Just returned from a Holiday trip at Haiti island, yet I can't help but keep being amused with their history.
For a Nation that started as the result of African Slave Revolt, Haiti has been the story of success, even if their start is rather rough.
Initially proclaimed their independence by Toussaint Louverture after ousting their French overlords, Haiti was then subjected to a series of French expeditions aimed to retake control of the island, as well as a vicious power struggle between the Catholic Population against the Vodou practitioners, which are the majority of the ex-slave Populace.
The Vodou movement, led by Jean-Jacques Samedi (formerly Dessalines), end up gaining the upper hand, due to the growing sentiment that Christianity (particularly Catholicism) is a "Slave Religion", and Jean-Jacques end up being crowned by the council of Vodou Hougans in 1802 as King Jegede I of Haiti.
...
Yeah, I know it is kind of funny now, on how the Kingdom of Haiti regularly get into spats with (West) African Nations over the Christian and Islamic oppression of Vodou practitioners, something that they can't exactly do if The Vodou Kingdom being less successful, rich, and influential.
So... What if Haiti turned out to be a failed state? What if the Vodou religion failed to unite Africans in the New World to break from their chains of slavery?