Triumph to Tragedy: Book Four Unveiled in New York City

The Doubles Club, across from The Plaza Hotel on 5th Avenue, was an unlikely venue to discuss the history of Haiti on October 8th, let alone introduce a new book about it. But this was no ordinary venue and the book no ordinary piece of literature. Triumph To Tragedy Book Four – The Clash of Pétion & Christophe by Daniel J.D. Bayard continues the intriguing saga of the little-known history of Haiti, and its precursor the colony of Saint Domingue on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Once the richest colony in the world, Haiti produced 60% of the world’s coffee, 50% of global sugar consumption, was the leading worldwide exporter of cotton, indigo, and cacao, and its citizens enjoyed high per capita GDP. The reasons behind this obscure period of 18th-century history and why it has been kept under wraps for centuries were simple back then; it was difficult for slave-holding governments to admit the fact that the colony had a dark-skinned government, and its leader the Governor General, was a black man and former slave. 

“This scenario was scandalous to colonialists like the British, French, and Spanish, as well as the southern planter class in the newly minted United States. How could they possibly promote the notion that blacks of African descent were inferior to whites, and in some cases inferior to livestock, to justify a reason to enslave them,” stated the author. “The situation was feared by the status quo of the time.” 

Contrarily, some powerful people recognized and promoted diplomatic engagement with this black-led government, specifically John Adams, the second president of the United States. He and the colony’s ingenious leader, Toussaint Louverture, carved out lucrative trade agreements, enhanced diplomacy, and Toussaint guaranteed protection for over 1,000 U.S.-flagged merchant ships engaged in international trade with the island from pirates. 

However, once elected, Jefferson reversed Adams’ proactive stance towards Haiti, put in place an embargo, and sided with southern planters who wanted to keep the slave trade intact. “Had it not been for Adams’ loss to Jefferson in the 1800 presidential elections, I believe the United States would have freed the slaves far sooner than 1865, negating the need for a Civil War and avoiding much of the racial strife of the early 20th century!” Bayard concluded. 

Triumph To Tragedy charts this astonishing history beginning with Book One in 1791 through the newly released Book Four that ends in 1820. The beautiful book covers are works of art by Miami Haitian artist Carl Craig and the timeline of history is held accurate by New Jersey historian Jean-Bernard Bayard. The fictional stories are peppered with romance, intrigue, politics, spies, pirates, naval battles, and uprisings that keep the reader enthralled to these irresistible page-turners, told by the author whose ancestors are amongst the protagonists in the books as the Bayard family arrived on the island as early as 1710. 

Books on display at Doubles.

Available on Amazon, and fine bookstores everywhere, the author requests that book purchases be completed at TriumphToTragedy.com; proceeds from book sales will go to Angels For Humanity, a U.S.-based organization supporting the education of Haitian people.

 Daniel Bayard receiving 2024 International Impact Book Award for Book Three of the series.