«Gruppi informali» come attori dello sviluppo: il caso della colonia francese di Saint-Domingue, 1664-1763

Abstract

The French colony of Saint-Domingue (today Haiti) have been known, between the first half of the 17th century and the end of the 18th, for the presence of «informal groups» active in the Caribbean area. Buccaneers, smugglers and pirates who resided on the western coasts of Española found, in the assistance offered by colonial officers, the main support to create a network based on military actions and commercial exchanges extended not only over the Caribbean Sea, but over the southern Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. The aim of this article is to analyze the relations established between local authorities and these «informal groups», seeking to identify material causes and political-strategic reasons that favored their development. Moreover, it tries to recognize brief and long term effects in the Saint-Domingue economic and social structures evolution.

Keywords

• Caraibi
• Caribbean
• gruppi informali
• Haiti
• informal groups
• pirateria
• pirates
• transnational studies