A moving and humane portrait of the abolitionist revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led Haiti’s fight for independence from French colonial rule   “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. A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year 2025 “To better understand Haiti’s current plight . . . the tale of Jean-Jacques Dessalines is enlightening. . . . Gaffield paints a revisionist portrait of Dessalines as a brave freedom-fighter. Had it not been for Dessalines, slavery would probably have been reimposed in Haiti, Ms. Gaffield argues, setting back the global abolitionist movement.”—David C. Adams, Economist Newsletter on Latin America “Gaffield’s book leads the way to redressing one of the greatest historical injustices of modern times: the relegation of Dessalines to essentially a nobody. The silences and discourses that disparage him are also the silences and strategies to disqualify Haiti and the place of both the emperor and the country in the liberation of America.”―Lyonel Trouillot, AyiboPost (translated from the French) “In her groundbreaking biography, [Gaffield] has succeeded in the vital mission of offering a faithful account of Dessalines’s life, while underscoring his immense contributions not simply to Haitian freedom, but to the transatlantic abolitionist movement.”—Marlene L. Daut, Public Books “The picture that emerges is of a fierce freedom-fighter, deadly to his enemies, but willing to make peace—though he struggled to find partners in doing so. . . . Gaffield is an historian, not a political theorist, but the history she uncovers contributes to ongoing, more wide-ranging reassessments of political traditions that are intertwined with political and military conflicts across the globe.”—Paul Henry Rosenberg, Liberal Currents “Gaffield’s book sets the record straight in a carefully researched and compelling account of the leader’s revolutionary life.”―Carolyn Fick, Journal of Military History “An important contribution to both scholarly and popular understandings of the struggle against slavery, the age of revolutions, anticolonial revolt, and Caribbean history.”―Amanda Perry, H-Net Reviews “[Gaffield] succeeds in portraying a multifaceted character―far removed from the mere status of a warrior to which some have sought to confine him.”―Michel Acacia, Journal of Haitian Studies 2025 HSA Book Prize Honorable Mention, sponsored by the Haitian Studies Association “At last, a biography of Jean‑Jacques Dessalines, the Haitian par excellence, the only hero of Independence to enter the Vodou pantheon! Julia Gaffield reconstructs the life of the father of the country with exhaustive research and easy‑to‑read prose that avoids value judgments while reflecting a sympathy for her subject that courses through the book.”—Jean Casimir, Université d’État d’Haïti “Charting Dessalines’s remarkable journey from enslavement to leadership of a revolutionary army and radical anticolonial nation‑state, Gaffield probes his character and contradictions more carefully than any scholar before her, offering brilliant insights into the political history of warfare, statecraft, and the struggle for human freedom.”—Vincent Brown, author of Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War “Julia Gaffield’s long‑awaited biography of Jean‑Jacques Dessalines paints a compelling portrait of one of Haiti’s most enigmatic leaders, a formerly enslaved man who became the nation’s first head of state. Based on prodigious new research, this fascinating book is also propulsively readable. A stunning achievement.”—Ada Ferrer, Princeton University “Beautifully and brilliantly told, this story of revolution, power, and political imagination challenges long-standing misrepre