1681–1791: (The Human Toll and Diversity of African Lineage): The documented slave trade in Saint-Domingue expanded from a census of 10,000 in May 1681 to an…

1681–1791: (The Human Toll and Diversity of African Lineage): The documented slave trade in Saint-Domingue expanded from a census of 10,000 in May 1681 to an official figure of 500,000 by 1791. Historian Thomas Madiou suggested the actual population likely exceeded 700,000 because many individuals were hidden from tax rolls to avoid the annual capitation tax. By 1789, the colony held 60% of all the people France held enslaved in the Americas, with two-thirds of that population being African-born. The population was remarkably diverse, consisting of a Bantu majority from Congo and Angola, numerous Guineans, and the prized, warlike Senegalese. Also highly valued were the Aradas of Dahomey, a group King Christophe would eventually recruit to serve as his “Dahomets” royal police force.