Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic shares the second largest island in the Caribbean Sea with Haiti. It was the first island visited by Christopher Columbus in 1492, and its capital, Santo Domingo, served as[Page 505] the capital of Spanish colonies in Latin America. The territory was ruled by Spain and France alternately until 1865, when a republic was proclaimed for the second time. The country was later occupied by the United States for a short period until a constitutional government assumed control in 1926. The democratic period was however short, as General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina established a dictatorship that lasted from 1930 to 1961. In 1965, a second invasion by the United States took place, and it was only in 1966 that democratic elections were held again. ...