Dominican_Republic

The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana; Spanish pronunciation: [re̞ˈpuβ̞lika ð̞o̞miniˈkana]) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Part of the Greater Antilles archipelago, Hispaniola lies west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica.^[1] Its western third is the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries, Saint Martin being the other.

The Dominican Republic is the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas: its capital, Santo Domingo, which was also the first colonial capital in the Americas,^[2] site of the first cathedral,^[3] university, European-built road, European-built fortress, and more.

For most of its independent history, the nation experienced political turmoil and unrest, suffering through many non-representative and tyrannical governments. Since the death of military dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina in 1961, the Dominican Republic has moved toward a liberal economic model, which has made it the largest economy in the region, and towards representative democracy.

1 History
2 Government
- 2.1 Politics
3 Name
4 Provinces and municipalities
5 Geography
- 5.1 Climate
- 5.2 Environmental issues
6 Symbols
7 Economy
8 Demographics
9 Immigration
10 Culture
11 Holidays
12 Military
13 Services and transportation
14 See also
15 References
16 Further reading
17 External links

History

Main articles: History of the Dominican Republic and Colony of Santo Domingo

The Taínos

Hispaniola was inhabited by the Taínos, an Arawakan-speaking people who may have arrived around A.D. 600, displacing earlier inhabitants.^[4] The Taínos called the island Kiskeya or Quisqueya, meaning "mother of the earth", as well as Haití or Aytí, and Bohio.^[5] They engaged in farming and fishing,^[6] and hunting and gathering.^[4] There are widely varying estimates of the population of Hispaniola in 1492, including one hundred thousand,^[7] three hundred thousand,^[4] and 400,000 to 2 million.^[8] By 1492 Hispaniola was divided into five chiefdoms.^[9] Within a few years following the arrival of European explorers the population of Tainos had declined due to a change in their lifestyle, the introduction of diseases such as smallpox, and enslavement. By 1711 they numbered 21,000.^[10] The last record of pure Taino natives in the country was from an 1864 account by a Spanish soldier, who wrote of Tainos shooting at Spanish soldiers and fleeing, during the Restoration War. Taino cave paintings can still be seen in a variety of caves around the country.^[11]

Spanish rule

Christopher Columbus landed at Môle Saint-Nicolas, in northwest present-day Haiti, on December 5, 1492, during his first voyage. He claimed the island for Spain and named it La Española. Nineteen days later his flagship the Santa María ran aground near the present site of Cap-Haitien. Columbus was forced to leave 39 men, who founded the settlement of La Navidad. He then moved east, exploring the northern coast of what is now the Dominican Republic, after which he returned to Spain. He sailed back to America three more times.

After initially friendly relations, the Taínos resisted the conquest. One of the earliest leaders to fight against the Spanish was the female Chief Anacaona of Xaragua, in the southwest, who married Chief Caonabo of Maguana, of the center and south of the island. She was captured by the Spanish and executed in front of her people. Other notables who resisted include Chief Guacanagari, Chief Guamá, and Chief Hatuey, the latter of whom later fled to Cuba and helped fight the Spaniards there. Chief Enriquillo fought victoriously against the Spaniards in the Baoruco Mountain Range, in the southwest, to gain freedom for himself and his people in a part of the island for a time.

By the late-1500s, the majority of Taíno people had died from the introduction of infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, mistreatment, suicide, the breakup of family unity, starvation,^[4] forced labor, torture, and war with the Spaniards. Most scholars now believe that, among the various contributing factors, infectious disease was the overwhelming cause of the Taino population decline.^[12] The Taíno survived mostly in racially mixed form, and today most Dominicans have Taíno ancestry.^[13]^[14]

Some scholars believe that Bartolomé de las Casas exaggerated^[15] the Indian population decline in an effort to persuade King Carlos to intervene, and that encomenderos also exaggerated it, in order to receive permission to import more African slaves. Moreover, censuses of the time did not account for the number of Indians who fled into remote communities,^[13] where they often joined with runaway Africans, called cimarrones, producing zambos. There were also confusing issues with racial categorization, as Mestizos who were culturally Spanish were counted as Spaniards. In addition some Zambos were categorized as black and some Indians as Mulattos.^[13]

In 1496 Bartolomeo Columbus, Christopher's brother, built the city of Nueva Isabela (New Isabella), now Santo Domingo, in the south of Hispaniola. It was one of the first Spanish settlements (the previous ones had also been on Hispaniola), and became Europe's first permanent settlement in the "New World".

