By the second half of the 18th century, the number of African slaves in Haiti had reached nearly half a million, outnumbering white settlers by a ratio of ten to one. In the years before the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution, numerous slave rebellions took place. Many of these conflicts were sparked by the growing number of runaway slaves, also known as Maroons. Runaways often hid in swamps. The French Revolution was another important factor that shaped the Haitian Revolution. The French Revolution had a profound effect on the philosophical foundations of Haitian society. The 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen led several mixed-race leaders to petition the French National Constituent Assembly for equality.