Haitian Revolution: Toussaint Louverture

The Haitian Revolution represents the only successful slave revolution in history; it created the world’s first Black republic – traumatizing Southern planters, inspiring U.S. Blacks, and invigorating anti-slavery activist world-wide.

At the forefront of the rebellion was General Toussaint Louverture, an ex-slave whose genius was admired by allies and enemies alike.

The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic.

Although hundreds of rebellions occurred in the New World during the centuries of slavery, only the St. Domingue Slave Revolt, which began in 1791, was successful in achieving permanent independence under a new nation. The Haitian Revolution is regarded as a defining moment in the history of Africans in the New World.