Yale scholar Marlene Daut is one of the most renowned and acclaimed historians experts on Haitian history in the world. In her latest work, The First and Last King of Haiti, Daut chronicles the life and times of the nation’s first and only king, Henry Christophe. Not only does The First and Last King of Haiti chart the life of a fascinating historical figure, but it also provides a fresh new perspective on one of the most rich and significant countries on Earth. To celebrate the release of The First and Last King of Haiti, What We Reading sat with Marlene to talk about everything from Henry Christophe to the pride she feels as a public communicator!
Talk to us about The First and Last King of Haiti. Why did you choose to write it, and how was the process of putting pen to paper?
Despite having a rich and full history, Haiti is a place that is most often discussed within the frame of a single story that revolves around poverty, corruption, and disaster. But as the history of Haiti’s first and last king (Henry Christophe) demonstrates, Haiti is a place with a complex and fascinating history. While the contemporary media often portrays today’s Haiti as a land of perpetrators and victims, the story of King Henry of Haiti shows a defiant, proud, and self-sufficient country, whose freedom many elsewhere in the world sought to strangle.
My goal in producing public scholarship about this less well-known part of Haiti’s past is to not only be a part of the conversation but to help shape it. With The First and Last King of Haiti I tried to purposefully offer a more nuanced account through consultation of Christophe-era primary sources, such as letters, decrees, and newspapers, some of which can be found on my website: http://lagazetteroyale.com
What is the number one goal you want your work to have with readers?
By putting the spotlight on this much less well publicized part of Haitian history, I hope that a broad array of readers from many walks of life might be drawn to Christophe’s story. I also hope The First and Last King of Haiti might be assigned in both high school and college classrooms. The book not only encourages a wide reassessment of life after slavery, but exposes the numerous historical factors that have longitudinally contributed to the precarious uncertainty and insecurity in which the inhabitants of today’s Haiti live.
What do you think makes you stand out as an author?
I am deeply committed to making history accessible to everyone. My experience in educating the public on Haitian history spans diverse media, from traditional written articles to multimedia presentations to educational materials for young learners to pedagogical instruction for other educators.
To that end, I have appeared in documentaries about the Haitian Revolution like History Hit’s Independence or Death, and I was the educator for Ted-Ed’s animated short The First and Last King of Haiti. The latter has been viewed more than 650,000 times and has been translated into 24 different languages including French, Haitian Creole, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Kurdish, and Arabic; and I created a lesson with a quiz and essay prompts for the video, which 131 different educators have used to create unique lesson plans of their own.
In addition, I have provided primary and secondary school educators with original essays and lesson plans related to my research on the Haitian Revolution. For example, my article on the Haitian Revolution, “Independence or Death,” appears in The Black History Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas); my article, “Teaching Perspective: The Relation between the French and Haitian Revolutions,” has been widely consulted since it appeared in the Modern Language Association’s volume Teaching Representations of the French Revolution; and I helped the educational resource producers at Actively Learn turn another of my articles, “Inside the King of Haiti, The Wakanda of the Western Hemisphere” into a free lesson plan for middle school and high school teachers.
What would you say has been your biggest success so far?
While in some ways, I might say that my books are my biggest successes, I think what I am most proud of is having been thus far a fairly effective public communicator. Two of my articles for The Conversation, “Inside the Kingdom of Haiti, the Wakanda of the Western Hemisphere” and “When France Extorted Haiti—the Greatest Heist in History,” were republished in dozens of news outlets and have been translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Ukranian, Polish, and Brazilian Portuguese. I was also interviewed about the latter for Radio Dreyckland out of Germany; and my work continues to have a global reach that resonates with a diverse readership. My New York Times article Napoleon Isn’t a Hero to Celebrate (18 March 2021) was translated into French, Spanish, Turkish, and German. It also led to dozens of response op-eds around the world and was picked up by Le Courrier International, appearing in the newspaper’s print edition in April 2021.
My public engagement also includes appearances on platforms like BBC Sounds, NPR Weekend Edition, and France 24, where I have discussed the Haitian Revolution and related historical topics. I even appeared on PBS’s program To the Contrary where I discussed a very timely and important topic with host Bonnie Erbé: “CRT, Teaching History, and the Haitian Revolution.”
The last thing I would say about this is that I am extremely committed to historical accuracy in education, which I translate into articles and essays directed at popular audiences. I included extensive primary research, for example, in a widely read article I wrote for History Today, “The Wrongful Death of Toussaint Louverture,” which delves into one of the most crucial and defining episodes of Haitian revolutionary history: the tragic end of Toussaint Louverture, one of Haiti’s most well-known revolutionary heroes.
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What’s one tip you would give your younger self if you had the opportunity?
Hmm…well, I think I would tell younger me to follow her dreams, even if those dreams change over time and become unrecognizable.
It might be cliché, but, you know, when I look back at my life, I can honestly say that I have very few big regrets. I mean, everybody has little regrets: a phone call not made, a hand not held, a keepsake not kept. But I simply feel that, with respect to the big decisions in life, if I don’t like the direction where my life is heading, I can change that (indeed, I have had a few different academic jobs and I have lived all over the United States). It might not be easy, but there is almost always another choice.
A character from one of my favorite Haitian novels, Frédéric Marcelin’s Marilisse (1903), sums up my feelings about this rather perfectly: “I could be in despair. I am not, which proves that my memories are good and protects me against that useless thing, which serves no purpose, of regretting what you have done.”
So, I guess that is the advice I’d ultimately give to younger me: if you make a mistake, or you don’t want what you think you wanted, don’t despair. Look for another way.
And finally, what do you hope the future holds for you and your writing?
I am currently involved in two projects that really excite me. One is a children’s book and the other is a screenplay. I am also writing a biography of another historical figure, but I have not announced who it is yet!
Follow Marlene and all of her work on her website, Instagram and LinkedIn
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
