Customer Reviews

A Colony of Citizens: Revolution & Slave Emancipation in the French Caribbean, 1787-1804

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The end of slavery in the French Caribbean is a story that has many facets. This book looks at one of the smaller islands (Guadalupe) and tracks its progress as it tries to free itself from the grips of slavery. Dubios tells a very good story and it is well written. The book focuses on Guadalupe but also gives a sense of what is happening in the entire British and French Caribbean. Dubios in his other books really provides a complete picture of what is occurring in the Caribbean and they are all recommended.

This book is a brilliant corrective to those who might look solely to Europe to understand the formation and implication of the French Revolution. Dubois demonstrates that the Caribbean, far from being simply the colonial "periphery," was the central staging ground which lent the ideals of the French Revolution their most radical content, and where the limits of French republicanism were realized. He develops useful concepts like "Republican racism," uniquely assesses documents to reach new conclusions, and unfixes the often static definitions of citizenship. Highly recommended, even if your not a student of the Caribbean (which I am not).