"Dominican Republic" Dominican Republic by alfredop

Santo Domingo Island was discovered by Cristobal Colon during his first trip in 1492. It was occupied since year 4000 B.C. by jungle tribes first and then by farmers, among them, the taina, macorix and ciguaya tribes. It was quickly conquered and during Colon’s second trip he founded a fortress called La Navidad which was destroyed by the natives. He founded the villa of La Isabela on 1494.

The conquest brought the form and the Hispanic ways of life, new ways to operate means, being the sugar, the cattle ranch and the operation of gold, fundamental sources of the conquest, for whose extraction it was later used the natives’ manual labor and a little, the African enslaved manual labor.

In the middle of century XVI the society of the island entered decay. Some cities almost became points without importance, and already at the beginning of century XVII, the island, in which the race mixing process was increasing, lived on the cattle ranch, the contraband and fundamentally the agriculture.

The process that takes to the island of Santo Domingo, called by Columbus the Spanish, to divide itself in two political spaces, social and ethnic different, has its origins in the devastations of the populations of the North coast of the island by decision of king Felipe III of Spain in 1605 and 1606, with the purpose of avoiding the protestant influence of the retailers and sailors of countries opposed to the Spanish monarchy, the populations were reduced towards the center of the island, leaving great depopulated zones that were taken advantage of by France to occupy the western territory of the island from several points of the Antilles and in coexistence with the pirate societies and buccaneers who had been based already, from half-full of century XVII in the island of the Turtle.

As opposed to the emptiness produced by the devastations of the coast, France was taking the space left by Spain, creating in the western part of the island the French colony of Santo Domingo, which was constituted in a producing sugar center in which they used up to a million black slaves, considering this colony the most productive of the French colonies of that time. The Eastern part of the island was held by Spain, and the border between the two zones was considered definitive with the treaty of Ryswick.

This fronterización created two cultural zones: one to the west of the island, with about 27,000 square kilometers, in which the sugar plantation was in hands of the French and a mixed part of the local population. The Eastern part of Spanish language and in possession of Spain, with great ingredients of racial mixture product of the existing slavery, was different culturally from the western part. In spite of the abandonment and the poverty generated by the little importance that Spain gave to this part of the island on which the cattle ranch predominated produced subsistence resources, just like the wood cut, ready for sowing of indigo and trapiches, being the leather sale of extreme importance.

Dominican Republic Shield

At the end of century XVIII the population of the?española part? of the island it was in more of a 80 mulata percent. At the end of century XVIII the preparations of him begin enslaved rebellion that in 1804 proclaims the western part of the island like Republic of Haiti. In 1795 Spain, by means of the treaty of Basel, it yields to France the Eastern part. The fight of the slaves of the western part will be reflected in the Eastern part, of Spanish language, and the conflict explodes when the Haitian leaders consider that the Eastern part, under the control of France, is a danger for its rising republic. The Eastern part, that would be soon Dominican Republic, is invaded several times at the beginning of century XIX by the Haitian troops, without being able to unite or annexing the territory. 1821 First attempt of creation of a free Dominican State. Stupid Spain and the call Ephemeral Independence the French occupation of the Eastern part, the control of Napoleonic general Ferrand, was frustrated when in 1809 the Dominican troops, combined around the landowner Juan Sanchez Ramirez, rise against the French occupation, they win to the French troops in the Sunk Wood battle, and then surround to the city of Santo Domingo with the support of English ships allies of Spain. The Eastern part of the island was into the hands of Spain, and the border between the two zones was considered definitive with the treaty of Ryswick, signed in 16.... This fronterización created two cultural zones: one to the west of the island, with about 27,000 square kilometers, in where the sugar plantation was in hand of the French bourgeoisie and a mulatizada part of the esclavista population. The Eastern part of base and Castilian language and in possession of Spain, with great ingredients of racial mixture product of the also existing slavery in her, was different culturally from a principle of the western part. In spite of the abandonment and the poverty generated by the little importance that Spain gave to this part of the island on which it dominated, the cattle ranch produced subsistence resources, just like the wood cut, ready for sowing of indigo and trapiches, being the leather sale of extreme importance. At the end of century XVIII the population of the?española part? of the island it was in more of a 80 mulata percent.