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Saint-Domingue, the western half of the island of Hispaniola, is officially handed over to the French by the Spanish. -
In August 1791, Dutty Boukman hosts a voodoo ceremony in northern Saint-Domingue that incites a bunch of slave revolts. -
From February to July 1791, Vincent Oge was executed, and murmurings of revolution began. -
In April 1792, a new Legislative Assembly in France gave all free men of color full citizenship. -
In February 1793, France entered war with Great Britain who had control over nearby Jamaica. -
In August 1793, Sonthonax frees all of the slaves in Northern Saint-Domingue to help fight against the British. -
In February 1794, the National Convention ratifies Sonthonax's declaration to free all the slaves in Saint-Domingue. -
In May 1794, Toussaint L'Ouverture decided to join forces with Sonthonax. -
Toussaint L'Ouverture declares himself governor-general of Saint-Domingue for life in 1801. -
In May 1802, Napoleon reinstated slavery where it had not already disappeared. -
In 1802, Charles Leclerc landed in Saint-Domingue to retake it with orders from Napoleon. -
In 1803, after Leclerc captured, arrested, and deported L'Ouverture to France, L'Ouverture died in prison. -
Dessalines abolishes the colony of Saint-Domingue and restores the original name of Haiti to the island on January 1, 1804. -
In 1825, France officially recognized Haiti as an independent country. -
Haiti was forced to pay a debt of 90 million francs to France because of "lost property" that wasn't totally paid off until 1947.