Treaty of Basel transfers Spain’s claim to eastern Hispaniola to France

On 29 August 1793, civil commissioner Léger-Félicité Sonthonax proclaimed emancipation in the northern province of Saint-Domingue. The decree followed years of revolt and a military crisis in which...

On 21 September 1793, civil commissioner Étienne Polverel proclaimed emancipation in the western and southern provinces. The decree required newly freed people to continue working on plantations,...

On 31 October 1793, Polverel issued rules concerning the policing and discipline of emancipated plantation workshops. The ordinance demonstrates that official emancipation did not end attempts to...

On 4 February 1794 (16 Pluviôse Year II), the French National Convention abolished slavery in all French colonies and granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people. This national decree came after...

In May 1794, Toussaint Louverture transferred his forces from the Spanish alliance to the French Republic. Historians disagree about the exact date and the balance of motives; 6 May appears in one...

On 20 March 1796, General Jean Villatte and allied forces arrested French governor Étienne Laveaux at Cap-Français. The episode reflected competition among revolutionary commanders and the fragile...

Nine days after Villatte’s coup, Toussaint’s forces freed Laveaux. Laveaux appointed Toussaint lieutenant-general to the government of Saint-Domingue. The appointment joined revolutionary military...

In September 1797, Toussaint Louverture became commander-in-chief of French forces in Saint-Domingue. His rise reflected military victories and the indispensability of Black leadership to the...

After years of costly occupation, British forces negotiated their withdrawal from Saint-Domingue with Toussaint Louverture. An agreement dated 31 August 1798 secured evacuation of the remaining...

On 17 June 1799, forces loyal to André Rigaud attacked Petit-Goâve, escalating a conflict that became known as the War of the South or War of Knives. The struggle pitted revolutionary leaders with...