Later Spain ceded some of their colonies to France. The French colony of Saint Domingue was the worlds leading supplier of sugar. This economically prosperous state had three categories of people- the whites, the free blacks who were people of mixed race, called mulattoes and the native African slaves. The slaves were often mistreated and subjected to racial discrimination. The French Revolution with its declaration that all men are free and equal set the stage for the slave revolt in Haiti. Dutty Boukman a leader of slaves and a high priest of vodou gave the signal for the beginning of the slave revolt. It was a matter of just ten days before slaves took control of the entire Northern Province. As the slaves rebelled against the masters, the whites were left in control of only a very few areas. The salves did not want only freedom. They wanted to wreak revenge on their masters for all the tortures they endured.

The slaves set about on a rampage of burning, rape, torture and mutilation. A great commander of the Haitian Revolution was François Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture. He played an important role in organizing the slaves militarily and politically. This ensured that they did not fall prey to outside pressures. He also managed to attain a level of diplomacy and harmony between the slaves and the French. He even issued a constitution for Saint-Domingue and declared that he would be its governor for life. However, he was eventually ousted by Napoleon Bonaparte, the then leader of Furnace. He was later arrested and died in prison. Napoleon tried to re-establish slavery in Saiint Domingue and this move was met with much resistance from the natives.

Many like Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Jacques Dessalines fought valiantly against the French. In 18 November 1803, the last battle of the Haitian Revolution was fought between the Haitian rebels and the French. The French were defeated and Saint Domingue declared its independence and was renamed as Haiti. The Haitian Revolution lasted for 1791 to 1803. This revolution has the distinction of the being the only successful slave led revolt in history. It led to the establishment of Haiti as an independent republic ruled by people of African descent and also inspired slave rebellions in several American and British colonies.

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