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Mercantilism Cripples Colonial Prosperity
- Mercantilism forced Saint-Domingue to trade only with France, depressing colonial export prices and inflating import costs.
- Colonists maintained thriving contraband trade because the exclusive harmed local economies and profits.
Divide Among Whites Secures Royal Control
- Royal administrators used divisions between big and small whites to retain control and prevent unified colonial opposition.
- That internal white split later mapped onto different phases of revolutionary politics in Saint-Domingue.
Free Coloreds Gain Power By Staying
- Free people of color accumulated wealth and power by investing locally and staying in the colony rather than returning to France.
- Their rooted presence threatened white dominance and reshaped colonial social dynamics.