Final answer:
Toussaint Louverture led more than 100,000 slaves in a historic revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue on Hispaniola, which led to the Haitian Revolution and the colony's subsequent independence as Haiti in 1804.
Step-by-step explanation:
The slave revolt that led to more than 100,000 slaves rising up in the French colony of Saint-Domingue on the island of Hispaniola was initiated by François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, a former slave who became a prominent military leader. This historic uprising began on August 22, 1791, amidst the worldwide changes ushered in by the French Revolution. Louverture's leadership transformed what started as a slave rebellion into a full-fledged revolution, eventually leading to the independence of Haiti in 1804, making it the first successful slave-led country's independence in the Americas.
The revolt was characterized by fierce battles, strategic alliances, and a common desire for liberty among the enslaved population, who sought to end the brutal regime of forced labor on plantations that had enriched European colonists at the expense of African lives. Despite Louverture's capture and subsequent death at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces, the revolution continued under the leadership of Jean-Jacques Dessalines and ultimately triumphed with the declaration of Haitian independence, marking the end of French colonial rule and the foundation of the free republic of Haiti.