Saint-Domingue’s regions stayed fragmented because mountains kept them isolated until 1787.

Evidence

Only in 1751, when Port-au-Prince—the largest town in the Western Province—became the island’s capital, was a passage cut across these mountains. The royal government paid for the road, but slaves built it, carving a 100-foot stairway into the rock. Not until 1787, however, was it possible to travel from Le Cap to Port-au-Prince by carriage. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 99