Noiser
The Haitian Revolution
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This episode will be available to listen to for free on 18th May 2026. You can listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiser+. Head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions for more information.
The first and only successful uprising of enslaved people to establish a nation-state, the Haitian Revolution began in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1791. Inspired, in part, by the ideals of liberty and equality of the French Revolution, what began as scattered uprisings among the plantations quickly grew into a full-scale insurrection.
But how did the Haitian Revolution begin? Who were the brave men and women who risked everything for freedom? And why has the world never stopped punishing Haiti for daring to claim its liberty?
This is a Short History Of the Haitian Revolution.
A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Marlene Daut, Professor of French and African Diaspora Studies at Yale University, and author of The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe.
Written by Nicola Rayner | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by The Soundhouse Studios | Assembly edit by Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact Check: Sean Coleman
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