Having predicted Haiti's struggle for independence in The Crisis of the Sugar Colonies, James Stephen went on to write this book three months after Haitian independence had been declared by the former French colonial slaves. In it, he argues that firsthand knowledge and aversion to slavery made the Haitian army unbeatable, & proclaims the "invincibility of freedom" (9). Stephen recommends to the new British government to recognise and guarantee Haitian freedom from the French. Within Europe's changed political context, he argues, the old colonial alliances were no longer functioning: "broken by the same shock that overthrew the social edifices of Europe" (12). He suggests that Britain should initiate trading links with the new state, and protect the West Indian colonies by establishing friendly relations with Haiti. However, in order to achieve these positive outcomes, Stephen stresses that the "horrible iniquity of the slave trade" (146) must be abolished.