an artist, and also discusses the impossibility of being completely unbiased in any historical work. This introduces James unique perspective on chronicling history. James also accepts bias in his form of historiography because each historian has influences and particular areas of study. James remarks that his background his appreciation and study of Marxism and the Russian revolution apparent in the foreword. Throughout the work James’s Marxist approach can be seen behind the history and that has led some critics to question the historical validity of The Black Jacobins.

The significance of bias in The Black Jacobins has been discussed since the book has been published. Montague references it in his 1940 review of the work, “The author’s sympathies and frame of reference are evident, but he tells his story with more restraint than can generally be found in works on this subject by others less plainly labeled”^[16]. Undoubtedly the bias is present, however Montague believes it is suppressed well. Others point to the bias as far more visible, “James work is radical, conceived with a Marxist framework, and favors the search for determinative factors within social dialects”^[17]. Adéè̳kó says that while bias detracts a little from the historical accuracy of the work, it allows James to raise many important ideas about the revolution. He goes on to say that instead of detracting from the meaning of the work this bias increases its importance through adding a level complexity. While the bias is undeniable, both recent and contemporary reviewers agree that James ideas and opinion of historiography make the work extremely valuable in the study of Caribbean history.

[edit] Class struggles: Central to the work

Through the Marxist bias James is able to convey ideas about how social class affected the revolution. This sets The Black Jacobins apart from other contemporary works is James’s focus on social class as opposed to the role skin color played in the revolution. Víctor Figueroa lists James’s contemporaries who particularly focus on the issue of race over class in his article “The Kingdom of Black Jacobins: C. L. R. James and Alejo Carpentier on the Haitian Revolution” to be Luis Palés Matos, Alejo Carpentier, and Edouard Glissant.^[18]

James focuses on the classes of individuals and how this shaped the revolution and subsequent history. Racism and the color of one’s skin still played a very large role in people’s judgments at the time when this work was published. In an attempt to draw away from this, James places a heavy emphasis on the different social classes each played their own part in the Haitian revolution. James is very thorough in his analysis of class, including not only the major classes in the Caribbean but also outsiders in France who played a role the revolution, such as the French bourgeoisie and British bourgeois.^[19] Víctor Figueroa, in The Kingdom of Black Jacobins: C.L.R. James and Alejo Carpentier on the Haitian Revolution, says that James Marxist influence may be the cause for this as he asserts, “James’s emphasis on Haiti and Africa reflects his resolve, […], to not allow race to be subsumed in the category of class, but rather to open a space within Marxist revolutionary agenda for the particular plights of the Black peoples of both continents”^[20] . Figueroa also goes on to say that although race is not a primary focus for this book, it goes hand in hand with class in terms of people’s perception at the time period. Another reason for James’s decision to write about class and it’s influence is because by focusing on this he directly supports ideas raised in some of his other works.^[21] In his writings James argues for socialists to support the emerging black nationalist movements, as this could lead to more socialist countries as well as providing these countries with a model to follow. The importance of class can be directly linked to his Marxist background. James can justify this focus on class by applying his own version of historiography to the Haitian revolution. James’s form of historiography shows that while James embraces a Marxist approach in the examination of social class in the revolution he can also stray from this to analyze the individual characters of the revolution, such as Toussaint L’ouverature. James’s focus on, and treatment of, Toussaint is interesting because by focusing on the individual James is drifting away from communist ideals. This exemplifies the importance of James’s form of historiography as it does not confine him but allows him to embrace ambiguous ideas.

[edit] Importance of Toussaint L’Ouverature

Toussaint L’Ouverature is considered by many to be the most important figure in the Haitian revolution. Although he spent the majority of his life as a slave, Toussaint had more opportunities presented to him than most. James comments on this by saying “both in body and mind he was far beyond the average slave”^[22] . Toussaint joined the revolution after its initiation and was immediately looked up to as a leader. He quickly established himself, organizing the Haitian people into the force that was able to break the French hold upon the colony of San Domingo. He then went on to be more than a military leader after the revolution was successful. Because of Toussaint large role in the revolution, James must include a large section about Toussaint, or his work would be an incomplete history. Throughout the text James’s attitude Toussaint is unclear as James asserts that while Toussaint is a great man, he may also be the product of a social necessity. While James establishes his respect for the brilliant military leader Toussaint L’Ouverature in the preface, he also makes it clear that he believes it was the slave’s passion for freedom that shaped Toussaint into the figure remembered today. James devotes two whole chapters, ‘The Rise of Toussaint’ & ‘Toussaint Seizes Power’ to Toussaint L’Ouverature however appears to have an ambiguous attitude towards him. James attitude can be seen clearly as he states, “men make history, and Toussaint made the history that he made because of the man he was”^[23] as well as “Toussaint did not make the revolution. It was the revolution that made Toussaint […] Great men make history, but only such history as it is possible for them to make. Their freedom of achievement is limited by the necessities of their environment”^[24] . This apparent contradiction is still a point of controversy among scholars, as James was vague in his opinion of Toussaint. Victor Figueroa attempts to shed light on this attitude however simply refers to James opinion as “Paradoxical”15 as he both “criticizes (and also implicitly celebrates)”^[25] Toussaint.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• James, C.L.R. The Black Jacobins. 3rd ed. London: Allison and Busby Limited, 1980
• Adeeko, Adeleke. The Slave's Rebellion: Literature, History, Orature. New York: Indiana UP, 2005.
• Figueroa, Víctor. "The Kingdom of Black Jacobins: C. L. R. James and Alejo Carpentier on the Haitian Revolution. " Afro - Hispanic Review 25.2 (2006): 55-71,227. Research Library. ProQuest. UC e-links, Berkeley, CA. 13 Nov. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/.
• Montague, Ludwell L. "The Black Jacobins. Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution Review." The Hispanic American Historical Review Vol. 20. (1940): pp. 129-130
• Santiago-Valles, W. F. "C. L. R. James: Asking Questions of the Past." Race & Class. 45. 1 (2003): 61-78. Saga Journals Online. UC e-links, Berkeley, CA. 13 Nov. 2008 http://rac.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/45/1/6
• Seabrook, S.G. "The Black Jacobins Review." The Journal of Negro History Vol. 24. (1939): pp 125-27.
• William, Suttles C. "African Religious Survivals as Factors in American Slave Revolts." The Journal of Negro History Vol. 56 (1971): pp. 97-104.

[edit] External links

• Extract from The Black Jacobins
• The Black Jacobins
• Conference in London in February 2008 to mark 'Seventy years of The Black Jacobins' organised by the London Socialist Historians Group

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