Revisiting the Governors General

spread of republican ideology from France. Second, Geggus explores the often-overlooked reactions of Spain and its empire (including Saint Domingue's closest neighbor, Santo Domingo) to the Haitian Revolution-in particular, through the story of black soldiers who were employed by the Spanish and were eventually forced to seek asylum throughout Spanish America. The investigation of each of these broad themes-the origins, development, and reverberations of the Haitian Revolution-is driven by meticulous research. Geggus has scoured archives in Europe, the Caribbean, the United States, and Latin America for evidence, utilizing sources in several languages. While he makes no claims to impartiality, Geggus does stress that much of the ambiguity and conflicting interpretations surrounding crucial moments of the Haitian Revolution (especially concerning black and colored Saint Dominguans) can beand should be-elucidated through research. Whereas the anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot has eyed the archives with distrust, Geggus celebrates their potential.1 Almost every essay is a demonstration of how much we can learn from archival evidence, even with its limitations and biases

Political science · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History