More than a tourist destination, the Dominican Republic has a rich historical past and exciting. Discover the source of this pearl rare in the Caribbean.
Dominican Republic: in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus
At the outset, the inhabitants of the Dominican Republic were the Arawaks or Tainos and the name of the island was still Ayiti whose meaning is "Land of high mountains. " After the discovery of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the island was renamed Espanola or Hispaniola in homage to Spain who finances his trip. Upon his arrival on the island, he founded the first colony and then later returns along with 1500 men, including several priests in the objective to convert the natives to Catholicism. A radical change takes place then all over the island in 1520 and slavery and disease nearly wiped out the native Tainos.
To cope with this situation, the English settlers are slaves brought from Africa to replace Native. Cuex are forced into slave labor to extract gold mines which abound in the country. This natural resource is exhausted over time, forcing the Spaniards to focus their extraction in the eastern part of the island or the precious metal is still present in abundance.
The Dominican Republic and its tumultuous past
The departure of the colonizers has not changed the lives of the indigenous population. The instability of the country is such that from 1844 to 1930, the Dominican Republic known 50 changes of president and a thirty revolutions. In 1906, a treaty was signed with the United Etas and management of customs came under American control. Under U.S. influence, General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, called "benefactor of patria "won the elections in 1930.
He governs in an authoritarian way. His personality cult is pushed to the extreme, it even changes the name of Santo Domingo, Ciudad Trujillo. His death in 1961 allows exiles to return home. After several years, the PRD won the elections in 1998 with the support of Haiti. In 2000, President Ballaguer was again beaten by the PRD and Hipólito Mejía won the presidency. This in turn loses the presidential election in 2004 to make way for Leonel Fernandez before being re-elected May 16, 2008.
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