In Part 1 of this two-part deep dive into 1804 to 1925, we examine the fragile years following the revolution. We trace the journey from the victory of 1804 to the ultimatum of 1825, when France used gunboat diplomacy to hold Haiti’s freedom hostage for a price.

Second World Issues presents: The Haiti Files. This is the Prologue, your essential point of entry into the dramatic birth of a nation.

Discover Haiti (then Saint-Domingue) on the brink of revolution. This episode dives deep into the final, feverish years leading up to January 1804, exploring the chaos, the ridiculously high stakes, and the desperate choices that made independence inevitable.

You'll meet the key leaders of the revolution and step behind the curtain of the legendary Bois Caïman ceremony, revealing the secret networks and the brutal realities that ignited the only successful slave rebellion in history.

Start here to understand how the impossible became reality.