The Colonial History of Hispaniola   Term Paper ID:27108 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Traces the history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the time of Columbus through the mid 19th century. Focuses on how the colonial history & division of the country might have influenced contemporary politics on the island.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Traces the history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the time of Columbus through the mid 19th century. Focuses on how the colonial history & division of the country might have influenced contemporary politics on the island. Paper Introduction: INTRODUCTION The islands of the Caribbean have had been part of the history of the New World since the time of their discovery by Columbus, though most Americans know little of that history. Haiti and the Dominican Republic emerged from what was the first New World colony settled by Spain, the island then known as Hispaniola. The island served as the central base for the exploration and conquest of much of the Western Hemisphere. The island was first sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1492, and it played a role in Spanish history for as long as Spain has had important political and commercial interests in this Hemisphere. Haiti would become the dominant force by the nineteenth century, and the Dominican Republic would not emerge from under Haiti's shadow until 1844. The island continued to be vulnerable Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Domingo. New immigrants now went to the lands of thewest in search of greater wealth, and the population of Santo Domingodeclined. Theencomienda was a grant of the right to receive the tribute of Indiansliving within a certain boundary, while the hacienda operated through acontract arrangement involving the owner--the haciendado--and Indianlaborers. Open rebellion broke out in 1946. There was indeed gold on theisland, and this saved Columbus's reputation because otherwise he wouldhave had to return home without any evidence of the riches of the NewWorld. The French plantation ownerssought to increase their production and so imported great numbers of slavesfrom Africa. This led to the creation of the DominicanArmy, and the commanding general, Trujillo, was elected President in 193 .He established a dictatorship which lasted until his assassination in 1961(Prince 27 ). "Haiti: History." Europa Yearbook: South America and Central America and the Caribbean. HAITI AND SANTO DOMINGO There were two colonies on the island of Hispaniola that followeddifferent paths, that of Saint-Domingue and that of Santo Domingo, withcultural differences explaining the situation. The prestige of Santo Domingo declined in the sixteenth century withthe conquest of Mexico by Cortes and the discovery in Mexico and later inPeru of gold and silver. The islandwas first sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1492, and it played a role inSpanish history for as long as Spain has had important political andcommercial interests in this Hemisphere. The authors find that many of these migrants are at home in boththeir home country and their adopted country to such a degree that it isdifficult to state where they "belong." The postcolonial period was aperiod of economic dependency and political independence, and this formsthe background for Haitian migration to the United States in particular,the country on which Haiti has been most dependent economically, and thecountry to which most Haitian immigrants have moved seeking politicalasylum or economic advantage. Haiti established a national identity earlier than did Santo Domingo.Haiti was established in 1825 but not recognized by the United States untilsixty years later. The slaves wreaked greatcarnage in the north, showing that this was an explosion of fury from anoppressed people. occupation. Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies. There followed 21 years of Haitian occupationwhich meant a steady economic decline and a growing resentment of Haitiansamong Dominicans. The United States used the opportunity of an internalpolitical crisis in Haiti to invade and to occupy the country for the next19 years, and this period of rule brought racial segregation and forcedlabor. Economic conditions were improving by the end of theeighteenth century, but landowners in Santo Domingo did not have the wealthof those in the French colony. The system itself was unstable,and the slave rebellion destroyed the colony. The history of this region has been such that the development ofdemocratic institutions has been difficult, and first Hispaniola and thenHaiti and the Dominican Republic have been under the control for much oftheir history either of foreign governments or local despots. Local governments addressed local issues butwere ineffective because there was little contact between the capital cityand the distant regions of the island. The monarchy saw the encomiendas as a means of administeringhumane and constructive policies of the government of Spain while alsoprotecting the welfare of the Indian population. The Dominican Republic announced its independence from Haiti in 1844,though the new republic occupied a