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| 4. Haiti |
| 1697 |
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| In the 17th century the French gained control of the western side of Española, called St. Domingue, or Haiti. St. Domingue became a prosperous plantation colony based on sugar and slave labor. | 1 |
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| 1789 |
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| With the outbreak of the French Revolution (See Overview), free people of color sought greater rights. Wealthy white planters fought smaller planters to represent the colony before the French state. In their struggles, they armed their slaves, who soon started to fight for their own freedom. TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE (c. 1743–1803) emerged as leader of the slave rising, along with Jean-Jacques Dessalines (c. 1758–1806) and Henri Christophe (1767–1820). | 2 |
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| 1794, Feb. 5 |
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| The National Convention in France decreed freedom for all slaves (See Feb. 5). | 3 |
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| 1797 |
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| Toussaint made himself dictator and established a temporary peace. | 4 |
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| 1802 |
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| Napoleon sent an army to recover Haiti. Toussaint died in exile in France. Haitians waged a general war of resistance against the French army. | 5 |
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| 1804, Jan. 1 |
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| Haitians defeated the French army. Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed the independence of Haiti. Revolutionaries either killed white planters or forced them to flee, destroying the plantation economy. Ex-slaves developed peasant production. | 6 |
| Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor Jacques I (Dec. 8, 1804). After his assassination, Christophe made himself king of Haiti (1811), but Alexandre Pétion (1770–1818) kept control of the southern region. Civil war ended with death of Pétion. | 7 |
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| 1818, March 20 |
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| Jean Pierre Boyer (1776–1850) succeeded Pétion, and on the suicide of Christophe (1820), secured control of all Haiti. | 8 |
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| 1822 |
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| Boyer conquered Santo Domingo, which had again come under control of Spain (1814), uniting the island as the Republic of Haiti, to which France accorded recognition (Feb. 12, 1838). | 9 |
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| 1843, March 13 |
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| Boyer was forced from office. | 10 |
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| 1844, Feb. 27 |
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| Santo Domingo reestablished its independence through a revolution. | 11 |
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| 1847 |
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| Faustin Soulouque became president and proclaimed himself Faustin I (1849). He was overthrown after a ten-year rule (Jan. 15, 1859). | 12 |
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