In 1791, revolution broke out in the French colony of Saint Domingue, later called Haiti. The Haitian Revolution resonated in communities bordering the Atlantic Ocean. One of the richest European outposts in the New World, the western third of the Caribbean island had some of the largest and most brutal slave plantations. Slave workers grew sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton, and they endured horrific mortality rates, necessitating constant infusions of slaves from Africa. In 1789, approximately 465,000 black slaves lived in the French colony on the island, alongside fewer than 31,000 whites. In addition, there were approximately 23,000 free blacks and mixed-race people called gens de couleur, who could own land and accumulate wealth but had no political rights. In 1791, this tense racial situation exploded. The French Revolution (1789-99) led to a civil war in Santo Domingo which saw a bewildering series of desertions, betrayals, massacres and invasions. Throughout the convoluted course of events, two broad trends emerged: first, human rights ideals spread further and further into Haitian society; and, second, slaves rejected their slavery and committed themselves to their freedom. In May 1791, the French Convention granted political rights to people of color whose parents were born free, but the act only created more unrest, antagonizing whites and opening new opportunities for slaves. During the summer, slave uprisings had broken out in various parts of Santo Domingo, and royalists were beginning to organize in opposition to the republicans of the French Revolution. As a reward for their service in defending the republic, the French government extended political rights to people of color, regardless of birth, in April 1792...... middle of paper ...... keep their slaves (Pennsylvania had already adopted a gradual emancipation law). In contrast, South Carolina admitted many masters and their slaves. Among African Americans, the memory and example of Haiti remained strong. Black sailors carried news of the rebellion to ports from New England to the Carolinas. The Haitian Revolution also inspired free black activism: in 1797, Prince Hall of Boston encouraged his brothers to unite and remember the Haitian rebels as they fought racial prejudice in the United States. Gabriel's Rebellion (1800) in Virginia may have been inspired in part by the events in Saint Domingue; several of the slaves involved in the Deslondes revolt in Louisiana in 1811 are said to have come from Saint Domingue; and Denmark Vesey, who led an 1822 slave revolt in Charleston, South Carolina, promised his followers support from Haiti..