Leben des J. J. Dessalines oder Jacob’s des Ersten Kaysers von Hayti (St. Domingo). Nebst Darstellung der Schreckensscenen, welche während des Aufstandes der Neger daselbst vorgefallen sind. Aus dem Französischen des Duebroca von K. L. M. Müller. Nebst dem Portrait des Dessalines.
Leipzig: : bey Johann Conrad Hinrichs, 1805. First German edition. In its first, blue paper binding. Binding chipped, opened at upper front joint. Untrimmed. Pages tanned. First 2 leaves loose. Otherwise in fine condition.
First edition in German of Jean-Louis Dubroca’s La vie de J. J. Dessalines, originally published in French, in Paris, 1804. Contains one of the earliest portraits of Dessalines, based on the first French edition.
Considered the first biography of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (c. 1758–1806) a former slave, one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave rebellion in history, which culminated in the elimination of slavery and the founding of the Republic of Haiti, the first independent black republic and the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere in 1804. Dessalines became the first ruler of an independent Haiti, as Emperor Jacques I (1804–1806) until being assassinated in 1806 by opponents who resisted his autocratic rule.
Written by Jean-Louis Dubroca (1757–1835), who also authored the first biography of Toussaint Louverture, as part of the ongoing propaganda of Bonaparte’s regime to vilify the Haiti revolution and its leaders. Both of Dubroca’s biographies were soon published in other languages, the present one in German (1805, Leipzig - the present edition), Spanish (1805, Madrid; 1806, Mexico), and Dutch (1805, Haarlem).
Scarce, no records in RBH. WorldCat locates only 3 copies in the US (NYPL; Berkeley; Harvard), in addition, a copy is held at the JCB Library.
The first German translation of the first biography of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of an independent Haiti, with one of the earliest portraits of the Emperor.
Price: €8,000.00