The Haitian Revolution was a successful anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue. Beginning with a massive slave uprising in 1791, the movement was led by Toussaint Louverture and later Jean-Jacques Dessalines. It is the only slave uprising in history that led to the founding of a state which was both free from slavery and ruled by non-whites and former captives. On January 1, 1804, Haiti declared independence, becoming the first independent nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the first modern republic to permanently abolish slavery.