The Story of Haitis Flag

Two horizontal bars, blue (representing the ancient slaves) over red (representing the mixed races). In the center is the countrys coat of arms, placed on a white square. The coat of arms depicts a trophy of weapons ready to defend freedom and a royal palm for independence. The palm is topped by the Cap of Liberty. The motto is on a white scroll reading L'Union Fait La Force ("Unity Makes Strength.")

Haitis natives were the Arawak, also called the Taino Indians. They called the land Haiti meaning mountainous. Their population has been decimated by European disease, slaughter, and enslavement. Haiti was repopulated by French Europeans with enslaved Africans, black gold, in the 17th century.

Haiti was a French colony until 1791 when the black slaves revolted, led by Toussaint L Ouvuture. France was weak because it was engaged in a French Revolution at the same time. This helped the slaves win the Haitian Revolution. The enslaved Africans massacred the French landowners and proclaimed the world's first black republic.

Haitis flag derived from the French flag. Jean- Jacques Dessalines, a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of the independent Haiti, removed the white from the French flag and had Catherine Flon sew the remaining blue and red parts together. Removal of the white represented the end of the French enslavement of the Haitian people.

Haitis Leaders Toussaint L OuvertureJean Jacque Dessalines

Toussaint L Ouverture

Read more about Toussaint LOuvutre

Jean Jacques Dessalines

Believed to be born around 1758 in Africa, Jean- Jacques Dessalines was enslaved in the French colony of St. Domingue (Haiti). He worked as lieutenant under Toussaint L'Ouverture after the 1791 slave revolt and later repelled incoming French forces.Toussaint L'Ouverture Dessalines renamed the colony Haiti in 1804 and declared himself emperor. A severe, often times brutal leader, he was killed in a revolt on October 17, 1806, in Pont Rouge, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Dessalines died in 1806 and the new President Alexandre Pétion who succeeded him, personally designed the coat of arms of the Republique that was placed at the center of the flag along with the motto: "LUnion fait la Force," There is strength in unity.

Alexandre Sabe Petion Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince to a Haitian mother and a wealthy French father. Like other gens de couleur libres (free people of color) with wealthy fathers, Pétion was sent to France in 1788 to be educated and study at the Military Academy in Paris.

Gens de Couler In Saint-Domingue, as in other French colonies such as La Louisiane, the free gens de couleur constituted a third caste between the whites and enslaved Africans. While restricted in political rights, many received social capital from their fathers and became educated and wealthy landowners, resented by the petits blancs, who were mostly minor tradesmen. Following the French Revolution of 1789, the gens de couleur led a rebellion to gain the voting and political rights which they believed were due them as French citizens; this was before the slave uprising of At that time, most free people of color did not support freedom or political rights for enslaved Africans and free blacks