Enslaved Africans in the French colony of Saint-Domingue launch a mass uprising on the night of August 22-23, igniting the Haitian Revolution.
At a Glance
- Date
- 23 August 1791
- Location
- Saint-Domingue (Haiti)
- Key people
- Dutty Boukman, Toussaint Louverture
- Category
- Diaspora & Global
- Source
- UNESCO designation; Haitian Revolution accounts · UNESCO
What It Meant Then
It became the only slave revolt to produce an independent state, terrifying slaveholding powers across the Atlantic world.
What It Means Now
UNESCO marks August 23 as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “The Haitian Revolution Begins.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-haitian-revolution-begins/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). The Haitian Revolution Begins. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-haitian-revolution-begins/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “The Haitian Revolution Begins.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-haitian-revolution-begins/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.