Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the context of "State of Haiti"

The First Empire of Haiti, officially known as the Empire of Haiti (French: Empire d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Anpi an Ayiti), was an elective monarchy in North America. Haiti was controlled by France before declaring independence on 1 January 1804. The Governor-General of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, created the empire on 22 September 1804. After being proclaimed emperor by the Generals of the Haitian Revolution Army, he held his coronation ceremony on 6 October and took the name Jacques I. The constitution of 20 May 1805 set out the way the empire was to be governed, with the country split into six military divisions. The general of each division corresponded directly with the emperor or the general in chief appointed by the emperor. The constitution also set out the succession to the throne, with the crown being elective and the reigning emperor having the power to appoint his successor. The constitution also banned white people, with the exception of naturalised Germans and Poles, from owning property inside the empire.

Jacques I was assassinated on 17 October 1806. Two members of his administration, Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe, then assumed power, which led to a split in the country – with Pétion leading the southern Republic of Haiti and Christophe leading the northern State of Haiti (later Kingdom of Haiti). Some 43 years later, on 26 August 1849, President Faustin Soulouque re-established an Empire in Haiti that lasted until 15 January 1859.

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (English: /ˌluːvərˈtjʊər/ LOO-vər-TURE, French: [fʁɑ̃swa dɔminik tusɛ̃ luvɛʁtyʁ]; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803), also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda, was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture first fought and allied with Spanish forces against Saint-Domingue Royalists, then joined with Republican France, becoming Governor-General-for-life of Saint-Domingue, and lastly fought against Bonaparte's republican troops. As a revolutionary leader, Louverture displayed military and political acumen that helped transform the fledgling slave rebellion into a revolutionary movement. Along with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Louverture is now known as one of the "Fathers of Haiti".

Toussaint Louverture was born as a slave in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti. He was a devout Catholic, and was manumitted as an affranchi (ex-slave) before the French Revolution, identifying as a Creole for the greater part of his life. During his time as an affranchi, he became a salaried employee, an overseer of his former master's plantation, and later became a wealthy slave owner himself; Toussaint Louverture owned several coffee plantations at Petit Cormier, Grande Rivière, and Ennery. At the start of the Haitian revolution he was nearly 50 years old and began his military career as a lieutenant to Georges Biassou, a leader of the preliminary 1791 slave revolt. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Louverture switched his allegiance to the French when the new Republican government moved to abolish slavery in its colonies. As leader of the Haitian Revolution, Louverture gradually established control over the whole island and used his political and military influence to gain dominance over his rivals.

Henri Christophe (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁi kʁistɔf]; 6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti.

Born in the British Caribbean, Christophe was possibly of Senegambian descent. Beginning with the slave uprising of 1791, he rose to power in the ranks of the Haitian revolutionary military. The revolution succeeded in gaining independence from France in 1804. In 1805 he took part under Jean-Jacques Dessalines in the capture of Santo Domingo (now Dominican Republic), against French forces who acquired the colony from Spain in the Treaty of Basel.

The Kingdom of Haiti, or Kingdom of Hayti (French: Royaume d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Wayòm an Ayiti), was the state established by Henri Christophe on 28 March 1811 when he proclaimed himself King Henri I after having previously ruled as president of the State of Haiti, in the northern part of the country. This was Haiti's second attempt at monarchical rule, as Jean-Jacques Dessalines had previously ruled over the First Empire of Haiti as Emperor Jacques I from 1804 until his assassination in 1806.

During his reign, Henri built six castles, eight palaces (including the Sans-Souci Palace), the Royal Chapel of Milot, and the Citadelle Laferrière, built to protect the Kingdom from possible French invasions. He created a noble class and appointed four princes, eight dukes, 22 counts, 37 barons, and 14 chevaliers.

The Haitian Declaration of Independence (French: Acte de l'Indépendance de la République d'Haïti, Haitian Creole: Deklarasyon Endepandans Repiblik Ayiti) was proclaimed on 1 January 1804 in the port city of Gonaïves by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, marking the end of 13-year long Haitian Revolution. The declaration marked Haiti becoming the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, only the second in the Americas after the United States.

Notably, the Haitian declaration of independence signalled the culmination of the only successful slave revolution in history. Only two copies of the original printed version exist. Both of these were discovered by Julia Gaffield, a Duke University postgraduate student, in the UK National Archives in 2010 and 2011. They are currently held by The National Archives, Kew.

Polish Haitians are Haitian people of Polish descent, dating to the early 19th century; a few may be Poles of more recent native birth that have gained Haitian citizenship.

Cazale, a small village in the hills about 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from Port-au-Prince, is considered the main center of population of the ethnic Polish community in Haiti; however, there are other villages with prominent Polish communities such as Les Cayes and Saint-Jean-du-Sud. Cazale has descendants of surviving members of Napoleon's Polish Legionnaires which were forced into combat by Napoleon but later joined the Haitian slaves during the Haitian Revolution. Some 400 to 500 of these Poles are believed to have settled in Haiti after the war. They were given special status as naturalized Haytians (legally considered to have the same legal status as Black people who were the only ones able to hold Haitian citizenship, despite being White) and full citizenship under the Haitian constitution by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of an independent Haiti.

Alexandre Sabès Pétion (French pronunciation: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ sabɛs petjɔ̃]; 2 April 1770 – 29 March 1818) was a Haitian army officer and statesman who served as the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. One of Haiti's founding fathers, Pétion belonged to the revolutionary quartet that also includes Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his later rival Henri Christophe. Regarded as an excellent artilleryman in his early adulthood, Pétion would distinguish himself as an esteemed military commander with experience leading both French and Haitian troops. The 1802 coalition formed by him and Dessalines against French forces led by Charles Leclerc would prove to be a watershed moment in the decade-long conflict, eventually culminating in the decisive Haitian victory at the Battle of Vertières in 1803.

The first Republic of Haiti (French: République d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Repiblik d Ayiti) controlled the southern portions of Haiti from 1806 until 1820. The republic, commonly referred to as South Haiti during its existence, was created on 17 October 1806, following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I and the overthrow of the First Empire of Haiti. The southern Republic of Haiti was ruled by General Alexandre Pétion, a free person of color, as President from 9 March 1807 until his death on 29 March 1818. He was succeeded by Jean-Pierre Boyer.

While the Republic of Haiti had control in the south, Henri Christophe ruled over the north of the country as President of the State of Haiti until 1811 when he proclaimed the Kingdom of Haiti with himself as King Henri I. Following King Henri's death in 1820, Haiti was unified as a single republican state under Boyer.