Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History By CLR James, Adapted by Sakina Karimjee and Nic Watts. Verso (2023).
CLR James (1902-1989) was a Trinidadian political activist and Marxist writer. One of James’ best known works was The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution (1938), which detailed the Haitian Revolution and the role of leader Toussaint Louverture. Before publishing The Black Jacobins, James wrote a play based on these events. The play holds historical significance as it was the very first to be written by a Black person and performed by Black actors in Britain. This script, which was presumed lost but then resurfaced in 2005, was recently adapted in 2023 into the graphic novel Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History by illustrators Sakina Karimjee and Nic Watts.
The Haitian Revolution, which lasted from 1791 to 1804, is the only successful slave revolt in history where thousands of enslaved people were able to overpower and defeat the colonial powers of the French, Spanish, and British. A key figure who led the people through various challenges and victories was Toussaint Louverture. This graphic novel sets the context for the revolution amongst the cruel conditions of slavery in what was formerly known as San Domingo. Louverture is first introduced as an aide of the rebellion leadership, but soon rises to prominence as he witnesses the ineptitude of said leadership and sees it as his duty to lead his own followers. The graphic novel takes readers through scenes of Louverture’s various political and military trials, ultimately leading to his demise and the final stages of the revolution.
Through the telling of Louverture’s story, readers gain the remarkable history of the Haitian Revolution. In addition, readers are given insight into the cruelty and deceptiveness of colonial powers while juxtaposed with the resolve and power of the San Domingo people to overthrow their colonizers. To the reader’s delight, these lessons are conveyed via the powerful tool of storytelling through art.
Cruelty and deception of colonial powers
Although it is not the centrepoint of the novel, the cruelty of the colonizers is woven into the backdrop of the story. The first page of the novel sets the scene – enslaved locals are whipped and tied as they are forced to work on a plantation. Other scenes detail inhumane punishments used by slave masters. In addition, the dialogue of the colonizers throughout the novel is steeped with racist ideologies. This allows readers to understand the conditions the enslaved people were living under and willing to risk their lives to revolt against. Readers also see the duplicitous nature of the colonizers.
Politicians present themselves as civilized statesmen, ready to negotiate with leaders such as Louverture, but ultimately betray and imprison Louverture leading to his demise. All of this lays bare the cruelty, deceptiveness and barbarity of the colonial actors. While none of this should come as a surprise to readers, the graphic novel media powerfully conveys the depravity of slavery and the necessity of revolution.
Liberty or death: Power in the masses
While Toussaint is the voice of the revolution in this novel, through his leadership and decision-making, it is clear that Louverture is powerless without the people. Louverture helps arm the people, but it is the people themselves who take up arms and are willing to lose their lives for their collective freedom.
Throughout history, it has been the working class people, fed up with the status quo, who stood up to their oppressors and freed themselves. At present, where freedom fighters from Tamil Eelam to Palestine, are vilified by neo-colonial governments, it is very powerful to see scenes of the masses defiant and ready to take up arms to win their liberty. While the masses aren’t given an active voice in the novel, the illustrations make their presence strong and clear, functioning as their own distinct character.
Graphic arts as a form of storytelling
It is fitting that James’ story of Toussaint Louverture started off as a play before it was adapted into a graphic novel. Art, in its various forms, has always been a powerful method for telling important stories and histories. Though essays and books can convey details of historical events, graphic novels, such as this one, can distill complex histories into short form reading – thanks to illustrations which tell the story through images. This allows readers to learn the story and history of Toussaint Louverture in just a few sittings.
While some finer details may be lost, other creative details are present in the meticulously drawn illustrations. One such example of this was how the colonizers were drawn with mosquitos flying around their heads while sweating profusely in all scenes of the novel to signify how unsuited their bodies were to the tropical conditions of San Domingo. The novel can, at times, be quite heavy with political dialogue and jargon, but the illustrations help cut through some of that weight. While the graphic novel does an excellent job of distilling a complex history into a short digestible read, readers can still get lost for hours in the details of the page-turning illustrations.
Since the Haitian Revolution, Haiti has unfortunately not been left without the interference of foreign parties. Just two decades after the revolution the French demanded reparations for slave owners burdening the country with a massive debt. This was followed by repeated invasions and occupations by the United States, the propping up of dictatorial regime and repeated U.S., Canadian and French sponsored coups against democratically elected officials.
Despite these challenges, the people of Haiti continue to fight against imperial interference and for social justice. The Haitian revolution reinforces the power and resolve of the Haitian people, and continues to be an inspiration for all oppressed people. This graphic novel is a timely and beautiful retelling of one of the great revolutions in history. As Sakina Karimjee, the illustrator of the novel, notes:
“The legacy of this story is hugely relevant to today. This story was a challenge to the racist narrative of the time, and is a challenge to it today, because it contains the notion that ordinary people, black people can fight against their oppression and win.”
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