1492–1788: (The Foundational Era of the Great Island): The opening chapter of the history, titled “A Very Great Island,” establishes the colonial groundwork …

1492–1788: (The Foundational Era of the Great Island): The opening chapter of the history, titled “A Very Great Island,” establishes the colonial groundwork of the territory from the late 15th century to the late 18th century. It begins with the arrival of Europeans in 1492 and meticulously traces the development of the island through its peak as a French colony. This period serves to illustrate the geographic and economic significance of Saint-Domingue before the revolutionary spark. The authors use these nearly three centuries to define the structural conditions that characterized the island’s early history. This chapter provides the essential preamble to the violent transition that would eventually lead to the birth of Haiti.