The Spaniards created a plantation economy on Hispaniola, particularly from the second half of the 16th century.^[7] The island became a springboard for European conquest of the Caribbean islands, called las Antillas (the Antilles), and soon after, the American mainland.

For decades, Santo Domingo colony was the headquarters of Spanish colonial power in the New World. But after the Spanish conquest of the mainland empires of the Aztecs and Incas, the importance of Hispaniola declined and Spain paid less attention to it. French bucaneers settled in the western part of the island, and by the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, Spain ceded the area to France. With colonial settlement and the development of a plantation economy dependent on slave labor, it grew into the wealthy colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), with four times (500,000 vs. 125,000) as much population as Spanish Santo Domingo by the end of the 18th century. By then, enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue outnumbered whites and freedmen by ten to one.^[16]

French rule

France came to own the whole island in 1795, when by the Treaty of Basel Spain ceded Santo Domingo as a consequence of the French Revolutionary Wars. At the time, slaves led by Toussaint Louverture in the western part (Haiti) were in revolt against France. In 1801 Louverture captured Santo Domingo from the French and took control of the entire island.

In 1802 an army sent by Napoleon captured Louverture and sent him to France as prisoner. Louverture's successors, and yellow fever, succeeded in expelling the French again from Saint-Domingue. The rebels declared the independence of Haiti in 1804, while in the east France recovered Spanish Santo Domingo.

In 1808, following Napoleon's invasion of Spain, the criollos of Santo Domingo revolted against French rule. With the aid of Great Britain (Spain's ally) and Haiti,^[17] Santo Domingo returned to Spanish control.^[18]

Ephemeral independence and Haitian rule

After a dozen years of Spanish rule and failed independence plots by various groups, former Spanish Lieutenant-Governor José Núñez de Cáceres declared the colony's independence as the state of Haití Español (Spanish Haiti) on November 30, 1821. He requested admission to Simón Bolívar's nation of Gran Colombia. But the new nation's independence was short-lived. Haitian forces, led by Jean-Pierre Boyer, invaded just nine weeks later in February 1822.^[19]

As Toussaint Louverture had done the first time, the Haitians abolished slavery. But they also nationalized all public property; most private property, including all the property of landowners who had left in the wake of the invasion; much Church property; as well as all property belonging to the former rulers, the Spanish Crown. All levels of education suffered collapse; the university was shut down, as it was starved of resources and Dominican men from 16 to 25-years-old were drafted into the Haitian army. Haiti imposed a "heavy tribute" on the Dominican people.^[20] Many whites fled Santo Domingo for Puerto Rico and Cuba (both still under Spanish rule), Venezuela, and elsewhere.

Boyer changed the Dominican economic system to place more emphasis on cash crops to be grown on large plantations, reformed the tax system, and allowed foreign trade. But the new system was widely opposed by Dominican farmers, although it produced a boom in sugar and coffee production. Boyer's troops, which included many Dominicans, were unpaid, and had to "forage and sack" from Dominican civilians. In the end the economy faltered and taxation became more onerous. Rebellions occurred even by freed Dominican slaves, while Dominicans and Haitians worked together to oust Boyer from power. Anti–Haitian movements of several kinds — pro–independence, pro–Spanish, pro–French, pro–British, pro–United States — gathered force following the overthrow of Boyer in 1843.^[20]

Independence

In 1838 Juan Pablo Duarte founded a secret society called La Trinitaria that sought pure and simple independence of Santo Domingo without any foreign intervention.^[21] Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez (the latter of partly African ancestry),^[22] despite not being among the founding members of Trinitaria, were decisive in the fight for independence. They are now hailed, together with Duarte, as the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic. On February 27, 1844, the Trinitarios, as the members of La Trinitaria were known, declared independence from Haiti. They were backed by Pedro Santana, a wealthy cattle-rancher from El Seibo who became general of the army of the nascent Republic and is known as "El Liberador". The Dominican Republic's first Constitution was adopted on November 6, 1844, and was modeled after the United States Constitution.^[6]

The decades that followed were filled with tyranny, factionalism, economic difficulties, rapid changes of government, and exile for political opponents. Threatening the nation's independence were renewed Haitian invasions occurring in 1844, 1845-49, 1849-55, and 1855-56.^[20]

Meanwhile, archrivals Santana and Buenaventura Báez held power most of the time, both ruling arbitrarily. They promoted competing plans to annex the new nation to another power: Santana favored Spain, and Báez the United States.

