Describe the french colony's link to the silver trade

I have a hunch you're talking about the French colony of Haiti.  Just off Haiti's north coast was a place pirates lurked who would go after Spanish ships to steal the silver they were transporting from the New World.

So if you are a fan of "Pirates of the Caribbean," you should know that there were real pirates operating in the Caribbean back in the day -- but they weren't quite like the sort seen in the movies.