Black Spartacus
The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture
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Narrated by:
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Ben Arogundade
About this listen
Winner of the 2021 Wolfson History Prize
“Black Spartacus is a tour de force: by far the most complete, authoritative and persuasive biography of Toussaint that we are likely to have for a long time... An extraordinarily gripping read.” (David A. Bell, The Guardian)
A new interpretation of the life of the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture
Among the defining figures of the Age of Revolution, Toussaint Louverture is the most enigmatic. Though the Haitian revolutionary’s image has multiplied across the globe—appearing on banknotes and in bronze, on T-shirts and in film—the only definitive portrait executed in his lifetime has been lost. Well versed in the work of everyone from Machiavelli to Rousseau, he was nonetheless dismissed by Thomas Jefferson as a “cannibal.” A Caribbean acolyte of the European Enlightenment, Toussaint nurtured a class of black Catholic clergymen who became one of the pillars of his rule, while his supporters also believed he communicated with vodou spirits. And for a leader who once summed up his modus operandi with the phrase “Say little but do as much as possible,” he was a prolific and indefatigable correspondent, famous for exhausting the five secretaries he maintained, simultaneously, at the height of his power in the 1790s.
Employing groundbreaking archival research and a keen interpretive lens, Sudhir Hazareesingh restores Toussaint to his full complexity in Black Spartacus. At a time when his subject has, variously, been reduced to little more than a one-dimensional icon of liberation or criticized for his personal failings—his white mistresses, his early ownership of slaves, his authoritarianism —Hazareesingh proposes a new conception of Toussaint’s understanding of himself and his role in the Atlantic world of the late eighteenth century. Black Spartacus is a work of both biography and intellectual history, rich with insights into Toussaint’s fundamental hybridity—his ability to unite European, African, and Caribbean traditions in the service of his revolutionary aims. Hazareesingh offers a new and resonant interpretation of Toussaint’s racial politics, showing how he used Enlightenment ideas to argue for the equal dignity of all human beings while simultaneously insisting on his own world-historical importance and the universal pertinence of blackness - a message which chimed particularly powerfully among African Americans.
Ultimately, Black Spartacus offers a vigorous argument in favor of “getting back to Toussaint” - a call to take Haiti’s founding father seriously on his own terms, and to honor his role in shaping the postcolonial world to come.
Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize | Finalist for the PEN / Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography
Named a best book of the year by the The Economist | Times Literary Supplement | New Statesman
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
©2020 Sudhir Hazareesingh (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Armies of Deliverance
- A New History of the Civil War
- By: Elizabeth R. Varon
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Loyal Americans marched off to war in 1861 not to conquer the South but to liberate it. So argues Elizabeth R. Varon in Armies of Deliverance, a sweeping narrative of the Civil War and a bold new interpretation of Union and Confederate war aims. Northerners imagined the war as a crusade to deliver the Southern masses from slaveholder domination and to bring democracy, prosperity, and education to the region. As the war escalated, Lincoln and his allies built the case that emancipation would secure military victory and benefit the North and South alike.
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First rate history
- By John S. Pachter on 06-10-24
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American History, Volume 1
- 1492-1877
- By: Thomas S. Kidd
- Narrated by: Craig Hinkle
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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American History, Volume 1 surveys the broad sweep of American history from the first Native American societies to the end of the Reconstruction period, following the Civil War. Drawing on a deep range of research and years of classroom teaching experience, Thomas S. Kidd offers students an engaging overview of the first half of American history. The volume features illuminating stories of people from well known presidents and generals, to lesser-known men and women who struggled under slavery and other forms of oppression to make their place in American life.
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Too much of an agenda
- By anon on 03-19-23
By: Thomas S. Kidd
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the British Empire
- By: H. W. Crocker III
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing offends liberals more than Western imperialism—it is racism, sexism, and chauvinism all in one. And of course the epitome of Western imperialism is the British Empire, covering at its height a quarter of the globe’s surface and ruling a quarter of the world’s population. Here, best-selling author H. W. Crocker III exposes how the British Empire was actually one of the greatest establishers and defenders of freedom in history.
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More Propaganda than History
- By Mike on 10-21-19
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The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History
- By: Gary W. Gallagher - editor, Alan T. Nolan - editor
- Narrated by: Keith McCarthy
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Was the Confederacy doomed from the start in its struggle against the superior might of the Union? Did its forces fight heroically against all odds for the cause of states’ rights? In reality, these suggestions are an elaborate and intentional effort on the part of Southerners to rationalize the secession and the war itself. Unfortunately, skillful propagandists have been so successful in promoting this romanticized view that the Lost Cause has assumed a life of its own.
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Putting down "The Great Pro-Slavery Rebellion"
- By Buretto on 07-30-18
By: Gary W. Gallagher - editor, and others
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The Case for Nationalism
- How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free
- By: Rich Lowry
- Narrated by: Roy Worley
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Case for Nationalism, Lowry explains how nationalism was central to the American Project. It fueled the American Revolution and the ratification of the Constitution. It preserved the country during the Civil War. It led to the expansion of the American nation’s territory and power, and eventually to our invaluable contribution to creating an international system of self-governing nations.
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Truth does matter !
