1. SAINT DOMINQUE Colonization of Hispaniola

2. The Natives • The Taíno Indians or Arawak came to the island around 600 C.E. They called the island Hayti meaning ‘mountainous’. Taíno means Good or Noble in their own language. • They had a complex government of chiefdoms and sub-chiefdoms. • They contributed the words ‘Hurrakan’ and ‘tobakko’ to the Spanish language easily recognized by English speaking peoples as Hurricane and tobacco. • When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, the natives were engaged in a civil war, which led to hardships for early European settlers. • A smallpox epidemic in 1531 will completely devastate the native population. • Today, the northern Haitian Spanish dialect is greatly influenced by the Taíno language

3. SpanishHispaniola • Christopher Columbus arrived on the island on Dec. 5, 1492, calling it Hispaniola. • Christopher Columbus founded a small settlement , La Navidad, near Cap-Haitien in 1492. However upon return in 1493 he found the populace dead. He then established the colony at La Isabela, the first colony in the New World. • With him, Columbus brought pigs and other animals to the New World which prospered. However, he also brought disease which will devastate the native population. • In 1496, Bartholomew Columbus founded Santo Domingo de Guzmán which soon became the island’s capital. 400,000 natives were taken captive to work in the gold mines. By 1535, only a few dozen were still alive due to forced labor, beatings, and mass killings. • Christopher and Bartholomew were taken out of power and sent back to Spain for Mal-governorship

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5. SpanishHispaniola (continued) • In 1502, Nicolas De Ovando was claimed the third governor. He is accredited with killing and torturing most of the native leaders, making rebellion difficult. • Santo Domingo, a name for the island and the city, became a major port for expeditions in the New World. The excursions of Ponce De Leon’s discovery of Puerto Rico, Hernando Cortes’ conquest of Mexico and Balboa’s discovery of the Pacific Ocean were all launched from Santo Domingo. • In 1568, English pirate Francis Drake pillaged Hispaniola. The Spanish dominion of Hispaniola was reduced to Santo Domingo, all other cities were abandoned. • In 1697 Spain signed the Treaty of Ryswick giving the western one-third of the island to France.

6. French Colonization • In 1664 the French came to Hispaniola under the control of the newly established French West India Company. • In 1670 the French had established its first colony, Cap Francais. • The New Colony under the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 was named Saint-Domingue • King Louis XIV encouraged plantations of Tobacco, indigo, cotton, and cocoa. This called for slaves which were imported from Africa. After the Seven Years war in 1754, Saint-Domingue’s population exploded and new crops such as coffee were grown. • During the 1780s, 40% of the sugar and 60% of the coffee consumed in Europe were grown in Saint-Domingue. More than all the British colonies combined.

7. Slavery in Saint-Domingue • During this time period 780,000 slaves were imported from Africa. By 1787 this called for more than 40,000 slaves a year. Because of mal-treatment, the raising of slaves was un-natural and almost all the slaves were imported. • Mal-treatment included burning at the stake, forced consumption of fecies, crucifixion, and whipping. All while being forced to convert to Catholicism. • However, these slaves produced nearly 100 million lbs. of sugar a year. • Saint Domingue had the largest free colored population in the Caribbean in the 18th century, nearly 25,000. • Slave revolts in 1791 led to the French abolition of slavery by 1797.

8. Post Colonization • Jean-Jacques Dessalines came to power in the late 1790’s. Napoleon Bonaparte would not allow a black man to govern the richest colony in the world. After a series of wars, Haiti declared independence on the western one-third of the island. • In 1809 the island fell to Spanish control, thus re-establishing slavery. • In 1822 Haitian loyalists re-conquered Santo Domingo, establishing control of the island and again abolishing slavery. • After another series of battles and rebellions, Santo Domingo and the Eastern portion of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic, declared independence on Feb. 27, 1844. • Civil War would continue for another 70 years into the 20th century.