wealthier emancipated slaves, often referred to as “affranchis”. This caused uproar among the small European population of Saint-Domingue, who refused to treat them as equal. This, as well as generations of inequality and brutality, caused Biassou and other African slaves to become enraged July 1791 saw physical fights between Europeans and African slaves, and in August of the same year, a slave rebellion rose. Georges Biassou attended the Vodou ceremony at Bois-Caiman where Vodou priest, Dutty Boukman, declared that Georges Biassou, Jean-François Papillon and Jeannot Bullet would lead the insurrection. Jean-François executed Jeannot early in the uprising due to his excessive violence and cruelty, particularly that he commanded a rebel camp in which he tortured and executed white prisoners. Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution was a series of conflicts which began on 22 August 1791 and ended on 1 January 1804. It involved Haitian slaves, "affranchis", “mulattoes”, colonists, French royalist troops, French revolutionary forces, and the British and Spanish armies. The revolution was initially an insurrection against French imperial authority; however, it later became a battle of racial inequity, and then of slavery in general. Thomas Madiou's Historie d’Haïti (English: History of Haiti) emphasises that within the first months of fighting, Georges Biassou and Jean-François Papillon became the most important insurgent leaders. Biassou commanded approximately 40,000 slaves to burn plantations and murder the “great whites”. Biassou and Papillon proposed peace negotiations with France, offering to cease the revolt in exchange for emancipation. France was preoccupied, being at war with several monarchies and kingdoms, and hence dismissed this proposal. Concurrently, Biassou and Papillon developed informal contacts with Spain, which controlled Santo Domingo. In 1793, France declared war on Spain, a war which eventually manifested in Hispaniola. Spain granted freedom to the revolutionaries in exchange for their assistance in battling France in Santo Domingo. A military organisation called the Black Auxiliaries of Charles IV was formed for the rebel leaders. Members included Georges Biassou, Jean-François Papillon, Toussaint Louverture and other rebels. The Black Auxiliaries were provided with weapons, supplies, and salaries. Biassou ultimately received Spanish citizenship, gold medals, and letters of recognition and confidence from the Spanish Government. Slave emancipation in Saint-Domingue In 1792, abolitionist Léger Félicité Sonthonax was sent to Saint-Domingue from France to maintain order. He was titled the de facto ruler of Saint Domingue from September 1792 to 1795. Sonthonax also offered freedom to slaves who joined his army.