- Only Succesful slave revolt in history
- On the island of Saint-Domingue, a French Sugar plantation
- Majority of population slaves and gens du couleur (free people of color, including free slaves)
- slaves worked very hard, and many ran away to the mountains
- gens du couleur sent to support Americans against British in war of Independance
- came back hoping to reform society
- French revolution happened, and fights between settlers and G.D.C (gens du couleur) broke out
- Voodoo priest Boukman organized slave revolts
- bolstered G.D.C ranks
- French troops arrive to help settlers, and British/Spanish forces come to take advantage of French misfortune
- Leader of G.D.C: Francois-Dominique Toussaint (1744-1803)
- called himself Louverture (French word for "the openeing")
- Educated
- Strong morals (ex: helped his old master escape to a safe place, then joined the slave revolt)
- Skilled organizer, built strong army
- Played British, French, and Spanish against each other
- By 1797, his army controlled most of Saint-Dominique
- Wrote a constitution declaring freedom for all people of Saint-Dominique
- Did not declare independance from France as to not provoke Napoleon
- In 1802, Napoleon sent troops to retake Saint-Dominique
- Toussaint tried to negotiate, but was arrested and put in jail before.
- Yellow Fever ravages French troops, and generals succeeding Toussaint drove the remaining French of the island
- Declared Independance and named the land "Haiti" meaning "Land of Mountains".