The End of the Revolution? The Haitian Declaration of Independence

According to all scholarly accounts, the Haitian Revolution ended on January 1, 1804, the moment that Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed the Haitian Declaration of Independence. This event and this document have come to signal the conclusion and the success of the world’s only successful slave revolution. The problem with 1804 as an end date for the Haitian Revolution, however, is that it is anachronistic. On January 2, 1804, it was not evident that the revolution was over. In fact, Dessalines claimed in Haiti’s founding document that the war with the French would be “eternal.” The French did not concede defeat when they evacuated the island in November 1803 and the threat of a French re-invasion was prevalent throughout the first two decades of Haiti’s independence; strong enough to justify the establishment of consecutive military dictatorships. The war, therefore, was not over. The Haitian Declaration of Independence also did not automatically signal diplomatic independence and national sovereignty. This quality had to be recognized by other Atlantic nations in order for Haiti to join “the powers of the earth.” Haiti only secured this recognition between 1825 and 1862. The fact that France never launched another military attack against Haiti and the fact that other Atlantic powers eventually recognized Haiti’s independence have shaped our understanding of the importance of January 1, 1804. This paper explores the struggle that ensued after the proclamation and publication of the Declaration of Independence and calls in to question the primacy of this date in the chronology of the Haitian Revolution.