1-646-663 - Art Media/Heritage Images

Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti, 1806. Dessalines joined the 1791 slave uprising that began the Haitian Revolution, going on to become one of its leaders. After Haiti declared its independence from France, Dessalines became its first ruler. An autocratic dictator, he declared himself Emperor in 1804. He was assassinated on 17th October 1806.