Graham T. Nessler - An Islandwide Struggle for Freedom: Revolution, Emancipation, and Reenslavement in Hispaniola, 1789-1809

Many individuals and institutions gave generously of their time, resources, and moral support to help enable this projects completion. Though I am pleased to use this space to thank many of them, it would be impossible to list here all those individuals who have positively influenced this study in some way. What follows is thus by necessity condensed, and I regret any omissions. Any errors or faults contained in the following work are solely mine.

I first thank my colleagues whose insightful feedback proved integral in shaping this project. Legal scholars Sam Erman and Malick Ghachem offered thoughtful assistance on legal and other aspects of this book, while the careful analysis of fellow Caribbean and Latin American scholars Julia Gaffield, Anne Eller, Francisco Moscoso, Ada Ferrer, John Garrigus, Dominique Rogers, and Sigfrido Vzquez Cienfuegos also proved invaluable. I am also grateful to Lindsey Gish, a specialist on African history, and Marlyse Baptista, a linguist, for their much-appreciated aid and moral support. I also thank my mentors Richard Turits, Rebecca Scott, Paulina Alberto, Laurent Dubois, Jean Hbrard, Ghachem, and Baptista for their advice and encouragement.

As with any project of this scope, a number of institutions and their dedicated staff played key roles at critical junctures in the books evolution. The research that forms the basis for this book was enabled with the generous funding of the French governments Chateaubriand Fellowship and the Social Science Research Council. The staff of all of the archives and libraries mentioned in the bibliography were generous and efficient allies in the research for this study. I also thank the organizers of conferences at which I presented scholarship deriving from this project, such as the University of Michigan Law School, the Centre International de Recherches des Esclavages of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CIRESC-CNRS) in France, and the Dominican Studies Institute (DSI) based in New York City. Ramona Hernndez, the director of the DSI, is a driving force behind the growing field of Dominican studies in the United States and has been a kind and helpful colleague. Martha Jones and other organizers and fellow members of the Law in Slavery and Freedom Project at the University of Michigan also provided critical fora for scholarly exchange, and several offered useful suggestions on aspects of this book. In addition, a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship enabled me to undertake an intensive course in Haitian Kreyl (Creole) in the summer of 2006 at Florida International University. This course benefited my project in ways I did not foresee at the time and introduced me to a new community of scholars and activists.

The University of Michigan and Bentley University offered me stimulating and collegial environments in which to pursue this scholarly endeavor. I thank in particular the leadership, affiliated faculty, and staff of the Institute for the Humanities, the Eisenberg Institute, and the History Department at the University of Michigan (particularly Kathleen King, who truly went above and beyond the call of duty). I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of Gesa Kirsch, Cyrus Veeser, Marc Stern, and other Bentley faculty as well as the staff of the Jeanne and Dan Valente Center for Arts and Sciences at Bentley, particularly Janice McMahon.

My colleagues at Florida Atlantic University have also been very supportive. I am grateful for the opportunity that this institution provided me during a transitional phase in my career.