Thomas Madiou

Thomas Madiou (30 April 1814 - 1884) was a Haitian historian. His work "Histoire d'Haïti" (English: "History of Haiti") is considered one of the most valuable documents of Haitian literature. His history tried to repair the reputation of the black leaders of the Haitian Revolution, especially Toussaint Louverture, portraying the struggle as a justified rebellion against the terrible oppression of slavery. This placed his work in contrast to the earlier history written by Beaubrun Ardouin, which had tried to place the Haitian Revolution in the context of the other independence struggles in Latin America and deny it a class or racial character. Ardouin was trying to make Haiti fit into the community of nations in the Americas in the 1830's while Madiou was stressing what made Haiti unique.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Madiou left Haiti at age ten to study in France at the Royal College of Angers ("Collège Royal d'Angers"). He later studied in Rennes, France and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Letters there. He then attended the Law School of Paris for two years before returning to Haiti. It was then that he began writing "Histoire d'Haïti". Madiou also worked as Director of "Le Moniteur", the official government publication, in 1849.

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