Description
Book SynopsisIn this thorough social and political history Anne Eller breaks with dominant narratives of the history of the Dominican Republic and its relationship with Haiti by tracing the complicated history of its independence between 1822 and 1865, showing how the Dominican Republic's political roots are deeply entwined with Haiti's.
Trade Review"In doing away with simplistic, jingoistic evaluations of relationships between and among Caribbean actors, Eller allows readers to better appreciate the relationship of the eventual Dominican overthrow of the Spanish annexation to Puerto Rican and Cuban struggles for independence from Spain. Highly recommended." -- W. J. Nelson * Choice *
"Anne Eller’s pathbreaking study provides the first social history of the Restoration War, moving purposefully away from elite accounts to explore what the Haitian and Domimnican people on the ground were thinking and feeling." -- Gavin O'Toole * Latin American Review of Books *
"Eller’s book is an important addition to the historiography on anti-colonial struggles. Her globalized perspective is insightful as it offers the reader a fresh way of looking at events in Hispaniola within the context of global competition for interests in the Caribbean." -- Bekeh Utietiang * Journal of Global South Studies *
"For those of us descended from the island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic,
We Dream Together offers historical lessons that should encourage a reconfiguration of identity that centers the social, economic, and political relationships forged between oppressed communities on both sides of the island’s internal border." -- Sandy Placido * Black Perspectives *
“With
We Dream Together, Anne Eller has produced not only an invaluable contribution to the academic field of history, but also a forceful manifesto.” -- Milagros Ricourt * American Historical Review *
“Exhaustively researched and eloquently argued.
We Dream Together is an important work for everyone interested in Haiti and the Dominican Republic to absorb and to ponder.” -- Eric Paul Roorda * Hispanic American Historical Review *
"A thorough, panoptic study of the sociopolitical dynamics at work in the Dominican Republic . . . . The strength of the scholarship is astounding." -- Sophie Maríñez * H-Haiti, H-Net Reviews *
"Successful in dealing with the challenge of keeping all the various protagonists, political forces and international events in play along with foregrounding the everyday lives of inhabitants. . . . A welcome addition to an important new direction in the nineteenth-century Caribbean history. . . . She proves that a full understanding of the past is not possible without unearthing the sometimes surprising network of connections that underpin historical events." -- J. Michael Dash * Slavery & Abolition *
"Anne Eller’s richly researched, intricately built book takes us to the 1844 to 1865 period during which Dominican independence was twice won, first against Haiti and then from Spain. . . . With a stereoscopic vision that encompasses both minute local details and the regional context,
We Dream Together succeeds in raising the stature of the Dominican War of Restoration within the larger context of Caribbean post-emancipation struggles against racism and colonialism." -- Samuel Martínez * European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies *
Table of ContentsTimeline ix
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction. Roots and Branches of the Tree of Liberty 1
1. Life by Steam: The Dominican Republic's First Republic, 1844–1861 21
2. Soon It Will Be Mexico's Turn: Caribbean Empire and Dominican Annexation 59
3. The White Race Is Destined to Occupy This Island: Annexation and the Question of Free Labor 87
4. The Haitians or the Whites? Colonization and Resistance, 1861–1863 117
5. You Promised to Die of Hunger: Resistance, Slavery, and All-Out War 144
6. The Lava Spread Everywhere: Rural Revolution, the Provisional Government, and Haiti 178
7. Nothing Remains Anymore: The Last Days of Spanish Rule 207
Epilogue. Between Fear and Hope 229
Notes 237
Bibliography 335
Index
