Slavery became illegal in the United Kingdom in 1772 by court decision (see Somerset v Stewart), and in the British colonies by statute in 1838. In France slavery was illegal at least since the sixteenth century, and as part of the French Revolution, it was abolished in French colonies in 1794 (although it was restored from 1802 to 1848). Starting in 1791 the slaves of Saint-Domingue revolted, gaining their freedom, and established the free Black country of Haiti.