The 1807 Constitution formalizes Haiti’s political division

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...

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...

Revolutionary leaders proclaimed Dessalines emperor in September 1804, consolidating authority in the new state. His coronation took place on 8 October. The empire asserted Haiti’s sovereignty in a...

The Constitution of 1805 prohibited slavery and affirmed the independence of Haiti under Emperor Jacques Dessalines. It defined the state’s citizenship and authority while seeking to prevent a...

A group of Haitian officers and political opponents assassinated Emperor Jacques Dessalines near Pont-Rouge outside Port-au-Prince. His rule had defended independence and emancipation but also...

A constitutional act transformed Christophe’s northern state into the Kingdom of Haiti. He was crowned Henry I on 2 June. Christophe’s government built schools, fortifications, and state institutions,...

President Alexandre Pétion received Simón Bolívar in Haiti after the independence struggle in Venezuela had suffered setbacks. Haiti offered refuge and promised material support for a renewed...

Following Haitian assistance, Bolívar issued an emancipation decree in Carúpano, Venezuela, on 2 June 1816. The decree did not immediately end slavery throughout the region, but it reflected the...

After illness, paralysis, and growing opposition, Henry Christophe died on 8 October 1820 as unrest spread through the northern kingdom. His death opened the way for the northern state to rejoin the...

Jean-Pierre Boyer entered Cap-Haïtien and issued a proclamation calling for national unity after Christophe’s death and the collapse of the northern monarchy. The northern state joined the republic,...