The Haitian Revolution is the only successful, slave revolt in history, resulting in the creation of an independent state.
Haiti is also the first modern nation of the world to permanently abolish slavery.
So what happened the August night of 1791 when the enslaved people of what was known as Saint-Domingue, rose up and started burning plantations?
It's a history that involves American and French Revolutions, with the British and Spanish also waging in on the fighting.
Joining Anthony and Maddy is Marlene Daut, Professor of French and African Diaspora Studies at Yale University and author of several books on Haiti, including Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution.
This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. Produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
You can now watch After Dark on Youtube! www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
All music from Epidemic Sounds.
After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.