The voluntary colony and the Restoration republic

General Gregorio Luperón, Restoration hero and President of the Republic.

In 1861, after silencing or exiling many of his opponents and due to political and economic reasons, Santana signed a pact with the Spanish Crown and reverted the Dominican nation to colonial status,^[23] the only Latin American country to do so. Opponents launched the War of the Restoration in 1863, led by a group of men including Santiago Rodríguez and Benito Monción among others. General Gregorio Luperón distinguished himself at the end of the war. Haitian authorities, fearful of the re-establishment of Spain as colonial power on their border, gave refuge and supplies to Dominican revolutionaries.^[23] The United States, then fighting its own Civil War, vigorously protested the Spanish action. After two years of fighting, Spain abandoned the island.^[23] The Restoration was proclaimed on August 16, 1863.

Political strife again prevailed in the following years; warlords ruled, military revolts were extremely common, and the nation amassed debt. In 1869 it was the turn of Báez to act on his plan of annexing the country to the United States,^[19] with a payment of 1.5 million dollars by the U.S. as part of the deal, in order to alleviate the Dominican Republic's debts.^[24]^[6] U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant supported this plan, but the United States Senate refused on June 30, 1870,^[19] albeit by just one vote. One reason for President Grant's support was his hope of providing a home where U.S. freedmen could live in peace, free of harassment by Southern whites.^[25]

Ulises 'Lilís' Heureaux, President of the Dominican Republic 1882-84, 1886-99

Báez was toppled in 1874, returned, and was toppled for good in 1878. A new generation was thence in charge, with the passing of Santana (he died in 1864) and Báez from the scene. Relative peace came to the country in the 1880s, which saw the coming to power of General Ulises Heureaux.^[26]

The new president was initially popular. He was, however, "a consummate dissembler", who put the nation deep into debt while using much of the proceeds for his personal use and to maintain his police state. Heureaux's rule became more despotic with time and he all the more unpopular.^[26]^[27] In 1899 he was assassinated. However, the unprecedentedly long calm over which he had presided allowed for some improvement in the Dominican economy. The sugar industry was modernized,^[28] and the country attracted foreign workers and immigrants, both from the Old World and the New.

From 1902 on, short-lived governments were again the norm and provincial leaders held much of the power. Furthermore, the national government was bankrupt and, unable to pay its debts, faced the threat of military intervention by France and other European powers seeking repayment.

U.S. intervention

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt sought to prevent European intervention, in part to protect the vicinity of the future Panama Canal, as the canal was already under construction.^[26] He made a small military intervention to ward off the European powers, and proclaimed his famous Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. In 1906 the Dominican Republic and the United States entered into a 50-year treaty giving control of customs administration to the United States.^[6] The United States agreed to use the customs proceeds to help reduce the immense foreign debt of the Dominican Republic,^[6] and assumed responsibility for said debt.^[26]

In 1914, the United States, due to extreme internal political instability in the Dominican Republic (inability to elect a president), expressed concern. It stated that a leader must be elected, or the United States would impose one.^[29] As a result, Ramón Báez Machado was elected provisional president on August 27, 1914.^[29] Presidential elections held on October 25 returned Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra to the presidency. Despite his victory, however, Jimenes felt impelled to appoint leaders and prominent members of the various political factions to positions in his government in an effort to broaden its support. The internecine conflicts that resulted had quite the opposite effect, weakening the government and the President and emboldening Secretary of War Desiderio Arias to take control of both the armed forces and the Congress. Arias compelled the Congress to impeach Jimenes for violation of the constitution and the laws. Although the United States ambassador offered military support to his government, Jimenes opted to step down on May 7, 1916.

Arias never assumed the presidency formally. The United States government decided to take more direct action. By this time, U.S. forces were occupying Haiti. The initial military administrator of Haiti, Rear Admiral William Caperton, had actually forced Arias to retreat from Santo Domingo by threatening the city with naval bombardment on May 13, 1916.

U.S. occupation

The 1916 occupation by U.S. Marines

The first Marines landed three days later, on May 19, 1916. Although they established effective control of the country within two months, the United States forces did not proclaim a military government until November. Most Dominican laws and institutions remained intact under military rule, although the shortage of Dominicans willing to serve in the Cabinet forced the military governor, Harry Shepard Knapp, to fill a number of portfolios with United States naval officers. The press and radio were censored for most of the occupation, and public speech was limited.

