Abstract:
In 1791, the black slaves of the French colony of St. Domingo broke out in revolt against their masters, beginning an unprecedented revolution which resulted in the the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Republic of Haiti. The event has since shaped the western hemisphere and impacted our understanding of anticolonial movements, including their political motivations and historical consequences. Leonora Sansay's novel Secret History; or, the Horrors of St. Domingo offers a unique fictional vision of the revolution by drawing connections between colonial and anticolonial violence and domestic violence. By adapting this novel to the comic book form, I've visually juxtaposed these two forms of violence to better emphasize their connection, while using the medium to integrate influences from traditional Haitian art styles and play with modem perceptions of the Haitian Revolution.
