1706-January-01: During the War of the Spanish Succession, the British governor of Jamaica received formal instructions to encourage the inhabitants of Santo…

1706-January-01: During the War of the Spanish Succession, the British governor of Jamaica received formal instructions to encourage the inhabitants of Santo Domingo to drive the French out of Saint-Domingue. This directive illustrated how the island had become a primary theater for European power struggles in the New World. Britain hoped to utilize the local Spanish population as a proxy force to destabilize French colonial interests. Such maneuvers characterized the “vital and at times even dramatic” nature of international relations concerning the island. This strategy demonstrated that European powers viewed the control of Saint-Domingue as essential to maintaining the balance of power in the Atlantic.