Сен-Доминг: Французская колония на Гаити (1659–1804)

French colony on the isle of Hispaniola (1659–1804); present day Haiti

Saint Domingue (sɛ̃. dɔ. mɛ̃ɡ) was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern day Haiti, from 1697 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer specifically to the Spanish held Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, now the Dominican Republic. The borders between the two were fluid and changed over time until they were finally solidified in the Dominican War of Independence in 1844. The French had established themselves on the western portion of the islands of Hispaniola and Tortuga by 1659. In the Treaty of Ryswick of 1697, Spain formally recognized French control of Tortuga Island and the western third of the island of Hispaniola. In 1791, slaves and some Creoles took part in a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman and planned the Haitian Revolution. The slave rebellion later allied with Republican French forces following the abolition of slavery in the colony in 1793, although this alienated the island's dominant slave owning class. France controlled the entirety of Hispaniola from 1795 to 1802, when a renewed rebellion began. The last French troops withdrew from the western portion of the island in late 1803, and the colony later declared its independence as Haiti, the Taino name for the island, the following year.

Spain controlled the entire island of Hispaniola from the 1490s until the 17th century, when French pirates began establishing bases on the western side of the island. The official name was La Española, meaning "The Spanish (Island)". It was also called Santo Domingo, after Saint Dominic.

Thousands of slaves escaped into the mountains of Saint Domingue, forming communities of maroons and raiding isolated plantations. The most famous was Mackandal, a one armed slave, originally from the Guinea region of Africa, who escaped in 1751. A Vodou Houngan (priest), he united many of the different maroon bands. For the next six years, he staged successful raids while evading capture by the French. He and his followers reputedly killed more than 6,000 people. He preached a radical vision of killing the white population of Saint Domingue. In 1758, after a failed plot to poison the drinking water of the planters, he was captured and burned alive at the public square in Cap Français. blockquote|lang|ht|"C'est cila io qui plus grands ennemis z'autres qui excité impatience z'autres, qui faire z'autres croire io va tromper z'autres, qui conseillé z'autres faire z'attroupements, & qui cherché faire z'autres soulevé. C'est quelques mauvais blancs & quelques femmes du 4 avril qui gagné peur perdi z'autres, & qui conseillé z'autres brûler cases, faire pillage, tuyé monde & faire brigandages. Io croire, parce que io va retarder révolution la, io va empêcher li caba. Io sottes! io pas voir io mêmes ta payé toute crimes io conseillé z'autres faire. Z'autres sages passé io, z'autres mérité la liberté passé io, z'autres commencé remplir devoirs citoyens, z'autres respecté la loi, l'ordre public & toutes autorités constituées la io République France qui connoit la liberté & l'égalité assez pas capable vlé z'autres rêté toujours dans l'esclavage." After defeating Rigaud, Louverture became master of the whole French colony of Saint Domingue. In November 1799, during the civil war in Saint Domingue, Napoleon Bonaparte gained power in France. He created a new civil code; the French Civil Code of Napoleon affirmed the political and legal equality of all adult men; it established a merit based society in which individuals advanced in education and employment because of talent rather than birth or social standing. The Civil Code confirmed many of the moderate revolutionary policies of the National Assembly but retracted measures passed by the more radical Convention. Napoleon also passed a new constitution, declaring that the colonies would be subject to special laws. Although slaves in Saint Domingue suspected this meant the re introduction of slavery, Napoleon began by confirming Louverture's position and promising to maintain the abolition. Napoleon forbade Louverture to control the formerly Spanish settlement on the eastern side of Hispaniola, as that would have given the Louverture a more powerful defensive position. In January 1801, Louverture invaded the Spanish territory of Santo Domingo, taking possession of it from the governor, Don Garcia, with few difficulties. The area was less developed and populated than the French section. Louverture brought it under French law, abolishing slavery and embarking on a program of modernization. He now controlled the entire island. Louverture promulgated the Constitution of 1801 on 7 July, officially establishing his authority as governor general "for life" over the entire island of Hispaniola and confirming most of his existing policies. Article 3 of the constitution states: "There cannot exist slaves [in Saint Domingue], servitude is therein forever abolished. All men are born, live and die free and French." During this time, Bonaparte met with the planters of Saint Domingue and they urged the restoration of slavery in Saint Domingue, stating that it was integral to the colony's economy.

The Haitian Revolution culminated in the elimination of slavery in Saint Domingue and the founding of the Haitian Empire in the whole of Hispaniola. Having sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in April 1803, Napoleon lost interest in his failing ventures in the Western Hemisphere. Between 1791 and 1810, more than 25,000 Creoles – planters, poorer whites ("petits blancs"), and free people of color ("gens de couleur libres"), as well as the slaves who accompanied them – fled primarily to the United States in 1793, Jamaica in 1798, and Cuba in 1803. Many of them found their way to Louisiana, with the largest wave of refugees, more than 10,000 people – almost equally divided among whites, free people of color, and slaves – arriving in New Orleans between May 1809 and January 1810 after being expelled from Cuba, nearly doubling the population of the city. These refugees had a significant impact on the culture of Louisiana, including developing its sugar industry and cultural institutions. On April 17, 1825, the French king (Charles X) issued a decree stating France would recognize Haitian independence, but only at the price of 150 million francs – 10 times the amount the U. S. had paid for the Louisiana territory. The sum was meant to compensate the French colonists for their lost revenues from slavery. Newspaper articles from the period reveal that the French king knew the Haitian government was hardly capable of making these payments, as the total was more than 10 times Haiti's annual budget. Baron de Mackau, whom Charles X sent to deliver the ordinance, arrived in Haiti in July, accompanied by a squadron of 14 brigs of war carrying more than 500 cannons. With the threat of violence looming, on July 11, 1825, Haitian president Jean Pierre Boyer signed the document, which stated, "The present inhabitants of the French part of St. Domingue shall pay in five equal installments the sum of 150,000,000 francs, destined to indemnify the former colonists." Researchers have found that the independence debt and the resulting drain on the Haitian treasury were directly responsible not only for the underfunding of education in 20th century Haiti, but also lack of health care and the country's inability to develop public infrastructure. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, American and British authors often referred to Saint Domingue period as "Santo Domingo" or "San Domingo." Like the name Haiti itself, Saint Domingue may refer to all of Hispaniola, or the western part in the French colonial period, while the Spanish version Hispaniola or Santo Domingo is often used to refer to the Spanish colonial period or the Dominican nation.