Haitian state

Haiti proclaims independence and takes the name Ayiti

📅 1 January 1804

At Gonaïves, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and other revolutionary leaders proclaimed independence, formally breaking with France and naming the new state Haiti, from the Indigenous name Ayiti. The Act of...

State forces kill many remaining French residents during the 1804 massacres

📅 22 April 1804

Between February and 22 April 1804, Dessalines’s government directed killings of many remaining French residents, including civilians. Some non-French Europeans and professionals were spared, but many...