Slave Insurrection in French Colony
Slave insurrection in the French colony of St. Domingue begins the bloody process of founding the nation of Haiti, the first independent black country in the Americas.more than 4000 white colonists are killed and hundreds of sugar plantations destroyed. Refugees flee to America, many coming to Philadelphia, the largest and most cosmopolitan city in America with the largest northern free black community.
First Parliamentary Bill to Abolish Slavery Introduced
William Wilberforce introduces the first parliamentary bill to abolish the slave trade. It was defeated the following evening by 163 votes to 88.
Anna Laetitia Barbauld Writes Epistle to William Wilberforce
In protest at the event, Anna Laetitia Barbauld writes a poetic Epistle to William Wilberforce, Esq. On the Rejection of the Bill for Abolishing the Slave Trade, 1791.
Benjamin Banneker Publishes Almanac
Quaker-educated Benjamin Banneker, an astronomer and mathematician, becomes the first black man to publish an almanac.
Vermont and Kentucky Admitted to Union
Vermont and Kentucky are admitted to the Union.