The Haitian Revolution: Capitalism, Slavery and

The Haitian Revolution: Capitalism, Slavery and Counter-Modernity (Critical South)

It is impossible to understand capitalism without analyzing slavery, an institution that tied together three world regions: Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The exploitation of slave labor led to a form of proto-globalization in which violence was indispensable to the production of wealth. Slavery also gave rise to a culture centered on the maximization of profit, one that disregarded the exploited slave laborers, who were not considered human beings but turned into mere things owned by masters who would also own the slavesâ€™ descendants.

Against the background of this expanding circulation of capital and slave labor, the first revolution in Latin America took place: the Haitian Revolution, which began in 1791 and culminated with Haitiâ€™s declaration of independence in 1804. In addition to being the first, this revolution was also the most radical and original, and perhaps for this very reason the most forcefully repressed. Taking the Haitian Revolution as a paradigmatic case, GrÃ¼ner shows that modernity is not a linear evolution from the center to the periphery but rather a co-production developed in the context of highly unequal power relations where extreme forms of conquest and exploitation were an essential part of capital accumulation.Â He also shows that the Haitian Revolution opened up a path to a different kind of modernity, a â€˜counter-modernity,â€™ a path on which Latin America and the Caribbean have travelled ever since.
A classic work of critical theory from a Latin American perspective, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of critical and cultural theory and of Latin American history as well as anyone concerned with the nature and global impact of capitalism, colonialism and race.
Country USA
Brand Polity
Manufacturer Polity
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9781509535484
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781509535484
ReleaseDate 2019-11-25

Country	USA
Brand	Polity
Manufacturer	Polity
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9781509535484
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781509535484
ReleaseDate	2019-11-25

The Haitian Revolution: Capitalism, Slavery and Counter-Modernity (Critical South)