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The
History of Haiti
French Colonialism
Although Hispaniola never realized its economic potential under Spanish
rule, it remained strategically important as the gateway to the Caribbean.
The Caribbean region provided the opportunity for seafarers from Britain,
France, and the Netherlands to impede Spanish shipping, to waylay galleons
crammed with gold, and to establish a foothold in a hemisphere parceled
by papal decree between the Roman Catholic kingdoms of Spain and Portugal.
This competition was carried on throughout the Caribbean, but nowhere as
intensely as on Hispaniola.
Sir Francis
Drake of England led one of the most famous forays against the port of
Santo Domingo in 1586, just two years before he played a key role in the
English navy's defeat of the Spanish Armada. Drake failed to secure the
island, but his raid, along with the arrival of corsairs and freebooters
in scattered settlements, was part of a pattern of encroachment that gradually
diluted Spanish dominance.
| Source: U.S. Library of Congress |
