French revolution in 1789 sparked the Haitian Revolution. However, it started with great dissatisfaction with the Metropolitan France. This created alliances and movements. France enforced a system called the "exclusif" on Saint-Domingue. This meant that Saint-Domingue sold all of their exports to France and purchased all of her imports from France The French merchants and crown set the prices for both imports and exports, and the prices were extraordinarily favorable to France and in no way competitive with world markets similar system to when England had forced on its North American colonies and which finally sparked the independence movement in these colonies.
The Saint-Dominguans did not abide strictly by the law. A contraband trade grew up with the British in Jamaica and especially with British North America, and after its successful revolution, the United States. The Americans wanted molasses from Saint- Domingue for their burgeoning rum distilleries, and Saint-Domingue imported huge quantities of low quality dried fish to feed to the slaves.
The planters and the free people of color were equally annoyed by the oppression of France's exclusif. There was a growing independence movement, and this movement is what united the white planters with the free people of color. This was unusual since the whites continued to oppress the free people of color in their social life, but formed a coalition with them on the political and economic front. It is important remember that this independence movement did not include the slaves. Those who were a party to the movement were avowed slave owners and their vision of a free Saint-Domingue was like the United States, a slave owning nation.