A Slaveholder's Nightmare

The revolution terrified every slaveholding society in the Americas. If enslaved people in Saint-Domingue could overthrow their masters, it could happen anywhere. Southern American states tightened their slave codes. European colonies increased military garrisons.

In the United States, southern states banned the import of Haitian coffee and refused to recognize Haitian independence for 58 years. Napoleon lost so many soldiers trying to retake the island that he sold the Louisiana Territory to fund his European wars — doubling the size of the United States almost by accident.