The first black republic in the world Haiti, was born in 1804 from a slave rebellion. The man who led that revolt was himself a former slave - Toussaint L'Ouverture. The revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality were immensely powerful in their impact on blacks and whites alike. Once they had tasted freedom, the blacks fought desperately to retain it. Napoleon Bonaparte, however, was determined to reduce Toussaint, 'this gilded African' as he called him, to submission. After a long and bitter struggle the victory over slavery was won, though Toussaint's own end was to be tragic. This extraordinary history of colonial warfare and foreign intervention is full of echoes for our own time. It is told by JOHN JULIUS NORWICH in the exotic plantations, fortresses and villas where the story unfolded.