precarious position which would lead tothe reestablishment of Spanish rule in 1861. Meditz. "Santo Domingo: History." Europa Yearbook: South America and Central America and the Caribbean. Saint-Domingue was the mostimportant agricultural colony in the Western hemisphere and contributedheavily to the economy of France, while Santo Domingo was a small colonywith little impact on the economy of Spain. At first, Columbus and his crew found a populationof friendly Taino Indians (Arawaks) who made them feel welcome. Whether the current systems remain stable will be determinedover the next decade or so. In 1957, after several changesin government, François Duvalier came to power and instituted a regime ofviolence, a dictatorship that wold define Haiti until the 198 s and leave alegacy that continues to be felt today (Chamberlain 375). The encomendero was essentially charged by the crown with theresponsibility for the support of the Indians and their moral and religiouswelfare. Columbus: For Gold, God, and Glory. London: Europa Publishers, 1995.Dyson, John (1991). The island continued to be vulnerable to foreign incursion and wasoccupied by the United States military from 1916 to 1924. Nations Unbound. Religious and cultural life alsosuffered during this period (Haggerty 9-1 ). In 19 4 a customs' receivership wasestablished with the United States, and from 1916 to 1924 the country wassubject to U.S. London: Europa Publishers, 1995. CONCLUSION The colonial history of Hispaniola and the fact that the island wasearly divided into competing camps helps explain its subsequent history andthe difficulties the two halves have had in creating a stable politicalstructure. The rebellion itself ultimately failed, but it setevents in motion leading to the Haitian Revolution (Haggerty 2 7-2 9). When the French were being attacked by theEnglish in 1793, the French abolished slavery and made all blacks into freecitizens. History of the Island of St. In the early history of Latin America, two forms of agriculturallandholdings emerged--the encomienda and the hacienda--and they weredistinguished by the manner in which the landholders obtained labor. InSpain, the Bourbons were replaced by the Habsburgs in 17 , and the newregime introduced innovations such as economic reforms that revived tradein Santo Domingo. Haiti and the Dominican Republicemerged from what was the first New World colony settled by Spain, theisland then known as Hispaniola. Westport, Connecticut: Negro University Press, 1971.Chamberlain, Greg. Many of the former slaves withdrew into the mountains (Barskett97). After that event, the country experienced instability forsome time until the civil war and U.S. The encomendero was the recipient of the encomienda and wasextended privileges to the de facto control of the land designated in thegrant. Colombia: A Country Study. The decimation of the Indian population had profoundconsequences, for the settlers needed a new source of labor to meet thegrowing demands of sugarcane cultivation. In 1524the tribunal was designated the Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo and givenjurisdiction in the Caribbean, the Atlantic coast of Central America andMexico, and the northern coast of South America. This impact wasnot necessarily benign. There had been attacks before that date, butthe slave rebellion started with attacks by the French slaves, or maroons,that would lead to the Haitian Revolution. As power was accrued by the governor, the crownestablished the audiencia, a new political institution intended to checkthe power of the governor. intervention in 1965, after which aprovisional presidency was established under Joaquin Balaguer, presidentfor 12 years (Haggerty 31-33). Santo Domingo also imported far fewerslaves than its cousin (Haggerty 8). The key historical event of the eighteenth century came near the endwith the Haitian slave rebellion of 1791, a revolt against the French ruleand the slaveholding system. The next 5 years would be a time of political andeconomic instability, with rapid changes in government and the inability ofthe republic to pay its foreign debts. This was a tribunal composed of three judges,and the use of this approach spread throughout Spanish America. This system persisted, and the landowners managed to benefit from thedecentralized power structure that prevailed. The Roman Catholic Church became the primaryagency for spreading Spanish culture in the Americas, and theecclesiastical organization developed for Santo Domingo and later extendedthroughout Spanish America involved a union of church and state that wascloser than what was common in Spain itself (Haggerty 6). In the earlyyears, it was the indications of gold and the presence of a population oftractable natives who could be used for labor that attracted settlers, mostof whom were at first adventurers more interested in sudden wealth than inthe acquisition of land. The Admiral gave them a share of his provisions, most of the trading truck, and the flagship's boat. Power was diffused becausethe capital city, Santo Domingo, also the seat of government for the entireSpanish Indies, oriented itself toward the continental Americas where goldwas secured for the Crown, and toward Spain, which provided