Other effects of the occupation were positive. The Marines restored order throughout most of the republic (with the exception of the eastern region); the country's budget was balanced, its debt was diminished, and economic growth resumed. Infrastructure projects produced new roads that linked all the country's regions for the first time in its history. A professional military organization, the Dominican Constabulary Guard, replaced the partisan forces that had waged a seemingly endless struggle for power. Most Dominicans, however, greatly resented the loss of their sovereignty to foreigners, few of whom spoke Spanish or displayed much real concern for the welfare of the nation.

The most intense opposition to the occupation arose in the eastern provinces of El Seibo and San Pedro de Macorís. From 1917 to 1921, the United States forces battled a guerrilla movement in that area known as the gavilleros. The guerrillas enjoyed considerable support among the population, and they benefited from a superior knowledge of the terrain. The movement survived the capture and execution of its leader, Vicente Evangelista, and some fierce, initial encounters with the Marines. However, the gavilleros finally yielded to the occupying forces' superior firepower, air power (a squadron of six Curtis Jennies), and determined (often brutal) counter-insurgency methods.

After World War I, public opinion in the United States began to run against the occupation. U.S. President Warren G. Harding, who succeeded Woodrow Wilson in March 1921, had campaigned against the occupations of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In June 1921, United States representatives presented a withdrawal proposal, known as the Harding Plan, which called for Dominican ratification of all acts of the military government, approval of a loan of US$2.5 million for public works and other expenses, the acceptance of United States officers for the constabulary — now known as the Guardia Nacional (National Guard) — and the holding of elections under United States supervision.

Popular reaction to the plan was overwhelmingly negative. Moderate Dominican leaders, however, used the plan as the basis for further negotiations that resulted in an agreement allowing for the selection of a provisional president to rule until elections could be organized. Under the supervision of High Commissioner Sumner Welles, Juan Bautista Vicini Burgos assumed the provisional presidency on October 21, 1922.

In the presidential election of March 15, 1924, former President Horacio Vásquez Lajara handily defeated Francisco J. Peynado. Vásquez's Alliance Party (Partido Alianza) also won a comfortable majority in both houses of Congress. With his inauguration on July 13, control of the republic returned to Dominican hands. He gave the country six years of good government, in which political and civil rights were respected and the economy grew strongly, in an atmosphere of peace.^[30]

Trujillo era

When Vásquez attempted to win another term, opponents rebelled in February, 1930, in secret alliance with the commander of the National Army (the former National Guard), General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, by which the latter remained 'neutral' in face of the rebellion. Vásquez resigned. Trujillo then stood for election himself, and in May was elected president virtually unopposed, after a campaign of violence in which he eliminated his strongest opponents.^[30]

There was considerable economic growth during Trujillo's long and iron-fisted regime, although a great deal of the wealth was taken by the dictator and other regime elements. His megalomania was on display in his renaming after himself the capital city (Santo Domingo) to Ciudad Trujillo (Trujillo City), the nation's — and the Caribbean's — highest mountain (Pico Duarte [Duarte Peak]) to Pico Trujillo, and many towns and a province. Some other places he renamed after members of his family.

In 1937 Trujillo (who was himself one-quarter Haitian),^[31] in an event known as the Parsley Massacre or, in the Dominican Republic, as El Corte (The Cutting),^[32] ordered the Army to kill Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border. The Army killed an estimated 17,000 to 35,000 Haitians over five days, from the night of October 2, 1937 through October 8, 1937. To avoid leaving evidence of the Army's involvement, the soldiers used machetes rather than bullets.^[31]^[19]^[33] The soldiers of Trujillo were said to have interrogated anyone with dark skin, using the pronunciation of perejil (parsley) to tell Haitians from Dominicans.^[32] As a result of the massacre, the Dominican Republic agreed to pay Haiti US $750,000, later reduced to $525,000.^[30]^[23]

On November 25, 1960 Trujillo killed three of the four Mirabal Sisters, sometimes nicknamed Las Mariposas (The Butterflies). The victims were Patricia Mercedes Mirabal (born on February 27, 1924), Argentina Minerva Mirabal (born on March 12, 1926), and Antonia María Teresa Mirabal (born on October 15, 1935). Minerva was an aspiring lawyer who was extremely opposed to Trujillo's dictatorship since Trujillo had begun to make rude and sexual advances towards her. The sisters have received many honors posthumously, and have many memorials in various cities in the Dominican Republic. Salcedo, their home province, changed its name to Hermanas Mirabal Province (Mirabal Sisters Province). The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed on the anniversary of their deaths.

