In 1697 the island of Hispaniola was formally divided between Spain and France in the Treaty of Ryswick which ended the Nine Years War.

[5][6] Morgan planned and staged many of his largest raids from Isla Vaca, and lost multiple ships in the island's waters which have recently been found and explored by research divers.

In January 1669, Morgan brought ten ships and 800 men to Isla Vaca as a rendezvous point before launching a raid on the Spanish city of Cartagena.

Because he and his fellow buccaneers had just captured two French warships, they decided to celebrate in the easily accessible Ferret Bay on the northwest side of the island.

In the midst of their drunken revelry, the ship's gunpowder magazine was accidentally lit, triggering an explosion that blew up Morgan's flagship HMS Oxford.

[citation needed] But a storm arose and sank his ship Jamaica Merchant, which was loaded with a full complement of cannon which he had been bringing to bolster the defenses at Port Royal.

He conceived a plan to develop Île-à-Vache by sending 5,000 emancipated slaves from the United States to grow cotton there.

The president supported the arrival of more blacks to the country, but he was also reluctant to rent a piece of Haitian soil to a white man.

During the same period, the United States was embroiled in the American Civil War and President Lincoln, who was in favor of the abolition of slavery, was considering plans to establish colonies of emancipated slaves in countries like New Granada and Liberia.

He printed special Gourde notes, upon which was the text Island of A'Vache [sic] and his name, Bernard Kock.

[12][13] One of the most notable foreign-born personalities on Île-à-Vache was Père Margon, a Franciscan priest deeply beloved by the local peasant population.

Père Margon was a staunch advocate for healthy living and played a significant role in the education of many youths on the island.

He served as the head of a free elementary school in Cakok, which was managed by Sister Flora, a fellow Franciscan nun.

Another beloved personality was Sr. Flora, a French-Canadian Franciscan nun founded an orphanage and school which she has run for decades in the village of Madame Bernard.

[14] The Haitian government has announced plans to begin an international touristic destination project on the island of Île-à-Vache.

The government’s projects on the island has launched with plans for 1,000 luxury hotel rooms, an archaeology museum, nightclubs, art galleries and craft boutiques.