History
The island of Hispaniola
was colonized by the
Taino Indians for
thousands of years,
until it was discovered
by Columbus in 1492. The
colonization began
already in 1493 and
founded the current
capital of Santo
Domingo. When first the
western part in 1697
(later Haiti), and later
the eastern part was
French, the local
population was already
eradicated. Haitians
declared their
independence in 1804 and
also took over the
eastern part of the
island.
But in 1821, the East
again separated from the
mother country and
declared independence as
Spanish Haiti. In the
following year, Haiti
took over the eastern
part again until 1844 -
it was the same year
when they declared their
independence for the
second time and then
when the country became
its name Dominican
Republic. 1861, the
country united again
under the name of Santo
Domingo to Spain. Since
1865 the Dominican
Republic is finally
independent. Political
and economical
instability continued
for decades in the
country and the
influence of the United
States increase more and
more. From 1916 to 1924
the USA occupied the
Dominican Republic,
first to control the
economy and finances and
soon after also to
secure the military
jurisdiction.
The dictatorship under
General Rafael Leonidas
Trujillo Molina lasted
from 1930 for 31 years,
although he recovered
the economic situation,
the nation paid for it
with tyranny and major
social injustices. The
murder of General
Trujillo ended the
leadership in 1961, also
for the dictator's clan.
The socialist Juan Bosch
followed, but military
coups and civil unrest,
brought the USA troops
back. Their troops
intervened again in
1965. 1966 they called
again for a new
presidential election.
Since then, the
governments changed
between the conservative
J. Balaguer and
moderated A. Guzmán
(1978 to 1986). 1986
Balaguer came again into
power and was reelected
in1990 and 1994. After
the suspicion of
election fraud in 1994 a
reelection was held in
1996 under the
supervision of the
United States. Leonel
Fernández Reyna became
the new president. The
2000 election won
Hipólito Mejía. In the
presidential elections
in May 2004, Fernandez
took over from Mejia
like expected. Fernández
promised a renewed
stabilization of the
economy and said he
wanted to negotiate with
the U.S. about the huge
foreign debts of his
country. In May 2008,
Leonel Fernández was
elected again.
For many the Dominican
Republic is the symbol
of exotic vacation
dreams, a Paradise of
sun, beach, sea and
Caribbean joy for life.
To Christopher Columbus
it was well worth to
carry the most beautiful
name La Hispaniola,
while the natives
honored it with the name
' Quisqueya', (Fruitful
Mother Earth).
Here, on Hispaniola, as
the island is called
today, is where the
Dominican Republic is
located. The country
offers a unique variety
of natural beauty:
luscious subtropical
vegetation, mountain
with summits in the
range of 3000 meters
altitude and naturally
the famous white sand
beaches and the
turquoise sea.
The moving history of
the country, its lively
everyday culture and the
charming locals make a
trip to this Island most
rewarding.
