The
French acquisition of Santo Domingo also at this time referred to as the
French Santo Domingo or
Saint-Domingue occurred in 1795 when
France briefly came to own the whole island when by the
Treaty of Basel Spain ceded the
eastern Santo Domingo colony as a consequence of the
French Revolutionary Wars. At the time, slaves led by
Toussaint Louverture in
Saint-Domingue (western colony) were in revolt against France. In 1801, Toussaint Louverture arrived in Santo Domingo, proclaiming the abolition of slavery on behalf of the French Republic and then captured Santo Domingo from the French and took control of the entire island.