Free and French in the Caribbean: Toussaint Louverture, Aimé Césaire, and Narratives of Loyal Opposition

In Free and French in the Caribbean, John Walsh studies the writings of Toussaint Louverture and Aimé Césaire to examine how they conceived of and narrated two defining events in the decolonializing of the French Caribbean: the revolution that freed the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1803 and the departmentalization of Martinique and other French colonies in 1946. Walsh emphasizes the connections between these events and the distinct legacies of emancipation that emerged through the narratives of revolution and nationhood passed on to successive generations. Part one concerns Toussaint's grasp of the limits of French Republicanism and his repositioning of the doctrine of the rights of man over against national sovereignty. Part two focuses on Césaire's reading of Toussaint as he confronted the issue of assimilation into the French Republic. By re-examining these figures in light of their multi-layered narratives, the book offers a deeper understanding of the historical and contemporary problem of free and French in the Caribbean.

Author: John Patrick Walsh
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 04/12/2013
Pages: 206
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780253006301

Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2014

About the Author

John Patrick Walsh is Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.