History of Haiti
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The recorded history of Haiti began in 1492, when the European captain and explorer Christopher Columbus landed on a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be know
Christopher Columbus landing on the island of Hispaniola in 1492
Engraving of Cap-Français in 1728
Citadelle Laferrière, built by Henri Christophe, is the largest fortress in the Americas.
As the unofficial leader of the revolution, Toussaint L'Ouverture is considered the father of Haiti.
Saint-Domingue
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Saint-Domingue was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the
History of Haiti
…Spanish Island"), later Latinized to Hispaniola. By the early 17th century, the French had built a settlement on the west of Hispaniola and called it Saint-Domingue. Prior to the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the economy of Saint-Domingue gradually expanded, with sugar and, later, coffee becoming important export…
A Creole servant boy and his mother
Drawing of a slave sale aboard the Marie Séraphique in the waters off Cap‑Français, 1773
Jean-Baptiste Belley, an affranchi who became a rich planter, elected member of the Estates General for Saint-Domingue, and later Deputy of the French National Convention
A rich Creole planter and his wife