Black Crown

The epic story of a man born into Caribbean slavery, who defeated Napoleon's armies and crowned himself a free black king.

How did a Caribbean child, born into plantation slavery, come to defeat Napoleon's armies in battle and crown himself king of the first free black nation in the Americas? This is the story of Henry Christophe: one of the most remarkable, yet least known, figures from the Age of Revolution.

Christophe fought as a child soldier in the American War of Independence, before rising to prominence during the Haitian Revolution as one of Toussaint Louverture's top generals, commanding troops against Bonaparte's invasion. Following Haitian independence, Christophe's ambition for rule helped plunge the country into civil war. He crowned himself King Henry I of Haiti, and his attempts to build a modern black state won the support of leading British abolitionists.

Christophe saw himself as an Enlightenment ruler, and his kingdom produced great literary works, epic fortresses, and opulent palaces. But while he was a proud anti-imperialist and fought off French plots against him, the Haitian people chafed under his rule. After ten years on the throne, he committed suicide rather than face being overthrown. Christophe's mountaintop Citadelle still stands, as Haiti's sole World Heritage site—a monument to a revolutionary black monarchy, in a world of empire and slavery.

Black Crown grasps the essential tragedy of history, in all its ambiguity and contingency. The Telegraph

With narrative verve and a deep understanding of the country's extraordinary past, Clammer opens a window onto the life and times of one of the most tragic figures of the francophone Antilles, le roi Christophe. The Spectator

Paul Clammer brings this extraordinary story to life in his deeply researched biography of Christophe, the first to appear in decades...a detailed and rewarding read. History Today

An excellent record of many different aspects of Haiti's little-known history. Liberation

An important contribution to Haiti's little-known history. Morning Star

A great historical narrative that introduces the reader to an array of fascinating characters in an age of revolution. Counterfire

A rich story...important and well-written. The Zambia Daily Mail

Impressive scope...Clammer's biography will become compulsory reading for all those interested in the transition from colonial Saint-Domingue to independent Haiti. Compellingly written and including a revealing choice of illustrations. Revue d'Histoire Haïtienne

Meticulously researched and compellingly written, Black Crown is the biography of Henry Christophe we have been waiting for. Through Christophe's story, Clammer describes the country's transition from plantation colony to independent nation-state. Essential reading, not only for those interested in the history of Haiti but also for anyone seeking to understand the emergence of the modern Atlantic world. Charles Forsdick, co-author of Toussaint Louverture: A Black Jacobin in the Age of Revolutions

The majesty of Haiti's foundations is reflected in the almost unreal story of King Henry Christophe. Bold, nationalistic, and unrelenting, Christophe long occupied outside imaginations that for a century subjected him to myth and ridicule. Black Crown is a major corrective to this: a carefully researched, beautifully written and deeply absorbing biography. It shines on every page with subtle insights on a story too little understood. Paul Clammer's triumph is to recover the man, his country, and his age, and present Haiti's proud black king in all his conflicting glory. Matthew J. Smith, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, University College of London

This adds greatly to our growing understanding of the Haitian Revolution, its turbulent aftermath and the cutthroat politics of revolutionary Haiti. Clammer seems to have left no stone unturned in his research and brings a great deal to the table for both Haiti scholars and the general reader wishing to understand the reign of King Henry Christophe. Black Crown also represents another point of evidence for an interesting question—do you have to be a professional academic to write a great history book? Clearly not. Johnhenry Gonzalez, University of Cambridge, author of Maroon Nation: A History of Revolutionary Haiti