Dominican Republic

Early History

Hispaniola was first inhabited by the Taíno Indians. The Taíno is a Native American culture that is formed from the larger Arawak race of indigenous Americans who originated in the Amazon River basin. These natives traveled north toward the sea and eventually populated the Caribbean islands. A peace-loving group, the Taíno dedicated their lives to hunting and trapping, the construction of plazas and simple homes, basket weaving, and gathering. The larger communities were ruled by chiefs called caciques and shamans called behiques.

Because of the fertility of the soil, there was an abundance of food, and the Taínos enjoyed an existence of relative peace and prosperity. They were often, however, subjected to the war tirades of the Carib Indians living on other Caribbean islands. Currently no Taínos exist on the island of Hispaniola because they were exterminated by European settlers. Nevertheless, the spirit of the Taíno people is very much alive in contemporary expressions of art, language, gathering, and mythology.

European Exploration and Independence

The decline of the Taíno population is marked by the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the island he subsequently named Hispaniola in December 1492. Disappointed by the lack of gold, but impressed by the island's beauty and fertility, Columbus returned in 1493 with cattle and plans to create sugar processing plants. The Taíno were enslaved to labor in sugar fields, and their exploitation combined with European diseases diminished their numbers to the point of extinction. The Spanish, undaunted, began to import African slaves from Jamaica, and by the mid-16th century, there were more Africans on the island than any other race.

During the late 17th century, Spain was forced to recognize French dominance over the eastern part of the island in an effort to strengthen trade agreements and control buccaneering. The French Revolution of the late 1700s triggered a cry for the rights of man on the French side of Hispaniola, which further developed in an armed slave revolt that expelled the French from the island. In 1804, Haiti was declared independent. In 1808, the Spanish side of the island was annexed by Napoleon, and the entire island was renamed Sainte Domingue.

After a brief period of independence, the Haitians seized control and maintained it for almost 25 years. Haiti, having seen a bloody slave revolt for independence, was quick to free the slaves and place them in civil service positions. Internal dissatisfaction with international diplomatic relations with Haiti, however, caused two-thirds of the island to secede from the government of Haiti in 1844.

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