UCL Institute of the Americas Caribbean Series: Paul Clammer, Black Crown

Henry Christophe was born enslaved on a plantation but helped triumph over Napoleon Bonaparte’s invading troops during the Haitian Revolution as one of Toussaint Louverture’s leading generals. Following Haitian independence, his attempts to build a modern free nation led to him crowning himself King Henry I. The Kingdom of Haiti produced great literary works, epic fortresses and opulent palaces and was proudly supported by British abolitionists. Yet in a hostile world of imperial slavery, the kingdom also embodied the tensions of new-found freedom as its people chafed under Christophe’s state-building project of national defence. How could a revolutionary black monarchy navigate an age of empire?

Paul Clammer is an independent researcher and is the author of Black Crown: Henry Christophe, the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean’s Forgotten Kingdom, 2023. He has lived in Haiti and also wrote the Bradt Travel Guide to Haiti, the only English-language guidebook to the country. Over 20 years he has contributed to more than 45 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, including working as the lead author on their Jamaica and Caribbean Islands guides.

Mark your calendars and join us for the UCL Institute of Americas Caribbean Seminar series 2023-2024.