Yes, Haiti was ruled by France for most of the 18th century and the early 19th century. France established the colony of Saint-Domingue on the island of Hispaniola in the late 1600s. The colony thrived, becoming one of the most profitable colonies in the Americas, primarily due to the sugarcane plantations worked by a large enslaved African population. In 1789, a slave revolt known as the Haitian Revolution broke out in Saint-Domingue, with the enslaved population rebelling against the French colonial rule. After more than a decade of conflict, Haiti declared independence from France and became the Republic of Haiti in 1804, becoming the second nation in the Americas after the United States to successfully fight for and establish democratic republican rule.