For a long time, the US supported the Trujillo government, as did^[34] the Roman Catholic Church, and the Dominican elite. This support persisted despite the assassinations of political opposition and the massacre of border Haitians. The US believed Trujillo was the lesser of two or more evils.^[32] Trujillo was assassinated on May 30, 1961 in Santo Domingo.

Post-Trujillo

A democratically elected government under leftist Juan Bosch took office in February, 1963, but was overthrown in September. After nineteen months of military rule, a pro-Bosch revolt broke out in April, 1965. US Marines landed days later to restore order in Operation Powerpack, later to be joined by forces from the Organization of American States.^[35] They remained in the country for over a year and left after supervising elections in 1966 won by Joaquín Balaguer, who had been Trujillo's last puppet–president.

Balaguer remained in power as president for 12 years. His tenure was a period of repression of human rights and civil liberties, ostensibly to prevent pro–Castro or pro–communist parties from gaining power in the country. His rule was further criticized for a growing disparity between rich and poor. It was, however, praised for an ambitious infrastructure program, which included construction of housing, theaters, museums, aqueducts, roads, highways, and the massive Columbus Lighthouse, completed in a subsequent tenure in 1992.

1978 to present

In 1978, Balaguer was succeeded in the presidency by opposition candidate Antonio Guzmán Fernández, of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD). Another PRD win in 1982 followed, under Salvador Jorge Blanco. Under the PRD presidents, the Dominican Republic experienced a period of relative freedom and basic human rights. Balaguer regained the presidency in 1986, and was re-elected in 1990 and 1994, this last time just defeating PRD candidate José Francisco Peña Gómez, a former mayor of Santo Domingo. Both the national and international communities generally viewed these elections as major frauds, leading to political pressure for Balaguer to step down.^{citation needed} Balaguer responded by scheduling another presidential contest in 1996, which was won by Bosch's Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) for the first time, with Leonel Fernández as its candidate.

In 2000 the PRD's Hipólito Mejía won the election when his main opponents Danilo Medina (PLD) and a very old Joaquín Balaguer decided not to force a runoff after Mejía got 49.8% in the first round. In 2004 Fernández was elected again, defeating President Mejía, and reelected in 2008 against the PRD's Miguel Vargas Maldonado, a former minister in Mejía's government. Fernández and the PLD are credited with a number of initiatives that have moved the country forward technologically, with the completion in 2008 of the Metro Railway ("El Metro") — although this is not yet available for public use.

Government

Palacio Nacional in Santo Domingo.

Main article: Government of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a representative democracy, with national powers divided among independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The President of the Dominican Republic appoints the Cabinet, executes laws passed by the Congress, and is commander in chief of the armed forces. The president and vice president run for office on the same ticket and are elected by direct vote for 4-year terms. Legislative power is exercised by a bicameral Congress composed of the Senate (with 32 members) and the Chamber of Deputies (with 178 members).

The Dominican Republic has a multi-party political system with national elections every 2 years (alternating between presidential elections and congressional/municipal elections). Presidential elections are held in years evenly divisible by four. Congressional and municipal elections are held in even numbered years not divisible by four. International observers have found that presidential and congressional elections since 1996 have been generally free and fair. Elections are supervised by a Central Elections Board (JCE) of 9 members chosen for a four-year term by each newly elected Senate. JCE decisions on electoral matters are final.

Under the constitutional reforms negotiated after the 1994 elections, the 16–member Supreme Court of Justice is appointed by a National Judicial Council, which comprises the President, the leaders of both houses of Congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non–governing–party member. One other Supreme Court Justice acts as secretary of the Council, a non–voting position. The Supreme Court has sole authority over managing of the court system and in hearing actions against the president, designated members of his Cabinet, and members of Congress when the legislature is in session. The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts and chooses members of lower courts.

