The French Revolution of 1789 not only propelled all of Europe into a war, but also touched off slave uprisings in the ... which was called Haiti, a "higher place." ...

European women were scarce in Haiti in the early days, and the white fathers of these mulattoes mostly looked after their children — so they grew up free, educated and in many cases slave-owners ...

However, when news of the revolution spread to the French colony of Saint-Domingue, known today as Haiti, slaves revolted violently, burning plantations to the ground and executing any Frenchman ...