Introduction
The introduction conventionally acquaints the reader with the scope and objectives of the study, which focuses primarily on the relationship between a free black insurgent leader, Romaine-la-Prophétesse, and a French Catholic priest, Abbé Ouvière, during the first months of the Haitian Revolution (1791–1792). The social and political contexts for their relationship are explained, while the book’s key contributions are also forecast. One of these contributions is to broaden our understanding of the role of religion in the Haitian Revolution, a question that in scholarly literature has thus far been largely limited to considerations of Vodou; that Romaine was a deeply pious Catholic and that he achieved something that no other black insurgent leader in the history of the Americas ever did—conquering two coastal cities—underscores our need to also consider Catholic contributions to resistance in the era and region. The introduction closes with a brief chapter outline.