Christopher Columbus claims the island of San Domingo for Spain, beginning European colonization.

King Charles V authorizes the transport of African slaves to San Domingo, launching the transatlantic slave trade.

Voodoo priest Dutty Boukman leads thousands of slaves in a coordinated armed uprising in northern San Domingo.

Toussaint L'Ouverture joins the slave rebellion and quickly earns a position of influence through intellect and experience.

The National Convention in Paris issues a decree abolishing slavery in all French colonies.

Toussaint severs his alliance with Spain and leads thousands of followers back to the French side, recapturing key territory.

A group of Mulattoes arrests French governor Laveaux and installs their own leader, but Toussaint's forces restore Laveaux to power.

Toussaint visits Commissioner Sonthonax and demands he leave the colony at once, forcing his departure.

After suffering enormous losses over several years, British forces completely abandon San Domingo.

Toussaint invades and conquers Spanish San Domingo, bringing the entire island under his command.

Toussaint drafts and publishes a Constitution appointing himself governor for life of San Domingo.

Bonaparte dispatches a massive expedition of twenty thousand soldiers under General Leclerc to retake the colony.

Leclerc orders Toussaint's arrest on falsified charges, and Toussaint is deported to France and imprisoned without trial.

Toussaint dies in a cold French prison cell, denied a hearing and cut off from the cause he championed.

French forces under Rochambeau suffer decisive defeats and abandon San Domingo, ending French colonial rule.

The Haitian Revolution grew out of the brutal system of slavery imposed on millions of Africans shipped to work on French sugar plantations in San Domingo. Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, the enslaved population rose up, and the military genius of Toussaint L'Ouverture proved decisive in turning rebellion into revolution. After France abolished slavery, Toussaint forged a multiracial society, expelled the British, and eventually seized the entire island. At his peak, Toussaint issued a Constitution naming himself governor for life, alarming Napoleon Bonaparte, who dispatched a massive army to restore French colonial control. Toussaint was arrested through betrayal, imprisoned in France, and died in captivity—but the revolution he ignited could not be stopped. His successors defeated the French forces and declared Haiti an independent nation.

The rise and fall of Toussaint L'Ouverture and the birth of Haiti.

Slave leader François Mackandal plans a mass rebellion against White colonists but is captured and executed before it begins.

Mulatto leader Vincent Ogé returns to San Domingo with weapons to demand political rights and attacks colonial authorities at Le Cap.

Ogé and his associates are captured, tried, and brutally executed after losing their fight for Mulatto political rights.

Slave rebel leaders write a letter offering to surrender if 400 revolutionary leaders are freed; the colonists reject the offer.

A combined force of slaves, Mulattoes, and royalists defeats the Patriots at Port-au-Prince in a six-hour battle.

Commissioner Sonthonax arrives with troops and defeats and deports thousands of royalist leaders from Le Cap.

Sonthonax issues a local decree abolishing slavery, but the Black rebel generals refuse to switch allegiance to France.

British forces land in San Domingo and capture Port-au-Prince, welcomed by colonists hoping to restore slavery.

Spain signs a peace treaty, partly a result of sustained military pressure from Toussaint's forces.

Hédouville introduces an apprenticed labor system and deposes Toussaint's officer Moïse, arousing deep suspicion among Black soldiers.

British Colonel Maitland secretly meets with Toussaint and offers to make him king of the island; Toussaint refuses.

The prolonged war between Toussaint's and Rigaud's forces ends with Toussaint winning control of the south after a five-month siege at Jacmel.

Moïse's forces launch a coordinated attack on White colonists; Toussaint suppresses the revolt and orders Moïse executed.

Dessalines and his troops break through the French siege line at the mountain fortress of Crête-à-Pierrot and escape.

After independence is secured, Dessalines orders the extermination of the remaining White colonists in Haiti.

Before the great uprising, early rebels like Mackandal and Ogé tested the limits of colonial power and paid with their lives, demonstrating both the desire for freedom and the brutality of the system they faced. The revolution gathered force through pivotal clashes, including the defeat of the Patriots at Port-au-Prince, even as France and Britain jockeyed for influence over the colony. Commissioner Sonthonax's local abolition decree, the British occupation of Port-au-Prince, and Spain's eventual peace agreement all reshaped the revolution's shifting alliances. Rivalry between Toussaint's forces and Mulatto leader Rigaud culminated in the decisive siege at Jacmel, while internal unrest led Toussaint to execute his own adopted nephew Moïse. After Toussaint's capture, Dessalines seized the initiative, leading a daring escape from a besieged mountain fortress before commanding the final campaign. With independence secured, Dessalines ordered the extermination of the remaining White colonists, marking a brutal but definitive end to French colonial power.

The supporting battles and figures that shaped the revolution's course.

France and Spain sign a treaty splitting San Domingo, with France claiming the western portion of the island.

Planter Le Jeune is cleared of all charges for torturing and killing slaves despite fourteen slave witnesses testifying against him.

News of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille reaches San Domingo, splitting colonists into competing factions.

The Constituent Assembly cancels a decree granting voting rights to Mulattoes, surrendering to pressure from colonial merchants.

Toussaint resolves to fight for the complete liberty of all slaves after colonists reject his second peace offer.

The French Legislative Assembly passes a decree granting political rights to free Mulattoes, further inflaming tensions in San Domingo.

The Paris masses overthrow the moderate Legislative Assembly and establish the more radical National Convention in its place.

Toussaint dictates a powerful letter to the French Directory defending the cause of liberty in San Domingo.

Toussaint moves his forces to arrest Hédouville in retaliation for undermining his officers; Hédouville flees back to France.

Hédouville, after reaching France, sends a letter to Rigaud authorizing him to seize the south and act against Toussaint.

Toussaint forces Commissioner Roume to sign a document sanctioning the invasion of Spanish San Domingo.

Leclerc sends Toussaint's two sons to persuade him to surrender; Toussaint refuses and urges his sons to choose for themselves.

Several of Toussaint's key subordinates surrender to French forces after receiving persuasive letters from a former French ally.

News arrives that France has restored slavery in other colonies, igniting mass insurrection across San Domingo.

Haitian leaders draft a declaration of independence and Christophe is crowned Emperor of the new republic.

The seeds of revolution were planted long before 1791, as colonial injustice—exemplified by the Le Jeune scandal—and the contradictory ideals of the French Revolution set San Domingo on a collision course. Crucial political decisions in Paris, from the cancellation of Mulatto rights to the proclamation of abolition, sent shockwaves through the colony and forced every faction to recalculate its position. Toussaint's own turning points proved equally decisive: his resolution to fight for total freedom, his powerful letters defending liberty, and his strategic maneuvering against French commissioners and rival generals alike. As French forces arrived to restore slavery, dramatic moments unfolded—Toussaint refusing to be swayed even by his own sons, key officers surrendering, and the news of slavery's restoration in neighboring colonies igniting fresh rebellion across the island. The death of Leclerc and the unification of Dessalines and Pétion against France marked the final swing of the revolution's momentum. Haiti's formal declaration of independence and Christophe's coronation crowned these turning points with the birth of the first Black republic in the Americas.