The history of the Dominican Republic

The lengthy history of the Dominican Republic began about 5,000 years ago. Anthropologists believe that two waves Indians immigrated to the area and decided to call this place home. These Indians greeted Christopher Columbus when he stumbled upon the area during his voyages to the "New World." Passages in his journal described the area as an astonishingly beautiful paradise with lush forests and brilliant meandering lakes and rivers. He also wrote of the hospitality with which he and his crew were welcomed by the natives. Not long after, they had realized that the lack of European technology and iron weapons meant that these Indians could easily be put to work for them which became especially useful upon the discovery of gold in some of the river valleys in the area. The peace with which Columbus and his crew met the Indians was soon forgotten however as the first temporary European settlement was burned to the ground by the natives while Columbus was returning to Spain to describe the success of his trip.

Upon his return to the Dominican a more permanent settlement, away from the natives, was established. Not long after the Indians were assembled and exploited as slaves until the time they began to die off. It was at this point that black slaves were brought over from Spain, many of which escaped into the mountains. Any remaining Indian chiefs were killed off as well to remove any threat they might pose to the Spaniards. After this point life in the country went on as usual with journeys back and forth to and from Spain, with the permanent settlers staying behind to watch over livestock that had been brought into the area. A French colony came to the area shortly thereafter as the French grew quite jealous of the Spanish colonies in the area. This French colony became on e of the richest colonies in the world at the time. Some conflicts ensued in the following years until the year 1844 when the eastern side on the island became an independent nation and adopted the name the Dominican Republic. Political instability and civil war became commonplace for the ensuing 70 years. Today, however, the nation is closer than ever to achieving a state of total democracy.

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