Polish Haitians are primarily Haitian people of Polish and African ancestry (Mulattos) dating to the early 19th century, these Haitian Mulattoes are direct descendants of the Polish soldiers who fought in favor of the Hatian slaves against the French.


In 1802, Napoleon added a Polish legion of around 5,200 men to the French forces he sent to Saint-Domingue to attempt to suppress the slave rebellion. The Poles may have been hoping to gain French support to gain independence from the partition of their nation by Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Some at least were told that there was a revolt of prisoners in Saint-Domingue. After they arrived and began to be thrown into battle, the Polish platoon learned that the French were trying to suppress a rebellion by enslaved Africans fighting for their freedom from white masters.

In Poland, Polish soldiers were fighting to gain liberty from the occupying forces of Russia, Prussia and Austria that had begun in 1772. Many Poles believed that if they fought for France, Bonaparte would reward them by restoring Polish independence, which had been ended with the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. Many Poles were seeking union amongst themselves to win back their freedom and independence by organizing an uprising.

Both French and Polish soldiers had high mortality, with more dying because of yellow fever than being killed in warfare. Surviving Polish soldiers admired their opponents, and eventually turned on the French army and joined the rebelling Africans. Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski, who was half-black, was one of the Polish generals but died soon after reaching Saint-Domingue. Polish soldiers are credited with contributing to the establishment of the world's first free black republic and the first independent Caribbean state

After Haiti gained its independence, Dessalines recognized the Poles and spared them when he ordered the massacre of most French whites and many free people of color (mulattos) on the island. He granted the Poles classification as Noir (black), who constituted the new ruling class, and in the constitution granted them full Haitian citizenship. Cazale became a center of their community. Descendants of Polish-Haitians were peasants like the great majority of most of the residents on the island. Cazale was sometimes called home of Zalewski, as many locals believed that was the source of the name. Zalewski is a common name, and the Haitian Creole word for home (kay) may also have been part of its history

Haiti's first head of state Jean-Jacques Dessalines called Polish people "the White Negroes of Europe", which was then regarded a great honour, as it meant brotherhood between Poles and Haitians.





Over time the Polish soldiers mixed with the Hatians, and today the descendants of these Polish soldiers are within 5% - 8% of the mulatto Haitian population, their descendants are found in Cazales, is a village in Haiti. It is located in a mountainous region more than 70 kilometers from Port-au-Prince, the capital. It is the main population center of the Polish community in Haiti, called La Pologne (Poland). The name Cazale may have originated as kay Zalewski, meaning "home of Zalewski"