In the 18th century, the French colony of Saint-Domingue, today's Haiti, supplied more than half of the coffee consumed in the world, HaitiLibre recalled in its “Did you know?” history column on October 29.

The climate of the colony's mountains and the fertility of its soils were ideal for growing arabica. Together with sugar, coffee made Saint-Domingue the richest and most coveted colony in the Caribbean, often nicknamed the “Pearl of the Antilles.”

That wealth rested entirely on the brutal exploitation of enslaved people on intensive plantations. The column notes that this oppressive system ultimately led to the Haitian Revolution of 1791 and to the country's historic independence in 1804.