1492–1788: (The Foundational Centuries of Saint-Domingue): The first chapter, “A Very Great Island,” provides the broad historical context for the nearly 300…

1492–1788: (The Foundational Centuries of Saint-Domingue): The first chapter, “A Very Great Island,” provides the broad historical context for the nearly 300 years preceding the revolution. It begins with the initial European contact in 1492 and traces the evolution of the territory through its colonial peak in 1788. This section establishes the environmental and social parameters of what would become the wealthiest colony in the French empire. The narrative seeks to explain the structural conditions that both built the colonial economy and sowed the seeds of its destruction. It serves as a necessary prologue to the violent birth of the independent republic.