The 1791 revolt was the largest and only successful slave uprising in history

Evidence

It was a dramatic challenge to the world as it then was. Slavery was at the heart of the thriving system of merchant capitalism that was profiting Europe, devastating Africa, and propelling the rapid expansion of the Americas. The most powerful European empires were deeply involved and invested in slavery’s continuing existence, as was much of the nation to the north that had preceded Haiti to independence, the United States. For decades Saint-Domingue had been the leading example of the massive profits that could be made through the brutal institution. Then, in 1791, the colony’s slaves began a massive uprising. It became the largest slave revolt in the history of the world, and the only one that succeeded. Within a few years these Caribbean revolutionaries gained liberty for all the slaves in the French empire. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 19

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader Atlantic slavery and revolution literature; the ‘only successful slave revolt’ claim reframes how scholars periodize New World emancipation. — connects to: Religious practice organized and inspired the 1791 slave insurrection; The Haitian Revolution inspired slave revolts across the Americas; The 1791 slave insurrection destroyed Gallifet’s famed sugar plantations
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 19

Broader Connections

• The Haitian Revolution inspired slave revolts across the Americas #expands (0.60)
• Religious practice organized and inspired the 1791 slave insurrection #corroborates (0.50)
• The 1791 slave insurrection destroyed Gallifet’s famed sugar plantations #exemplifies (0.40)