The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) was a conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, leading to the abolition of slavery in Haiti and the formation of Haiti as the first modern republic ruled by Africans. It was the biggest slave rebellion since the Zanj rebellion in Iraq, which also lasted 14 years. Its leaders were former slaves who decided to fight for freedom, like Toussaint L'ouverture, Cécile Fatiman, Dutty Boukman, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The Haitian Revolution led to Haiti being the second nation in the Americas (after the United States) formed from a European colony, and the first one to ban slavery. 