Battle of Vertières
Vertières, near Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
What happened
Haitian revolutionary forces led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines and François Capois fought the French army of General Donatien de Rochambeau. In the French colony of Saint-Domingue, enslaved people had risen up and won their freedom, but after France arrested their leader Toussaint Louverture in 1802, they feared slavery would be brought back. Near the town of Cap-Français, Capois led a charge up a ravine under heavy French fire, and even after his horse was shot he kept going on foot. A French officer stopped the fighting for a moment to salute his bravery, and the next day the French surrendered.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the final battle of the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave revolution in history to create a new nation. Haiti became the first independent nation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
What came next
The French army was given ten days to leave. On 1 January 1804, Dessalines declared Haiti's independence at the town of Gonaïves.
Did you know?
In 2010, a student found one of only two surviving original printed copies of Haiti's Declaration of Independence in Britain's National Archives.
Timeline
- 1791The Haitian Revolution begins.
- 1802Toussaint Louverture is arrested, and Dessalines leads a new revolt.
- 18 November 1803Haitian forces win at Vertières.
- 19 November 1803The French surrender.
- 1 January 1804Dessalines declares Haiti independent at Gonaïves.