1686-June-15: Early commercial and maritime contacts between the English colonies in North America and the island of Saint-Domingue began to take shape durin…

1686-June-15: Early commercial and maritime contacts between the English colonies in North America and the island of Saint-Domingue began to take shape during this year. William Phips, who would later serve as the governor of Massachusetts Colony, successfully recovered a pirate treasure off the island’s coast. This event highlighted the island’s role as a site of both immense wealth and international maritime activity. Such early encounters laid the foundation for the deep commercial interdependence that would later develop between New England and the French colony. Logan uses this example to show that the “American” connection to Haiti predates the formal diplomatic relations of the United States.