Death’s visibility and wealth coexisted at the core of colonial Saint-Domingue

Evidence

The dead were inescapable in Saint-Domingue, as Moreau lamented in describing the entrance to one town where the sight of a pleasant fountain was offset by the cemetery beside it. It was as if a vow had been taken always to strike travelers with the “lugubrious” presence of the departed. At the same time, Saint-Domingue was a powerful life-source for the booming Atlantic economy, generating fortunes for individuals on both sides of the ocean. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 56

Categorization

• STORYSTEM: A setting where death is architecturally present while life thrives — the juxtaposition as a governing atmosphere for fiction set in a brutal economy.
• XREF: connects to: Wealth purchased privileged burial places in Saint-Domingue’s churches — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 51; Death’s constant presence shaped the sensory experience of Saint-Domingue towns; Saint-Domingue was a graveyard for indigenous, European, and enslaved populations alike — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 50 (+6 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Wealth purchased privileged burial places in Saint-Domingue’s churches — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 51; Death’s constant presence shaped the sensory experience of Saint-Domingue towns; Saint-Domingue was a graveyard for indigenous, European, and enslaved populations alike — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 50 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• The Gallifet plantations symbolized sweetness and happiness in colonial Saint-Domingue #complicates (0.80)