The creation of Haiti was the culmination of a slave revolt that began on a stormy night in the dense woods of Bois Ca\xefman in Saint-Domingue, on 21st September, 1791, when a Voodoo ceremony led by the Jamaican-born priest Dutty Boukman called upon the enslaved Africans to reject their masters and embrace freedom in a bloody uprising.\nSaint-Domingue was France\u2019s most lucrative colony, producing vast quantities of sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo. However, this wealth came at an enormous human cost. The brutal conditions on the plantations, exacerbated by rampant diseases like yellow fever, led to a staggering death rate among the enslaved population.\xa0\nMeanwhile the French colonists, who were vastly outnumbered by the enslaved Africans, lived in constant fear of rebellion. When it came, the uprising rapidly gained momentum, destroying hundreds of plantations and killing thousands of white colonists within weeks.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the revolution was not actually intended to separate Haiti from France; consider how Toussaint Louverture rose through the ranks to command a formidable army and confront Napoleon\u2019s forces; and reveal how the Haitian flag came to be\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) \u2022 Global African History\u2019 (Blackpast, 2007): https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/haitian-revolution-1791-1804/\n\u2022\xa0\u2019How Toussaint L'ouverture Rose from Slavery to Lead the Haitian Revolution\u2019 (HISTORY, 2021): https://www.history.com/news/toussaint-louverture-haiti-revolution\n\u2022\xa0\u2019The Haitian Revolution - Liberation\u2019 (Extra History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfLskhmVd7k\n\nLove the show? Support us!\xa0\nJoin\xa0 \U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\U0001f334to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY\u2026\xa0\n\n\u2026 Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.\xa0\nJoin now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show \u2764\ufe0f\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices