1749–1783: (The Rise of the Capital and the Mirage of Colonial Wealth): Following the anchoring of the ship Prince in 1706, a former pirate nest was develope…

1749–1783: (The Rise of the Capital and the Mirage of Colonial Wealth): Following the anchoring of the ship Prince in 1706, a former pirate nest was developed into the new capital, Port-au-Prince, and officially proclaimed as such in 1749. By the mid-18th century, Saint-Domingue had become France’s greatest colony, supplying Europe with immense quantities of sugar, coffee, and cocoa. By 1783, the colony’s commerce accounted for more than a third of France’s total foreign trade, even as it relied on a “suffocating materialism” built on human exploitation. Despite an air of opulence that dazzled Europeans and the recording of 3,000 theatrical productions, the colony notably lacked a university or any formal school system. This superficial society masked underlying realities of extreme repression, as evidenced by the 1758 council of Cap Français enacting strict bans on sorcery and slave assemblies.