1 January 1804: the birth of the first Black republic
On 1 January 1804, in the city of Gonaïves, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared the independence of Haiti. The French colony of Saint-Domingue, once the richest in the Caribbean, was gone. In its place stood the first Black republic in the world.
Thirteen years of struggle
The revolution began in August 1791, when enslaved people in the north of the colony rose up. Over the next thirteen years they fought the armies of France, Spain, and Britain. The final victory came at the Battle of Vertières, near Cap-Français, on 18 November 1803, where the revolutionary army defeated the French forces under General Rochambeau.
A new name
The founders gave their country the name the Taíno people had used long before the colony existed: Haiti. They ended slavery on their soil for good.
Why it matters
Haiti was the second independent nation in the Americas, after the United States, and the first country founded by formerly enslaved people who won their own freedom. Its example gave hope to enslaved people and abolitionists everywhere. Every 1 January, Haitians celebrate Independence Day, and the story behind it is the reason Haiti Legacy Collection exists.
