The Engagement in Santo Domingo (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Heinrich von Kleist
- First Published: 1811
- Type of Plot: Postcolonial
- Time of Work: 1803
- Setting: The island of Santo Domingo
- Principal Characters: Kongo Hoango, Babekan, Toni Bertrand, Gustav von der Ried
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Freedom, Blacks, Colonies or colonization, Slavery or slaves, Survivalism, French Revolution, Massacres
- Locales: Santo Domingo
The Story
As a consequence of the French Revolution, in 1794 the French National Convention declared freedom and equality for black slaves in the colonies, including the French part of the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo. Kongo Hoango, an old West African who faithfully served his white master for years, rebelled with his fellow blacks, massacred the planter and his entire family, and took over the plantation as his base of marauding operations to help drive the French from the island. Kongo Hoango makes it his practice to have his wife, Babekan, and her daughter, Toni, offer...
[The entire page is 1858 words long]
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