Age of Revolutions · TURNING POINT · 1804

Haiti declares independence (1804)

On the Age of Revolutions map as “Independence at Gonaïves”

1 Jan 1804 — Dessalines proclaimed the free state of Haiti in the square of Gonaïves. The choice of the Taíno name was deliberate. The age’s only revolution of the enslaved was complete.

When: 1 Jan 1804
Type: Turning point
Chapter: Haitian Revolution (chapter 5 of Age of Revolutions)
Atlas: The Age of Revolutions, 1775–1848

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Map showing Haiti declares independence (1804), turning point in The Age of Revolutions, 1775–1848 — TURNING POINT · THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS, 1775–1848

These maps are reconstructed from published sources · Cliopatria v 0.2.1 · Office of the Historian: Haitian Revolution 1791–1804 · Embassy of Haiti: Key Dates · US National Archives: Louisiana Purchase Treaty 1803 · Library of Congress: A Question of Boundaries · Natural Earth physical geography · Newberry Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: historical states and territories

Source details

Cliopatria contributors / Seshat Global History Databank. Selected, combined, reprojected and corrected by Maps of History as described per layer.. CC BY4.0
US Department of State, Office of the Historian.. Historical evidence citation
Embassy of Haiti; the island-wide source polygons after 1806 are national footprint references rather than proof of one undivided administration.. Historical evidence citation
US National Archives, treaty of 30 April 1803.. Historical evidence citation; no map copied
Library of Congress: limitations of the original purchase delimitation.. Historical evidence citation; no map copied
Made with Natural Earth; present coastlines support physical clipping, not historical political boundaries.. Public domain
The Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. State/territory records unioned for the displayed date; disputed/joint territories excluded from exclusive US sovereignty.. Publisher permits commercial and noncommercial lawful reuse without fees; current terms supersede obsolete NC notice in archive

Annual source outlines can combine imperial claims with areas of control. The labels identify the historical role selected, while dates finer than the source interval are made explicit in these details.

The US outline follows dated Newberry legal and administrative records. Other, joint and disputed territories are excluded from exclusive US fill. The outline says nothing about Indigenous consent or actual settlement.

Haiti is shown using an 1805 footprint with its 1804 independence date. Louisiana follows Newberry’s actual 1804 union, correcting the smaller Cliopatria US outline.

Displayed map state a 04 at 1804; chapter framing 1804. Where finer geometry is unavailable, monthly states use annual source references.

proxy: 1805–1808 source used for 1 January 1804 · reconstruction: 1804 · vector: 1709–1808 · vector: 1778–1804 · vector: 1803–1804 · vector: 1804-01-01

Layer records and reconstruction methods