1791 – 1804
The Haitian Revolution was the largest and most successful uprising of enslaved people in modern history. Beginning in Saint-Domingue in 1791, shifting coalitions of enslaved rebels, free people of color, French republicans, royalists, Spanish, and British forces fought through emancipation and civil war to independence. Haitian forces defeated Napoleon’s expedition, and on January 1, 1804 Haiti became the second independent state in the Americas and the first modern state founded through the abolition of slavery.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
The Haitian Revolution was the largest and most successful uprising of enslaved people in modern history. Beginning in Saint-Domingue in 1791, shifting coalitions of enslaved rebels, free people of color, French republicans, royalists, Spanish, and British forces fought through emancipation and civil war to independence. Haitian forces defeated Napoleon’s expedition, and on January 1, 1804 Haiti became the second independent state in the Americas and the first modern state founded through the abolition of slavery.
Haitian Revolution was fought from 1791 to 1804.
Haitian Revolution was fought between Haitian Revolutionaries and France / Colonial Forces.
An estimated 229,000 people died in Haitian Revolution, including roughly 175,000 military and 54,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included Spanish and British Intervention, Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot, Massacre of White Colonists, and Toussaint Joins the French Republic.