The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), the most successful of African slave rebellions in the Western Hemisphere,establishes Haiti as a free republic ruled by blacks, the first of its kind.

At the time of the revolution, Haiti is known as Saint-Domingue and is a colony of France.

Through the revolution, people of African ancestry free themselves from French colonization and from slavery.

Although hundreds of rebellions occur during the ages of slavery, only the 1791 revolt on Saint-Domingue succeeds in permanently liberating an entire island.

Haiti, the first republic led by people of African descent in modern history, goes directly from being a French colony to self-governance through a process that is to have lasting effect on the nation.

Slaveholders had established a system using violence and force in controlling the majority.

Unfortunately, leaders rising in the nascent black republic adopt similar means to keep control.

An elite comprised of educated free people of color takes control of political and economic power.Historians traditionally identify the catalyst to revolution as a particular Vodou service in August 1791 performed at Bois Caïman by Dutty Boukman, a high priest, but a number of complex events set the stage that culminates in the most significant revolt in the history of enslaved Africans.