Grief Mourning Loss

This note documents how enslaved people in Saint-Domingue experienced and processed grief - from infant death to forced separation, from witnessing violence to revolutionary massacres. Grief under slavery was both ubiquitous and structurally denied: people lost loved ones constantly while being forbidden meaningful mourning rituals, community support, or time to grieve. Yet enslaved people created spaces for mourning, developed spiritual practices around death, and transformed grief into revolutionary rage.