August 22, 1791
1791-08-22 20:00 UTC
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The Haitian Revolution begins
Enslaved people in the north of Saint-Domingue rise against the plantation system in the only successful slave revolution in history.Source ↗
What happened in this minute
On the night of 22 August 1791 the northern plain of Saint-Domingue rose. Within weeks, a thousand plantations were burning in the richest colony in the world.
Thirteen years of war against French, Spanish and British forces followed, producing in 1804 the first state founded by formerly enslaved people and the second independent republic in the Americas.
France then extracted an indemnity for the loss of its "property" that Haiti paid, with interest, into the twentieth century. The revolution's cost is still being measured.
Questions and answers
- What was the Haitian Revolution?
- A thirteen-year uprising beginning in August 1791 in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which ended slavery there and produced independent Haiti in 1804.
- Why is it significant?
- It is the only slave revolt in history that produced a lasting independent state governed by the formerly enslaved.
- How exact is the timestamp?
- The rising began during the night of 22 August 1791. The page records an approximate evening marker in UTC.