Slaves were forbidden from practicing Voodoo
1791 August 22 the slaves revolted leading to a war against the French
January 1, 1804 Slaves defeated an army sent by Napoleon Bonaparte
January 1, 1804 Haiti declared independence establishing the world's first Black republic
1804 all white people were thrown out of Haiti and many were killed including Catholic Priests
1957 Francois Duvalier , "Papa Doc" became dictator in 1964
1971 Jean-Claude Duvalier, "Baby Doc" followed his father as dictator at the age of 19
1986 "Baby Doc" was deposed
1990 Military rule ended and Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president
2004 February 29 President Aristide left Haiti
Voodoo
Voodoo is the dominant religion of Haiti and is an amalgamation of African spirit religion and Catholicism
The priesthood of Voodoo contains both men (houngan) and women (mambo) and their functions include:
Performing religious ceremonies
Healing
Pacifying spirits
Telling the future and reading dreams
Casting spells (from love spells to death spells)
Creating potions
The religious rites of the religion are usually held outside and everyone participates
Drums are central to the accompanying music as is dancing
A master of ceremonies is often present and 'Iwa' often come and take over a person's body
Nearly every Voodoo service has animal sacrifice
Voodoo consists of peaceful Voodoo called Rada and the dangerous Petro which encompasses Black Magic with death curses and the making of zombies