the region around the city had the taíno name of "guarico", the name used by the spanish colonists for the region and the new city. when french people came from the tortuga island to live here, they founded the city in 1670 and the french king louis xiv named the place as "cap-français" in 1711; it was then the capital city of the "saint-domingue" colony until 1770 when port-au-prince became the new capital city.