Jean-Jacques Dessalines

• September 20, 1758
  Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of an independent Haiti, is born and named after his owner Jean-Jacques Duclos, in Guinea
• August 22, 1791
  Haitian Revolution, the only slave revolt which led to the founding of a state, begins in the French colony of Saint-Domingue
• May 6, 1794
  After the French declared an end to slavery, Toussaint Louverture, Haitian rebel leader, ends his alliance with the Iberian monarchy and embraces the French Republicans
• 1801
  Dessalines cruelly supresses an insurrection in the north led by Toussaint Louverture's nephew, General Moyse
• March 22, 1802
  After a 20-day siege Dessalines and his 1,300 men are forced to abandon strategically important Crete-a-Pierrot fort and go into the Cahos Mountains through the enemy lines being largely intact
• 1802, October
  After the betrayal and capture of Toussaint Louverture and re-establishment slavery in Guadeloupe by France, Dessalines becomes the leader of the revolution
• November 18, 1803
  Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian rebel leader, leads his army to decisive victory over the French at the Battle of Vertieres, the last major battle of the the Haitian Revolution
• January 1, 1804
  Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares independence from France and proclaims the Republic of Haiti, making it the only nation in the world established as a result of a successful slave revolt
• April 20, 1804
  Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian rebel leader, commands 1804 Haiti Massacre of the French at town of Cape Francois, during which the white Haitians were practically eradicated
• October 8, 1804
  Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Governor-General of Haiti, crowns himself James I, Emperor of Haiti with the right to name his successor, in the city of Le Cap
• May 20, 1805
  The Imperial Constitution of Haiti, which names Dessalines emperor for life with the right to name his successor, is released
• October 17, 1806
  Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the Emperor of Haiti, is assassinated by members of his administration after a meeting to negotiate the future of the young nation