Julia Gaffield, PhD
banner
juliagaffield.bsky.social
Julia Gaffield, PhD
@juliagaffield.bsky.social
3.1K followers 1.9K following 140 posts
Historian (she/her) https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300255478/i-have-avenged-america/
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
I am thrilled to share the cover of my forthcoming book, I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom (June 2025 @yalepress.bsky.social)

The stunning painting is by Haitian-American artist Ulrick Jean-Pierre (ulrickjeanpierre.com)

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
Finished reading @juliagaffield.bsky.social 's biography of Jeans-Jaques Dessalines, one of the founding fathers of Haiti. The book is a story of what Dessalines did versus the way he has been sometimes inaccurately portrayed for political reasons as a bloodthirsty unthinking man unfit to rule. 1/
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
I feel silly publicizing a book in these times BUT my book describes how constitutional structures allowed the accumulation of generational wealth + rights for settlers and white people. These are the same advantages MAGA is trying to preserve today. Pre-order page:
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
🎯🧵"I now understand after reading this book why enslavers feared any free Black men, whether from foreign or domestic ships, intermixing with their enslaved population."
Finished reading @juliagaffield.bsky.social 's biography of Jeans-Jaques Dessalines, one of the founding fathers of Haiti. The book is a story of what Dessalines did versus the way he has been sometimes inaccurately portrayed for political reasons as a bloodthirsty unthinking man unfit to rule. 1/
Ahhhh!! Thank you @unlawfulentries.bsky.social!!! 🙌 I'm so grateful for this review!
Finished reading @juliagaffield.bsky.social 's biography of Jeans-Jaques Dessalines, one of the founding fathers of Haiti. The book is a story of what Dessalines did versus the way he has been sometimes inaccurately portrayed for political reasons as a bloodthirsty unthinking man unfit to rule. 1/
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
🤣 A three-year interim position is unusual... so it's a fair mistake! Thanks for your concern!!
I am just the interim editor! The plan was never for me to be the permanent editor!
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
Happy Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day! By happy coincidence I finished @juliagaffield.bsky.social 's excellent book today, learning the significance of October 17 in the process.
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haiti's first post-independence ruler, was not just a violent revolutionary, but a leader who dedicated himself to eliminating slavery and fighting for freedom at great personal cost. A new biography by @juliagaffield.bsky.social offers a full portrait.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines: Reassessing the Haitian revolutionary leader’s legacy
Historian Julia Gaffield discusses her recent biography on Haiti’s first leader, whose life she argues was unfairly tarnished by biased verdicts of history.
buff.ly
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
My colleague Jack Bouchard's book Terra Nova is out today! It's about early 16th-century mariners and the seasonal fishery around present-day Newfoundland, and its place within the Atlantic World. I cannot wait to read it

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
Terra Nova
A bottom-up story of the fishworkers, whalers, First Nations, merchantwomen, oceans, and animals who together made a new colonial world in the early Atlantic...
yalebooks.yale.edu
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
Launching my new seminar on Saint-Domingue and the world of the Haitian Revolution—looking fwd to discussing excellent works, esp. new books by Marlene Daut, @juliagaffield.bsky.social, and @malickghachem.bsky.social.
Reposted by Julia Gaffield, PhD
When Jefferson trashed Wheatley’s book, he hadn’t yet published a book of his own. I think about that sometimes.
In 1903, the Haitian historian Jules Rosemond argued in preparation for the centenary of Haitian independence that Jean-Jacques Dessalines was born on September 20, 1758, and today we commemorate the life of this leader of the Haitian Revolution.