- By CFC on 11-06-19
By: Rich Lowry
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The Greek Revolution
- 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe
- By: Mark Mazower
- Narrated by: John Lee, Mark Mazower
- Length: 20 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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As Mark Mazower shows us in his enthralling and definitive new account, myths about the Greek War of Independence outpaced the facts from the very beginning, and for good reason. This was an unlikely cause, against long odds, a disorganized collection of Greek patriots up against what was still one of the most storied empires in the world, the Ottomans. The revolutionaries needed all the help they could get.
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Excellent, had it not been for the narrator
- By Jean N on 05-15-22
By: Mark Mazower
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The War That Forged a Nation
- Why the Civil War Still Matters
- By: James McPherson
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson considers why the Civil War remains so deeply embedded in our national psyche and identity. The drama and tragedy of the war help explain why the Civil War remains a topic of interest. But the legacy of the war extends far beyond historical interest or scholarly attention.
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A Different Kind of History from McPherson
- By Carole T. on 08-11-16
By: James McPherson
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Hero of Two Worlds
- The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times best-selling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy, told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of 1830.
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Thrillingly storytelling — brilliant narration
- By Byron on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
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Toussaint Louverture
- A Revolutionary Life
- By: Philippe Girard
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Philippe Girard shows how Toussaint Louverture transformed himself from lowly freedman into revolutionary hero as the mastermind of the bloody slave revolt of 1791. By 1801, Louverture was governor of the colony where he had once been a slave. But his lifelong quest to be accepted as a member of the colonial elite ended in despair: he spent the last year of his life in a French prison cell. His example nevertheless inspired anticolonial and Black nationalist movements well into the 20th century.
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very powerful story
- By jim on 01-06-17
By: Philippe Girard
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John Tyler, the Accidental President
- By: Edward P. Crapol
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." In this biography of the 10th president, Edward P. Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency. Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny and his belief in boundless territorial expansion.
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Terrible book :( Incredibly TEDIOUS.
- By Mike on 10-02-19
By: Edward P. Crapol
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The American Revolution
- A History [Modern Library Chronicles]
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The American Revolution signalled a great change in the course of world history and progress. From this colonial revolt sprouted ideals of liberty and democracy, and all the aspirations and ambitions of a new people. In this work, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood discusses the character and consequences of the revolution, grounding the events and ideas that shaped the American consciousness.
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The foremost scholar on the subject
- By Robert on 08-20-05
By: Gordon S. Wood
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Cuba (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
- An American History
- By: Ada Ferrer
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Ada Ferrer - prologue
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation.
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US Bash Job
- By Derek & Amber Witt on 04-14-22
By: Ada Ferrer
What listeners say about Black Spartacus
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mike
- 11-08-20
Liberator of Haiti and a lamp to the world
This book greatly expands on my knowledge of Toussaint Louverture the mythic liberator of Colonial Haiti. Haiti was a French slave colony which wrested goods and wealth on the backs of people stolen from Africa to the benefit of the people of France through the brutal and inhumane system of slavery.
Most of the now so civilized nations of Europe were not to long ago the most wretched people on earth, who learned to justify that which they would not tolerate and built their now wealthy countries by subjecting their brothers and sisters. Having gained the benefit of these ill gotten gains the same nations preach civility while occasionally overthrowing whatever rickety attempts at self government which might spring in the wake of their regimes.
If you want to understand Haitian history I strongly recommend this book.
Mike Dupuy
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4 people found this helpful
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- GUERDIE CHERY
- 07-31-21
great book
love it. the story is well presented and seemed to match the account of what actually happened.
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- Anonymous User
- 12-14-22
great story great narrator
really well written. great narration. some of the words and phrases are not translated from French.
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- Anonymous User
- 11-23-24
The history and the reading was great
The audiobook was excellent, and the history of Haiti was beyond words. I learned so much about Haiti’s history, particularly about Toussaint Louverture.
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- Christina
- 12-22-23
Well written and historically accurate
This book is well written and gives a true account of the events of the Haitian revolution and the life of TL without the usual bias for French and white sensibilities to whitewash the atrocities of slavery.
As a native Haitian, my only disappointment in the book is that the narrator did not speak Haitian Kreyol and so his narration was extremely lacking in the portions of the book written in Kreyol.
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- Aurora
- 05-21-24
Great history book, I've always wanted to learn more about the slaves that freed themselves, and now I have!
Thanks to Ryan Grimm for recommending this book! I found it very informative and it was great about providing context to the cultural milleau
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- Patrick Castor
- 05-04-24
the truth
none none none none none none none none none none was needed 💯 none none love amour liberty legality fraternity
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- VN
- 08-21-21
Enlightening!
A very thorough account of a key figure in world history and a must read to understand the Caribbean.
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- AyitiToma
- 04-21-22
Important Story
The story itself is important and captivating, but the reading performance detracts from it. The main problem is the reader's pronunciation of the French and Creole names and expressions, which are for the most unintelligible.
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- Kirk R. Jones
- 04-22-21
Terrible performance
Very frustrating listen. The narrator is very flat and monotone. Even the most exciting parts of the book, sounds like reading a list.
Worse, often key points are explained with quotations in French, but no English translations are not provided.
The book opens lamenting how the central figure is overlooked and unknown in the English world yet snobbishly refuses to explain his most triumphant rejoinders in English.
Also, the book is the fawning hero worship that tries to square too many circles.
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1 person found this helpful