Each of the 31 provinces is headed by a presidentially appointed governor. Mayors and municipal councils administer the 124 municipal districts and the National District (Santo Domingo). They are elected at the same time as congressional representatives.^[36]

Politics

The Dominican Republic holds elections every four years at the congressional levels as well as every four years at the presidential levels. The country becomes highly politicized, as millions of dollars are spent in propaganda and campaigning. The political system is characterized by clientelism, which has corrupted the system throughout the years.^[37]

There are many political parties and interest groups and, new on the scene, civil organizations. The three major parties are the conservative Social Christian Reformist Party (Spanish: Partido Reformista Social Cristiano [PRSC]), in power 1966–78 and 1986–96; the social democratic Dominican Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Dominicano [PRD]), in power in 1963, 1978–86, and 2000–04); and the increasingly conservative Dominican Liberation Party (Spanish: Partido de la Liberación Dominicana [PLD]), in power 1996–2000 and since 2004.

The presidential elections of 2008 were held on May 16, 2008, with incumbent Leonel Fernandez winning with 53% of the vote.^[38] He defeated Miguel Vargas Maldonado, of the PRD, a former minister in Mejía's government, who achieved a 40.48% share of the vote. Amable Aristy, of the PRSC, achieved 4.59% of the vote. Other minority candidates, which include former Attorney General Guillermo Moreno from the Movement for Independence, Unity and Change (Movimiento Independencia, Unidad y Cambio [MIUCA]) and PRSC former presidential candidate and defector Eduardo Estrella, obtained less than 1% of the vote.

Name

For most of its history (up to independence) the colony was known by the name of its present capital, Santo Domingo. At present, it is one of the few countries in the world with a demonym-based name (as the Czech Republic, et al). For example, the French Republic is usually known as France, but the Dominican Republic has no such equivalent — although the name "Quisqueya" is used sometimes.

Provinces and municipalities

Main articles: Provinces of the Dominican Republic and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is divided into 31 provinces. Additionally, the national capital, Distrito Nacional (National District), is contained within Santo Domingo.

The provinces are divided into municipalities (municipios; singular municipio). They are the second–level political and administrative subdivisions of the country.

* The national capital, also known as Distrito Nacional (D.N.), is the city of Santo Domingo.

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Dominican Republic

See also: Hydroelectricity and dams in the Dominican Republic

Map of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is situated on the eastern part of the second-largest island in the Greater Antilles, Hispaniola. It shares the island roughly at a 2:1 ratio with Haiti. The whole country measures an area of 48,730 km² (or 48,921 km²), ^[39] making it the second largest country in the Antilles, after Cuba. Its area is roughly equivalent to that of the US states of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. The country's capital and greatest metropolitan area, Santo Domingo, is located on the southern coast.

To the north, at a distance between 100 and 200 km, are three extensive, largely submerged banks, which geographically are a southeast continuation of the Bahamas: Navidad Bank, Silver Bank and Mouchoir Bank. Navidad Bank and Silver Bank have been officially claimed by the Dominican Republic.

The country's mainland has four important mountain ranges. The most northerly of these ranges is the Cordillera Septentrional ("Northern Mountain Range"), which extends from the northwestern coastal town of Monte Cristi, near the Haitian border, to the Samaná Peninsula in the east, running parallel to the Atlantic coast. The highest range in the Dominican Republic — indeed, in the whole of the West Indies — is the Cordillera Central ("Central Mountain Range") (in Haiti known as the Massif du Nord). It gradually bends southwards and finishes near the town of Azua de Compostela on the Caribbean coast. The Cordillera Central is home to the four highest peaks in the West Indies: Pico Duarte (3,098 m / 10,164 ft above sea level), La Pelona (3,094m), La Rucilla (3,049m) and Pico Yaque (2,760m).

Bust of Duarte on top of Pico Duarte, with La Pelona in the background.

In the southwest corner of the country, south of the Cordillera Central, there are two other ranges. The more northerly of the two is the Sierra de Neiba, while in the south the Sierra de Bahoruco is a continuation of the Massif de la Selle in Haiti.

There are other minor mountain ranges, such as the Cordillera Oriental ("Eastern Mountain Range"), Sierra Martín García, Sierra de Yamasá and Sierra de Samaná.

With mountain ranges running parallel to each other, the Dominican Republic boasts a number of valleys and plains. In between the Central and Septentrional mountain ranges lies the rich and fertile Cibao valley. This major valley is home to the city of Santiago de los Caballeros and to most of the farming areas in the nation. Rather less productive is the semi-arid San Juan Valley, south of the Cordillera Central and extending westward into Haiti. Still more arid is the Neiba Valley, tucked between the Sierra de Neiba and the Sierra de Bahoruco. This valley is also known in Haiti as the Cul-de-Sac. Much of the land in the Enriquillo Basin is below sea level, with a hot, arid, desert-like environment. There are other smaller valleys in the mountains such as the Constanza, Jarabacoa, Villa Altagracia and Bonao valleys.

