About

‘Fanm Rebèl’, a Haitian Kreyòl term meaning ‘rebel women’, is a 3-year research project sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust and the Institute for Black Atlantic Research at the University of Central Lancashire. Led by Dr Nicole Willson, the project seeks to excavate stories of women in the Haitian Revolution. Spanning a 100-year trajectory, from 1750-1850, it broadens the conventional scope of the Haitian revolutionary calendar to encompass the radical acts of female insurgency and marronage that predate the Ogé Rebellion of 1790 and the insurgency of 1791, and extends beyond the birth of the Haitian Republic in 1804 to encompass the life cycle of Marie-Louise Christophe, first Queen of Haiti. It explores narratives of resistance articulated through spiritual practice, domestic labour, creativity, survival, subterfuge and armed combat. 

This website aims to ensure that the research which forms the underpinning of this project has an enduring and sustainable legacy. It will serve as a co-curated open access digital archive, gallery, resource centre and hub of expertise and further learning, and invites collaborations and contributions from scholars, collectors, conservators, archivists and other interested parties in the community. If you would like to join the network and help to grow this resource, please get in touch via our CONTACT form.