Colonial Rule of the Dominican Republic Essays

The Dominican Republic is situated on the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The remaining one third of the Island belongs to the country of Haiti. While it is not the intent of this essay to discuss the complete history of the country, it is important to mention that the Haitian side of the island was colonized by France while the Dominican side was colonized by Spain. The Spanish oppressed the indigenous native population that was on the island for a long time and after three centuries of occupation by the Spanish, the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic was explored by Christopher Columbus in 1492. When he first discovered it, he named it ‘La Española.’ It became an official country in 1844. The capital is Santo Domingo and the population is about 10.4 million people. The main language spoken there is Spanish, the main religion is Roman Catholic, and their Independence Day is February 27, 1844, which makes it younger than the United States.

This section highlights that history has created a false narrative depicting the natives as a victimized people, which they were to some extent but only in the fashion that they did not possess the same technology for warfare, immunity of communal diseases transmitted, and they were not anticipating combat. All other factors considered, the natives stood to be a potential threat. In regards to knowledge obtained by Spaniards prior to arrival and knowledge gained from observation, it would be remiss had they not prepared for battle. This argument is not to be misconstrued in approving their actions; I do recognize colonization as an evil for both the reasons employed and its damaging effects, but rather to change the narrative surrounding that of the native people. While they did experience a tragedy, I feel that it is erroneous to write them into history as being incompetent resulting from their

On the island of Hispaniola, which borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean sea is home to the countries o the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Dominican Republic occupies about two/ thirds of the island and is home to roughly around 10.65 million people. The Dominican Republic has many mountains and valleys which divide the country into the three regions of the northern, the central, and the southwestern. The northern region borders the Atlantic Ocean and is made up of mountains or in Spanish as they call it “ The Cordillera Sepetentrional. Along the northern region of the country as well is the Cibao Valley which is Spanish means rocky land. The Cibao valley is the most populated region of the Dominican Republic. It is also a

Decena, Fatima as well as from speaking to people from CENIFE and to people from the hostel that I stayed at and from the streets of where I visited in the Dominican Republic-from Santo Domingo to Boca Chica. This fascinating history goes something like this: The Dominican Republic became a nation on February 27, 1844 when a group of revolutionaries seized power from the Haitian rulers of the island of Hispaniola. When Christopher Columbus first discovered the island in 1492, he named it La Isla Española, which became Hispaniola. The city of Santo Domingo became the Spanish capital of the New World, and because of its location it was the gateway to the Caribbean. France gained some Hispaniola real estate on the western end of the island, which became prosperous, and by 1795 Spain yielded the entire island to France. By 1804 the black African slaves in the western portion of the island, which is now Haiti, rebelled against the French and took over and ruled the entire island. French troops eventually took back control of the island, and they were able to occupy only the western end of this island. In 1838 a small group of Spanish-speaking Dominican intellectuals from Santo Domingo organized a secret society called La Trinitaria to overthrow the Haitian rule. The society was established by Juan Pablo Duarte, and after the overthrow of the Haitian rule, Pedro Santana, one of the leaders in the revolution, became the first president of the Dominican

For this map project, the country of research is the Dominican Republic located in both the northern and western hemispheres in the Caribbean. The country is located on the east section of the island of Hispaniola, with the country of Haiti on the west section. The island of the Hispaniola is the second largest island of the West Indies and it is 29,418 square miles in total. The Dominican Republic's shores are dominated by the Caribbean Sea to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, but its nation capital Santo Domingo is located on the southern portion of the island. The also has close surrounding neighbors which are Cuba and Puerto Rico. The main reason why the country is in my interest of research is because it’s my place of

The division of Hispaniola began through the conflict of the French and Spanish trying to control the New World in the 17th century. The split in 1697 resolved the dispute making them two different countries. The Dominican Republic was still a part of Spain along with Haiti a part of France until the 1800s when they became independent (Lancer). The Dominicans then began to take advantage of the Haitians and use them as slaves. So in 1805 Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the ruler of Haiti, invaded the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola because of the slave raiding going on in the Dominican Republic. This wasn’t entirely successful, so in 1821 Santiago was finally overthrown by José Núñez de Cáceres. He was part of a group trying to break away from Spain and become independent. The Dominican

Haiti, the small country located west of the Dominican Republic, is a unique and beautiful country with its own unique culture and geography. The people of Haiti are proud of their country and their culture. Even though the nation is plagued by earthquakes and storms, due to its geographic location, it does not stop the Haitian people from continuing their unique culture and happy lifestyle. Taking a look at this country’s culture and geography, anyone, civilian, military or political personnel can fully grasp and understand the country’s uniqueness.

