 Meanwhile the French, who had managed to maintain a precarious control of eastern Hispaniola, were defeated by insurgents led by Juan Sánchez Ramírez, with the area returning to Spanish rule in 1809 following the Battle of Palo Hincado.Beginning in 1821, President Jean-Pierre Boyer, also an "homme de couleur" and successor to Pétion, reunified the island following the suicide of Henry Christophe.After Santo Domingo declared its independence from Spain on 30 November 1821, Boyer invaded, seeking to unite the entire island by force and ending slavery in Santo Domingo.