Cayo Levantado in Samana Bay is one of the many cays in the D.R.

There are many small offshore islands and cays that are part of the Dominican territory. The two largest islands near shore are Saona in the southeast and Beata in the southwest.

The Llano Costero del Caribe ("Caribbean Coastal Plain") is the largest of the plains in the Dominican Republic. Stretching north and east of Santo Domingo, it contains many sugar plantations in the savannahs that are common here. West of Santo Domingo its width is reduced to 10 km as it hugs the coast, finishing at the mouth of the Ocoa River. Another large plain is the Plena de Azua ("Azua Plain"), a very dry region in the Azua Province.

A few other small coastal plains are in the northern coast and in the Pedernales Peninsula.

South shore of Lake Enriquillo, looking northward to the Sierra de Neiba

Four major rivers drain the numerous mountains of the Dominican Republic. The Yaque del Norte carries excess water down from the Cibao Valley and empties into Monte Cristi Bay. Likewise, the Yuna River serves the Vega Real and empties into Samaná Bay. Drainage of the San Juan Valley is provided by the San Juan River, tributary of the Yaque del Sur, which empties into the Caribbean. The Artibonito is the longest river of Hispaniola and flows into Haiti. The Yaque del Norte is the longest and most important Dominican river.

There are many lakes and coastal lagoons; the largest lake is Lago Enriquillo, a saline lake at 40 m below sea level, the lowest point in the West Indies. Other important lakes are Laguna de Rincón or Cabral, with freshwater, and Laguna de Oviedo, a lagoon with brackish water.

Climate

A beach on Saona Island

The country is a tropical, maritime nation. Wet season is from May to November, and periodic hurricanes between June and November. Most rain falls in the northern and eastern regions. The average rainfall is 1346 mm, with extremes of 2500 mm in the northeast and 500 mm in the west. The main annual temperature ranges from 21 °C in the mountainous regions to 25 °C on the plains and the coast. The average temperature in Santo Domingo in January is 25 °C and 30 °C in July. Nonetheless, the highest mountaintops are covered in pine forests and have temperatures that can go several degrees below freezing during winter nights.

Environmental issues

Bajos de Haina, 12 miles (19 km) west of Santo Domingo, was included on the Blacksmith Institute's list of the world's 10 most polluted places, released in October 2006, due to lead poisoning by a battery recycling smelter closed in 1999. As the site never was cleaned up, children continue to be born with high lead levels causing learning disabilities, impaired physical growth and kidney damage.^[40]^[41]

Symbols

Some of the important symbols include the flag of the Dominican Republic, the coat of arms, and the national anthem, titled Himno Nacional. The flag has a large white cross that divides it into four quarters. Two quarters are red and two are blue. Red represents the blood shed by the liberators. Blue expresses God's protection over the nation. The white cross symbolizes the struggle of the liberators to bequeath future generations a free nation. An alternate interpretation is that blue represents the ideals of progress and liberty, whereas white symbolizes peace and union amongst Dominicans.^[42] In the center of the cross is the Dominican coat of arms, in the same colors as the national flag.

The national flower is the flower of the West Indies Mahogany^[43] The national bird is the Cigua Palmera or Palmchat.^[44]

Economy

Recent years

Santo Domingo(D.N), the capital of the Republic and its biggest city.

See also: Economy of the Dominican Republic

See also: Dominican Peso

The Dominican Republic is the largest economy in the Central American and Caribbean region. It is a lower middle-income^[45] developing country primarily dependent on natural resources and government services. Although the service sector has recently overtaken agriculture as the leading employer of Dominicans (due principally to growth in tourism and Free Trade Zones), agriculture remains the most important sector in terms of domestic consumption and is in second place, behind mining, in terms of export earnings. Real estate tourism alone accounted for $1.5 billion in annual earnings.^[46] Free Trade Zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. Remittances ("remesas") from Dominicans living abroad are estimated to be more than $2 billion dollars per year.

