 Sensing an opportunity, in August 1791 the first slave armies were established in northern Haiti under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture inspired by the Vodou "houngan" (priest) Boukman, and backed by the Spanish in Santo Domingo – soon a full-blown slave rebellion had broken out across the entire colony.In 1792, the French government sent three commissioners with troops to re-establish control; to build an alliance with the "gens de couleur" and slaves commissioners Léger-Félicité Sonthonax and Étienne Polverel abolished slavery in the colony.Six months later, the National Convention, led by Maximilien de Robespierre and the Jacobins, endorsed abolition and extended it to all the French colonies.