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Rainsford, The Black Empire of Haiti, 1805 (1806 German transla.)
Geschichte der Insel Haiti, oder St. Domingo, besonders des aus derselben errichteten Negerreichs: aus dem Englischen des Marcus Rainsford Esqu.;
vormaligen, Hauptmanns be idem dritten Weistin-dischen Regimente; Mit einem Kurfer: no identified translator or editor, xii+427p, Hamburg, Adolph
Schmidt, 1806. (A TOC starts on p. xi. Lacks index. Marcus Rainsford, 1758-1817, was a career officer in the British Army who first visited Haiti in 1799.
The present book is a translation of Rainsford’s An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti; Comprehending a view of the principal transactions
in the revolution of Saint Domingue; With its ancient and modern state: London, 1805 (LLMC No. 31677). His was one of the earliest accounts of the
slave uprising in the French colony of Saint-Domingue that began in August 1791. It goes on to describe the subsequent warfare that at different times
involved French, Spanish, and British troops; usually allied with various internal factions in Haiti. His book includes the first known representations
of Toussaint Louverture, who emerged as the principal Negro leader; engravings derived from Rainsford’s talented sketches and careful descriptions.
Also included is extensive documentation of the revolution. Rainsford provides disturbing accounts of the brutal treatment of the slave population by
their French masters, but also describes the atrocities committed on all sides in the course of the ensuing struggle. Although the British initially
tried to take advantage of the slave revolution by seizing a part of the island for themselves, they were eventually driven out by combined French and
local forces under the leadership of Toussaint-Louverture. Although sometime enemies, the British came to respect Toussaint because of what they viewed
as his chivalrous behavior during their phase of the conflict. In fact, Toussaint’s lenient behavior toward the British was subsequently used against
him by his foreign enemies, notably Napoleon Bonaparte, and his onetime allies among the local mullato population, notably André Rigaud. In any event,
shortly after the British were driven out of Saint-Domingue, their wider struggle against Napoleonic France came to dominate their strategic
thinking. They thus had every motivation to consider Tousasint an ally. Whether for that reason or as a reflection of his personal feelings, Rainsford’s
account of the early years of the Negro Republic is quite favorable to Toussaint and his people’s struggle
Title:   Geschichte der Insel Hayti oder St. Domingo : besonders des auf derselben errichteten Negerreichs / aus dem Englischen des Markus Rainsford.
OCLC Number:   869751489
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Vol. 1YesNo