Today In Labor History April 7, 1804: Haitian general, Toussaint Louverture died on this day. He was one of the most prominent members of the Haitian revolution for independence from France. The slave revolt against the French began in 1791 with the call by Dutty Boukman, a vodou priest. Encouraged by the French and American revolutions. Louverture led 100,000 enslaved Haitians in revolt, winning their freedom in 1793. In 1804, Haiti became first free black republic in the world. The U.S. refused to recognize Haiti for the next 70 and France extracted millions in restitution, destroying any hope of ever moving out of deep poverty. Louverture was betrayed in the end and died in prison. For a fantastic history of the Haitian Revolution, read “The Black Jacobins,” by C.L.R.James.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #toussaintlouverture #haiti #revolution #slavery #racism #boukman #vodou #revolt #independence #BlackMastadon #prison #BlackJacobins #CLRJames #book #writer #author #nonfiction @bookstadon

Today In Labor History April 7, 1804: Haitian general, Toussaint Louverture died on this day. He was one of the most prominent members of the Haitian revolution for independence from France. The slave revolt against the French began in 1791 with the call by Dutty Boukman, a vodou priest. Encouraged by the French and American revolutions. Louverture led 100,000 enslaved Haitians in revolt, winning their freedom in 1793. In 1804, Haiti became first free black republic in the world. The U.S. refused to recognize Haiti for the next 70 and France extracted millions in restitution, destroying any hope of ever moving out of deep poverty. Louverture was betrayed in the end and died in prison. For a fantastic history of the Haitian Revolution, read “The Black Jacobins,” by C.L.R.James.

#LaborHistory #workingclass #haiti #Revolution #slavery #racism #colonialism #vodou #prison #BlackJacobins #CLRJames #book #writer #author #nonfiction @bookstadon

Happy Birthday CLR James! A pioneer of the Black Marxist tradition. Born in Trinidad, he'd go on to author one of the most important texts on the history of the Haitian Revolution, "Black Jacobins", as well as applying his Marxist approach to analyzing his favourite sport, Cricket.

His critical Marxism often put him in conflict with other parts of the left, but his intellectual contributions to the Pan-African movement and the socialist tradition as a whole are undisputed.

Haiti declared it's independence for the first time on this day in 1803, and won it a year later. However, colonial powers have never let the world's first Black Republic to develop in peace.

From French lenders to US invaders, debt and military attack have stifled Haiti's potential ever since.