Haiti. Province of Ouest. Port-Au-Prince. Champ-de-Mars. Celebration and commemoration of the Vertières's battle which took place on november 18 1803 ( 200 years ago). The french army was defeated and had to surrender. It marked the victory of the haitian revolution and six weeks later, january 1 1804, Haiti was declared an independent state (the first black free state). Students under the haitian flag red and blue. © 2003 Didier Ruef