Primary Resources

The American Revolution and the Atlantic World

Courtesy of Lawrence Public Library

Edwards, Bryan.  An Historical Survey of the French Colony in the Island of St. Domingo.  London: John Stockdate, 1797.  Call #: SC 972.94 EDW
Using ESSEX History has excerpted portions of Edwards’ 1797 history of the Haitian Revolution. Edwards was a scholar of the West Indies, having completed an overview of the British West Indies before he began his work on Haiti.   Edwards asserts that the Haitian Revolution was a direct result of the French Revolution and “The Declaration of the Rights of Man” that led to a “mischievous spirit of contention and cavil, and [destroyed] all subordination in the lower ranks of people.” (13)  Edwards talks about the work of the Amis des Noirs in France and the progress of the uprising in Haiti. 

Page, Francis.  Secret History of the French Revolution from the Convocation of the Notables in 1787 to the First of November 1796.  London: Longman, 1797.  Call #: A383/ v. 1/Fletcher  This is a 1797 history of the French Revolution.  Using ESSEX History has excerpted the introduction and a chapter that examines the effect of the French Revolution in the sugar islands.  The author asserts that the rhetoric of equality during the Revolution alienated colonists in the sugar islands by posing a threat to slavery.  It further fomented insurrection among black colonists who used the rhetoric to push for their own freedom.

Courtesy of Newburyport Public Library

Cushing, Caleb.  Review, Historical and Political of the Late Revolution in France, and of the Consequent Events in Belgium, Poland, and Great Britain, and Other Parts of Europe.  Newburyport: Thomas B. White, 1833.   Cushing offers both an overview of the French Revolution and an examination of the place of American ideals within it.

Courtesy of Beverly Historical Society

Ship Hannah Log and Other Documents.  Concerns about preserving and expanding the lucrative trading route between the New England coast and the West Indies made Essex County a stronghold of revolutionary ideals.  The documents included in this folder are evidence of the trading relationship that existed between Essex County and the West Indies.  After the American Revolution, American vessels were no longer fettered by the Navigation Acts and were free to trade directly with islands outside of the British Empire.  These documents show that trade.  In addition, there is text of the 1798 trade embargo between the US and France.  The embargo was imposed as part of the Quasi-War with France because French vessels were seizing American ships.