Haitian Revolution
The slave uprising and revolution in French Saint-Domingue, from the free people of color's struggle for rights in 1790 to the independence of Haiti in 1804, including the French, Spanish and British interventions.
Category: Society
- October 1790Vincent Ogé leads a revolt of free people of color in Saint-Domingue
In October 1790 Vincent Ogé, a free man of color back from Paris, rises in the north of Saint-Domingue to demand equal political rights. He is defeated, handed over by the Spanish and executed at Le Cap in March 1791.
- August 1791Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman precedes the great slave uprising in Saint-Domingue
Enslaved leaders including Dutty Boukman and Cécile Fatiman are said to hold a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman in August 1791, usually dated 14 August, and swear to fight for liberty. Details rest on later accounts.
- August 1791Enslaved people rise across the Northern Plain of Saint-Domingue
In late August 1791 thousands of enslaved people burn plantations and kill planters across the north of Saint-Domingue around Le Cap, the start of the Haitian Revolution.
- April 4, 1792France's Legislative Assembly grants equal rights to free people of color
The decree of 4 April 1792 gives free men of color in the colonies full political and civil equality with whites. It is sent to Saint-Domingue with commissioners Sonthonax and Polverel and 6,000 troops.
- c. June 1793Toussaint Louverture joins the Spanish side against the French colonial government
In 1793 Toussaint follows rebel leaders Jean-François and Biassou into alliance with Spain, which holds the east of Hispaniola. Sources suggest early June; the date is not firm.
- August 1793Sonthonax proclaims the abolition of slavery in northern Saint-Domingue
Civil commissioner Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, facing revolt and foreign invasion, decrees the end of slavery in the north of Saint-Domingue in August 1793 without Paris's approval. Polverel soon does the same in the south and west.
- August 29, 1793Toussaint Louverture issues the Camp Turel proclamation
On 29 August 1793, the day Sonthonax decrees emancipation in the north, Toussaint calls on the Black population to join him as 'Louverture'. The name is first recorded about this time.
- February 4, 1794The French National Convention abolishes slavery in all French colonies
On 4 February 1794 the Convention in Paris confirms emancipation across France's colonies, making formerly enslaved people citizens. It is the first abolition of slavery by a major colonial power.
- May 1794Toussaint Louverture leaves the Spanish side and rallies to the French Republic
In May 1794, after the Convention's abolition decree, Toussaint Louverture turns his forces against Spain and Britain and joins France's side in Saint-Domingue. He rises to become the colony's leading general.
- 1796Toussaint Louverture rescues Governor Laveaux and becomes lieutenant governor
After Villatte's coup of 20 March 1796 seizes Governor Étienne Laveaux, Toussaint's troops free him. Laveaux names Toussaint lieutenant governor, making him the colony's second-ranking official.
- 1798Britain agrees with Toussaint Louverture to leave Saint-Domingue
After the Maitland-Louverture armistice of 30 March 1798 British troops evacuate their occupied zones on Saint-Domingue, ending a five-year intervention begun in 1793. Sources give August to October for the final departure.
- October 1798Toussaint Louverture forces French agent Hédouville to leave Saint-Domingue
In October 1798 Gabriel Hédouville, sent by Paris to curb Toussaint, sails for France after Toussaint and Dessalines threaten his arrest. Toussaint becomes the colony's effective ruler.
- June 1799 – July 1800Toussaint Louverture defeats André Rigaud in the War of the Knives
From June 1799 to July 1800 Toussaint's forces fight the mulatto general André Rigaud for control of the south of Saint-Domingue. Toussaint wins and becomes master of the whole French colony.
- 1801Toussaint Louverture takes Spanish Santo Domingo and unites the island
In 1801 Toussaint Louverture's army occupies Spanish Santo Domingo, ceded to France at Basel in 1795, freeing its slaves and making him ruler of all Hispaniola. Paris had not authorised the move.
- July 1801Toussaint Louverture promulgates a constitution making himself governor for life
A constitution proclaimed in July 1801 makes Saint-Domingue a self-governing French colony, bans slavery forever and names Toussaint Louverture governor for life. Napoleon sees it as a challenge to French authority.
- 1802French forces arrest Toussaint Louverture and deport him to France
In 1802 General Leclerc has Toussaint Louverture seized under Napoleon's secret orders and shipped to France with his family. He is jailed at Fort de Joux. Sources give May or June for the arrest.
- February 1802Napoleon's brother-in-law Leclerc lands a French army in Saint-Domingue
In early February 1802 General Charles Leclerc arrives at Saint-Domingue with a large expeditionary force sent by Napoleon to restore French control. Toussaint retreats to the mountains and war resumes.
- March 2, 1802 – March 24, 1802French army takes Crête-à-Pierrot from Dessalines after a three-week siege
From 2 to 24 March 1802 Dessalines's troops hold the fort against Leclerc's army. The French win at heavy cost, but the resistance weakens Leclerc, who is struck by yellow fever.
- May 1802Toussaint Louverture submits to Leclerc in return for an amnesty
In early May 1802, after Dessalines and other officers defect, Toussaint recognises Leclerc's authority and retires to his estate at Ennery. Sources give 2, 6 or 7 May.
- May 20, 1802Napoleon's law of 20 May 1802 maintains slavery in the French colonies
The law of 20 May 1802 keeps or restores slavery in colonies where it had not been abolished in practice. Saint-Domingue is not named, but news of it fuels resistance to the French army there.
- April 7, 1803Toussaint Louverture dies in captivity at Fort de Joux
Toussaint Louverture dies on 7 April 1803 in the French fortress of Fort de Joux near Besançon, probably of pneumonia and the harshness of his imprisonment. The war in Saint-Domingue goes on without him.
- November 18, 1803Haitian army defeats the French at the Battle of Vertières
On 18 November 1803 Jean-Jacques Dessalines's forces defeat Rochambeau's army at Vertières near Cap-Français, the last major battle of the revolution. The French evacuate soon after.
- January 1, 1804Dessalines declares the independence of Haiti at Gonaïves
On 1 January 1804 Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Saint-Domingue independent under the old Taíno name Haiti. It is the first state founded by a successful slave revolt and the second independent republic in the Americas.
- February 1804 – April 1804Dessalines orders the killing of the remaining French in Haiti
From February to April 1804 Dessalines has the French who stayed in Haiti killed, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people. He exempts some groups, including Poles and Germans. It is defended as security against a French return.
- September 1804Dessalines is proclaimed Emperor Jacques I of Haiti
In September 1804 Dessalines's generals proclaim him emperor of Haiti, and he is crowned the following month. He is killed in an ambush in 1806.