administrators,supplies, and immigrants. Basel, Switzerland: Gordon and Breach, 1994.Barskett. They were instructed to explore the country with a view to finding a permanent settlement, to trade for gold, and to treat the natives kindly (Morison 81). The island served as the central base forthe exploration and conquest of much of the Western Hemisphere. By the middle of the century, both immigration and theimportation of slaves had increased (Haggerty 7). Charles V of Spaincreated the Council of the Indies in 1524 as the crown's main agency fordirecting colonial affairs. Works CitedBasch, Linda, Nina Glick Schiller, and Cristina Szanton Blanc. Basch, Schiller, and Blanc in their book Nations Unbound postulate thedevelopment of a process in international politics they calltransnationalism, a way of understanding the migrations taking place in theworld and the effect of those migrations on political life in the homecountry. The result was the importationof African slaves beginning in 15 3, and by 152 , black African labor wasused almost exclusively (Haggerty 4-5). The Dominican Republic wasannexed by Spain in 1861, and independence would be regained in 1865 aftera War of Restoration. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1988.Morison, Samuel Eliot. Given how remotethese lands were from the center of government, it was easier for thelandholders to do as they pleased (Hanratty and Meditz 12). EARLY HISTORY La Isla Española, or Hispaniola, was found by Columbus when his fleetcrossed the Windward Passage and arrived at night near the Haitian harborwhat would become San Nicolas, named for the patron saint of children. and Sandra W. Haiti would become the dominant force by the nineteenth century, andthe Dominican Republic would not emerge from under Haiti's shadow until1844. Spain at fist saw the rebellion as an opportunity to seize more of theisland, but in fact by 18 2 Spain surrendered the entire island to the ruleof Toussaint (Haggerty 9). The result was stagnation lasting the next 25 years,interrupted from time to time by military incursions by the French and theEnglish as they attempted to weaken Spain's dominance of the New World(Haggerty 6-7). Foreign trade all but ended,and nearly all domestic commerce was confined to the capital city. More recently,the United States has had a hand in trying to institute democratic reformsin Haiti. The Indians had been peaceful until they weresubject to continued seizures of their food supplies and the abuse of theirwomen, and they rebelled only to be crushed decisively in 1495 (Haggerty 3-4). TheIndian guides assured Columbus that he would find gold on the great island,known to be the home of their ancestors. In 1821, the colony announced its independence as the state of SpanishHaiti, and Haiti decided to invade Santo Domingo and to reunite the islandunder the Haitian flag. They developed poor relations with the Tainonatives by mistreating them. However, the encomenderosoften tried to use the Indians for their own purposes and to maintain theland as hereditary property to be held in perpetuity. The large landowners thereforeruled the countryside. The European Discovery of America. New York: Simon & Schuster.Haggerty, Richard A. The system was unrealistic and highly destructive to the Indianpopulation, which died off rapidly from exhaustion, starvation, disease,and other causes. When the fleet encountered such problems as coral reefs and otherdelays, Columbus decided that God was sending a message that he shouldstart a colony at a certain locale with members of the crew of the SantaMaria, and Spaniards volunteered in great numbers because signs of goldwere then plentiful. Columbus has been much honored for his discovery, as Dyson notes whenhe writes, "After Jesus Christ, no individual has made a bigger impact onthe Western world than Christopher Columbus" (Dyson 14). INTRODUCTION The islands of the Caribbean have had been part of the history of theNew World since the time of their discovery by Columbus, though mostAmericans know little of that history. In the eighteenth century, landowners in the Spanish colony did littlewith their land, and many of the sugar plantations along the southern coastwere abandoned because of threats by pirates. Also contributing to the decline was the dyingoff of the native population. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974.Prince, Rod. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1989.Hanratty, Dennis M. Many Dominican landowners decided to flee the islandrather than remain under Haitian rule. The town was founded as Villa de la Navidad, or Townof the Nativity; the first attempt by Europeans to establish themselves inthe New World: Sixteen men from the flagship and five from the Niña volunteered to stay behind, under command of Columbus's Cordovan friend Diega de Harana. The landwas fertile, though the gold had the greater appeal for the Spaniards.Several attempts were made to plant colonies along the north coast ofHispaniola in subsequent years, but Spain's first permanent settlement wasestablished on the southern coast at what is now the site of Santo Domingo,a name given the entire island under Spanish sovereignty. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.