Blades of Freedom (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #10) : A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase

The 10th installment in the bestselling Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series tells the story of the Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (1803) is today seen as one of history’s greatest bargains. But why did Napoleon Bonaparte sell this seemingly prosperous territory? At the time, France controlled Haiti, and there, slaves were used to harvest sugar. But in 1791, Toussaint Louverture led the largest slave uprising in human history, the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804). Napoleon had originally wanted to use Louisiana for trade, but with Haiti out of his control, Napoleon’s dream of making a French empire in North America seemed doomed. So when Thomas Jefferson and James Madison tried to buy New Orleans, Napoleon sold them the whole Louisiana Territory. Filled with wild and true facts and Hale’s signature humor, the latest installment in the bestselling series takes readers on another action-packed adventure through history.

Discover the story of the Haitian Revolution—the largest uprising of enslaved people in history—in Blades of Freedom, a Hazardous Tale from author-illustrator Nathan Hale in the New York Times bestselling graphic novel series.

Why would Napoleon Bonaparte sell the Louisiana Territory to the recently formed United States of America? It all comes back to the island nation of Haiti, which Napoleon had planned to use as a base for trade with North America. While Napoleon climbed the ranks of the French army and government, enslaved people were organizing in Haiti under the leadership of François Mackandal, Dutty Boukman, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Touissant L’Ouverture, who in 1791 led the largest uprising of enslaved people in history—the Haitian Revolution.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales! Read them all—if you dare!
One Dead Spy: A Revolutionary War Tale (#1)
Big Bad Ironclad!: A Civil War Tale (#2)
Donner Dinner Party: A Pioneer Tale (#3)
Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood: A World War I Tale (#4)
The Underground Abductor: An Abolitionist Tale about Harriet Tubman (#5)
Alamo All-Stars: A Texas Tale (#6)
Raid of No Return: A World War II Tale of the Doolittle Raid (#7)
Lafayette!: A Revolutionary War Tale (#8)
Major Impossible: A Grand Canyon Tale (#9)
Blades of Freedom: A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase (#10)
Cold War Correspondent: A Korean War Tale (#11)
Above the Trenches: A WWI Flying Ace Tale (#12)