Stirring the Pot of Haitian History by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Abstract

Reviewed by: Stirring the Pot of Haitian History by Michel-Rolph Trouillot Jean-Ederson Jean-Pierre Stirring the Pot of Haitian History. By Michel-Rolph Trouillot. Translated and edited by Mariana Past and Benjamin Hebblethwaite. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2021. ISBN: 978-1-800-85967-8. 240 pp. €90.00 hardback; €90.00 e-book. Forty-four years after its first publication, Ti difé boulé sou istoua Ayiti (1977), originally written in Kreyòl by Michel-Rolph Trouillot, is now available [End Page 190] to an English-speaking readership thanks to its brilliant translation by Mariana Past and Benjamin Hebblethwaite under the title Stirring the Pot of Haitian History. This seminal work of seven chapters is an in-depth analysis of the Haitian Revolution through the lens of Marxism and demonstrates how conflicts between and among social classes in Saint-Domingue have determined the future of the country. The first chapter introduces a gathering organized by the character Lamèsi on the return of Grinn Prominnin, whose mission was to investigate the roots of his community’s hardships. Arguing that the community’s issues are deeply grounded in the past, Grinn Prominnin begins to narrate Haiti’s history, starting with the settlement of the French in Saint-Domingue. Hence, chapter 2 focuses on the Kòd Noua, which is “the first major law that took shape in Haiti” (10). The storyteller argues that, despite its pretension of being in the interest of enslaved people, this sixty-article legal document “primarily served the interest of the classes controlling the State” (10). Chapter 3 is devoted to identifying the classes involved in the main conflict in Saint-Domingue’s society. To do this, the storyteller pinpoints the plantation system as the society’s primary industry. After revealing the features of this industry, Grinn Prominnin concludes that the primary conflict in Saint-Domingue was a dual one: enslaved people versus both plantation owners and French commissioners (38). He also emphasizes that this twin conflict was what led to the collapse of the colonial society. Chapter 4 is dedicated to the three coalitions that supported the power of the upper classes: the big colonists’ coalition, the free coalition, and the white coalition. During the 1789–1791 period, these coalitions split. Consequently, “the upper classes’ power was unraveling” (49). However, Grinn Prominnin argues, “that stumble wouldn’t have mattered if the slaves hadn’t gotten involved” (49). In other words, although the upper classes were losing ground, the revolution would not have taken place if the enslaved people had not revolted. With that being said, the storyteller identifies what mainly made the enslaved people decide to stand up for their freedom. First, the conflicts among other classes showed the enslaved people “how much power they could have with weapons in their hands” (51). Second, the idea of equality among all people outlined in the Declaration of the French bourgeoisie was one of the enslaved people’s sources of inspiration. Finally, and this is the most important point, the native-born culture strengthens the enslaved people’s conviction and enables them to better organize themselves by means of its three main features: land, Vodou, and the Creole language (53). Chapter 5 is centered on the Civil Commission of July 1792. Composed of Sonthonax, Polverel, [End Page 191] and Ailhaud, this commission was sent by the French government to keep Saint-Domingue under France’s control. However, because of what was happening in France, as well as Saint-Domingue’s political situation, the commissioners did not manage to establish a coalition between white and mulatto plantation owners to bring peace in the colony. Faced with the threat of other colonial powers at that time, the commissioners had to rely on the masses of enslaved people to keep Saint-Domingue under the control of France. That is why Sonthonax finally decided to honor the right of the enslaved to their legal freedom in August 1793. Chapter 6 is divided in three sections, elaborating on how Toussaint ended up taking control of Saint-Domingue. The first section unveils the political agenda and tactics of Toussaint’s organization. On the one hand, Toussaint demanded freedom and equality for all. On...