Specifically:
* 1625: French settlers from Saint-Christophe arrived on the island of Hispaniola, which was then under Spanish control.
* 1697: The Treaty of Ryswick officially ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France, establishing the French colony of Saint-Domingue (which later became Haiti).
While French became the dominant language of the elite and colonial administration, it's important to note that:
* Haitian Creole, a language developed from French and African languages, arose and became the primary language of the majority of the population.
* Indigenous languages, spoken by the Taíno people who inhabited the island before colonization, were largely suppressed.
Therefore, while French was brought to Haiti in the 17th century, Haitian Creole eventually became the language most widely spoken by Haitians.