Coffee 3.1 HAITI
In what year did the official introduction of the first coffee plants (Arabica) take place in Santo Domingo, initiated by French settlers in the Terrier-Rouge region?
75% of players answered correctly.
THE CORRECT ANSWER: 1728
The official introduction of the coffee tree to Santo Domingo dates back to 1728, when French settlers planted the first Arabica seedlings in the northern region, more precisely in Terrier-Rouge. These first shrubs came directly from the greenhouses of the Royal Garden of Plants in Paris, direct descendants of the coffee plant offered to King Louis XIV by the mayor of Amsterdam.If the cultivation of sugar cane already largely dominated the plains of the colony, the coffee tree quickly found its ideal place in the steep mountainous areas, called mornes. This strategic geographic choice enabled dazzling agricultural expansion.Within a few decades, thanks to exceptionally rich volcanic soils and the ferocious exploitation of a slave labor force, the colony became the nerve center of global coffee production, radically transforming the island's landscapes and economy.