The Haitian Revolution
1794 - 1804
The French
Revolution of 1789 not only propelled all of Europe into a war,
but also touched off slave uprisings in the Caribbean. On Saint
Domingue, the free people of color began the chain of
rebellion when French planters would not grant them
citizenship as decreed by the National Assembly of France in
its "Declaration of the Rights of Man."
A bloody, thirteen-year revolution ensued, a complex web
of wars among and between slaves, whites, free people of color,
France, Spain and Britain that would eventually create the first
independent black nation in the Western world.
In 1794... (continued below)
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... France built
upon the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" and
officially abolished slavery in its colonies. Toussaint
L'Ouverture, the leader of the Saint Domingue rebellion,
abandoned his Spanish allies, joined the forces of the French
Republic as a brigadier general, and turned his troops
against Spain.
In 1797 Toussaint was made commander-in-chief of the island
by the French Convention. Following the defeat of the Spanish
and British forces, Toussaint began moving toward independence
from France. With Toussaint as its Governor for life, St.
Domingue was still technically a French colony, but was acting
as an independent state.
In 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte, who had seized power in France in
1799, sought to restore slavery to the West Indies through
political guile and military force. Toussaint was captured and
exiled, but the fighting continued under the leadership of
Jean Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe. On
January 1, 1804, Dessalines proclaimed himself ruler of the
new nation, which was called Haiti, a "higher place."
Source pbs.org
