“.... knowledge is power, ... knowledge is safety, ... knowledge is happiness”
-Thomas Jefferson to George Ticknor, 1817
Join us for our ongoing Pursuits of Knowledge series exploring the enduring legacy of curiosity, innovation, and learning inspired by Thomas Jefferson, and the people and paths that created the United States.
Food and beverages, including award-winning Jefferson Vineyards wine, will be available for purchase.
Event Details
- Concessions and seating open at 5:30pm and the program begins promptly at 6pm.
- Meet the author and book signing available after the program.
- Complimentary parking is available at the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center
About the Book
I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom
“My name has become a horror to all those who want slavery,” declared Jean Jacques Dessalines as he announced the independence of Haiti, the most radical nation state during the Age of Revolution and the first country ever to permanently outlaw slavery. Enslaved for the first thirty years of his life, Dessalines (c. 1758–1806) joined the revolution that abolished slavery within the French colony. Then he became a general in the colonial army of the new French Republic. When it was discovered that France once again supported slavery, Dessalines declared war on his former allies. Fighting under the slogan “Liberty or Death,” his army forced the French to evacuate in late 1803. At the start of the new year, Dessalines declared independence from France and became the leader of a free Haiti.
A hero to Haitians for centuries, Dessalines is portrayed abroad as barbarous and violent. Yet this caricature derives not from facts—as Julia Gaffield demonstrates with extensive new research—but from the fears of contemporary enslavers. Showcasing the man behind the myths, Gaffield reveals Dessalines’s deep suffering, warm friendships, and unwavering commitment to destroying slavery, racism, and colonialism, and his bold insistence on his people’s right to liberty and equality.
About the Author
Julia Gaffield is an Associate Professor of History at William & Mary and is the Interim Editor of the William and Mary Quarterly. She is the author of Haitian Connections in the Atlantic World: Recognition after Revolution (UNC, 2015) and I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti's Fight for Freedom (Yale 2025).
About the Moderator
An award-winning author, scholar, and professor specializing in Haitian history and culture, Marlene L. Daut's most recent book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe (Knopf, 2025), explores the fascinating life of Haiti’s only king while delving into the complex history of a 19th-century Caribbean monarchy. Her other books include Tropics of Haiti: Race and the Literary History of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (Liverpool UP, 2015); Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism (Palgrave, 2017); and Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution (UNC Press, 2023), co-winner of the Frederick Douglass Book Prize.