The Dominican Republic or also known as La Republica Dominicana is a small island that is 18,816 square miles, located off the coast of Florida. The Dominicans of this land share their island with the Haitians. The island has a subtropical climate, mountains, rolling hills, and fertile river valleys. The economy is mainly dominated by sugar, which still earns much of the country's foreign exchange despite establishment of varied light industries and the development of nickel, mining and tourism. Coffee, cocoa, tobacco, and bananas are also a major export crop. But, despite their seemingly stable economy, and lush landscaping, a vast majority of the estimated 8,603,200 people that live there wish to migrate to the

Throughout history, race, social development, politics and colonization have played a major role in the indoctrination of modern day Caribbean peoples mind subconsciously. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are two countries that were once one nation, however, the long-lasting effects of colonialism have separated the island which the nations sit into two independent Caribbean countries. Numerous events have led to the modern day conflicts and issues between these great nations, which include violations of civil rights, deportation and violence. To illustrate, relations that developed after the Parsley Massacre and the independence of these nations played a major role in their current social and racial battles. While the nations hatred for each other is clear today, it is important to note that the feud between Haiti and the Dominica Republic has been going on for more than 400 years.

The Haitian revolution had tremendous repercussions in the social, political and economic arenas of the world, but especially for the relationship with the neighboring nation of the Dominican Republic. In order to understand the development of the Dominican-Haitian relationship after the Haitian revolution one must examine how the two colonies of Hispanola dealt with each other before it. Throughout history there has been constant stress between the interactions of these nations, yet there is no easy explanation for what has caused it. In effect, it has been an accumulation of events which has allowed for the present relationship to evolve.

Before the Spaniards settled in what is now known as the Dominican Republic there was an estimated one-million indigenous people who inhabited the island. The natives had several different names for the island such as; Ayiti, Bohio and Kiskeya. When Christopher Columbus sighted and landed on the island in 1492 there were 5 operating “kingdoms” or tribes. Christopher Columbus named the island “La Española,” and called the natives “Indians” because he thought that he had reached the coast of India. By 1496 Columbus had established a settlement on the southern end of the island called “Santo Domingo,” which is the capital of the Dominican Republic today.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti are two countries that share an island. The difficulties of two ethnicities sharing an island bring forth conflicts that stem from colonial times. Race, economics, politics and stigmas all play a role in ethnic conflict between these won cultures that have very different views on their roots. Prejudice, cultural identity issues and resentment towards Haitians is the reason why Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo massacred thousands of unarmed Haitians. This is why the two cultures still clash today.

Though the colony was returned to Spain in 1809, weak support led to a decay in colonial infrastructure, leading to a revolt, led by José Núñez de Cáceres and Don Manuel Carvajal, which declared “Spanish Haiti” independent. However, the new nation was vulnerable, and Boyer immediately seized on the opportunity to unite the island for security purposes, seeking to impose “Haitianization” on Santo Domingo economically and politically. Such aspects of “Haitianization” included abolition of slavery, land redistribution, settlement of Haitians, and forced cultivation of crops in a region dominated by cattle ranchers. (Moya Pons 123, 133) An insurrection group named los trinitarios seized on the discontent of the Dominican people in the 1830s and 1840s, leading to independence in 1844. (Black 19)

The “new world” that Columbus boasted of to the Spanish monarchs in 1500 was neither an expanse of empty space nor a replica of European culture, tools, textiles, and religion, but a combination of Native, European, and African people living in complex relation to one another. »full text