The
history of the Dominican Republic is an interesting one. Both France
and Spain have actually controlled the island at different points in time,
and the United States actually held a presence in the country for a brief
period as well.
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<>Spain was the first European nation to
set foot on the island in 1492, lead of course by Christopher Columbus.
It is this group of Spanish explorers that actually coined the name,
Hispaniola for the island. The original
inhabitants of the island encountered by Columbus were a group of Arauaco
Indians, also called Taino
indians.
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This original group of islanders still maintain a presence,
but they are in the minority of the present population. The capital city of Santo Domingo was
founded or built over a period of two years, from 1496 to 1498. It
quickly became the representative seat of the Spanish royal court and thus
was an important city of power and influence in the New world. Santo Domingo,
as the truly first European city in the Americas and also a seat of regional
government, hosted the first catholic cathedral, the first university and
the very first hospital. Some of these original buildings have been
completely restored and can be enjoyed by visitors in Santo Domingo's Zona
Colonial. The Castle of Colon or Alcazar
de Colon
has also been restored to
perfection and offers a glimpse of what the building looked like at the
time when it was used as the official reception hall for visiting dignitaries
and heads of state. <>The entire island remained under Spanish
control for 200 years, until 1697 , when the western third (present day
Haiti) was given to France under the Ryswick treaty. In the year
1797, the entire island was transferred under French control in accordance
with the treaty of Basle. French control however, did not last for
too long.
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In 1804, a revolution started by the
slave population and headed by Toussaint Louverture, gained independance
for the western part of the island, or present day Haiti. But the
territory that is presently the Dominican Republic did not benefit from
this revolution. Even though Haiti was now free, the Dominican Republic
continued to be ruled by France for another five years. In 1808,
Juan Sanchez Ramirez won a decisive battle, returning control once again
over to Spain in the year 1809. <>Finally in 1821, a revolt in the Dominican
Republic which was lead by Jose Nunez de Caceres, managed to gain independance
from Spain. While the Dominican Republic was freed from Spanish control,
this did not grant the Dominican people true independance. In 1822,
the country fell under political control from Haiti, and this remained
the case for another twenty years.
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In 1844, a group lead by Juan Pablo Duarte,
Ramon Matias Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sanchez were able to wrest
control from Haiti and finally establish the Dominican Republic as a true
and independant country.
The period following was that of conflict
and uncertainty. Continuing disputes with Haiti, and those who thought
the country should be returned to the control of Spain, left the country
divided in the direction it should take.
<>The United States intervened in 1905
in order to ensure the collection of public debt. In other words,
the bank called in the mortgage. In 1916, the US sent troops into the country
and formally wrested control by force. The troops remained until 1924. The country fell under the control of
Rafael L. Trujillo in 1930 and remained under his government until his
assassination in 1961. While Trujillo's government was a dictatorship,
it was the first period in many years that the country had a stable government
and leadership for a consistent 30 year period.
Juan Bosch was democratically elected
as the leader of the country in 1962, but a civil revolt shortly after
ushered in another intervention by the US military. The country has enjoyed a democtratic
government since 1966, with nine elections held since that time.
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