Sector of Piantini

Following economic turmoil in the late 1980s and 1990, during which the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by up to 5% and consumer price inflation reached an unprecedented 100%, the Dominican Republic entered a period of moderate growth and declining inflation until 2002, after which the economy entered a recession. This recession followed the collapse of the second-largest commercial bank of the country (Baninter), linked to a major incident of fraud valued at $3.5 billion during the administration of President Hipolito Mejia (2000-2004). The Baninter fraud had a devastating effect on the Dominican economy, with GDP dropping by 1% in 2003 while inflation ballooned by over 27%. All defendants, including the star of the trial, Ramon Baez Figueroa, were found guilty and convicted, save one subpoena which failed to be delivered upon the United States denial of extradition.

Despite a widening merchandise trade deficit, tourism earnings and remittances have helped build foreign exchange reserves. The Dominican Republic is current on foreign private debt, and has agreed to pay arrears of about $130 million to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation.

According to the 2005 Annual Report of the United Nations Subcommittee on Human Development in the Dominican Republic, the country is ranked #71 in the world for resource availability, # 79 for human development, and #14 in the world for resource mismanagement. These statistics emphasize national government corruption, foreign economic interference in the country, and the rift between the rich and poor.

Santiago de los Caballeros, the second largest city in the country

The Dominican Republic has become a trans-shipment point for South American drugs to Europe as well as the United States and Canada.^[1] Money laundering is favored by Colombian drug cartels via the Dominican Republic for the ease of illicit financial transactions.^[1]

Santiago De Los Caballeros; La Trinitaria, area of increasing development.

The Dominican Republic enjoys a growing economy and a 2007 GDP per capita of $9,208, in PPP terms, which is relatively high in Latin America. In the trimester of January - March 2007 it experienced an exceptional growth of 9.1% in its GDP, below the previous year's 10.9% in the same period. Growth was led by imports, followed by exports, with finance and foreign investment the next largest factors.^[47] The service sector in general has experienced growth in recent years, as has construction. Economic growth takes place in spite of a chronic energy shortage,^[48] which causes frequent blackouts and very high prices.

Santo Domingo, the capital of the Republic is the source of most of is GDP and has become one of the leading cities of the Caribbean. The biggest tourist center in the country is the region of Bávaro.

Currency

The Dominican peso (DOP) is the national currency of the country, although US dollars (USD) and euros (EUR) are accepted at most tourist sites. The peso was worth the same as the USD until the 1980s, but has depreciated. The exchange rate in 1993 was 14.00 pesos per USD and 16.00 pesos in 2000, but it jumped to 53.00 pesos per USD in 2003. In 2004, the exchange rate was back down to around 31.00 pesos per USD.

The U.S. dollar is implicated in almost all commercial transactions of the Dominican Republic; such dollarization is common in high inflation economies. On February 2005, 1.32 USD = one € = 29 DR pesos; in October 2005, 1.19 USD = one € = 32 DR pesos. As of September 2007 the value of the peso is 1 USD=0.7006 EUR=33.430 DOP.^[49]^[50]

Tourism

Tourism is fueling the Dominican Republic's economic growth. For example, the contribution of travel and tourism to employment is expected to rise from 550,000 jobs in 2008 — 14.4% of total employment or 1 in every 6.9 jobs — to 743,000 jobs — 14.2% of total employment or 1 in every 7.1 jobs by 2018.^[51] With the construction of projects like Cap Cana, and San Souci Port in Santo Domingo the Dominican Republic expects increased touristic activity in the next upcoming year. Ecotourism has been a topic increasingly important in the nation with towns like Jarabacoa, and locations like the Pico Duarte becoming more significant in attempts to increase direct benefits from tourist.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Dominican Republic

Population

The population of Dominican Republic in 2008 was estimated by the Joshua Project and the United Nations at 9,905,000,^[52]^[53] which placed it as number 82 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2006 approximately 5% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 35% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 103 males for every 100 females in the country in 2007.^[1] According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2006–2007 is 1.5%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 10,121,000.

It was estimated by the Dominican government that the population density in 2007 was 192 per km² (498 per sq mi), and 63% of the population lived in urban areas.^[54] The southern coastal plains and the Cibao Valley are the most densely populated areas of the country. The capital city, Santo Domingo, had a population of 3,014,000 in 2007. Other important cities are Santiago de los Caballeros (pop. 756,098), La Romana (pop. 250,000), San Pedro de Macorís, San Francisco de Macorís, San Felipe de Puerto Plata, and Concepción de la Vega. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 2.3%.^[55]

Ethnic composition

Dominican girls at carnival in Taíno garments and makeup (2005)

The ethnic composition of the Dominican population is 73% mixed race, 16% white and 11% black.^[1] The mixed population is a racial mixture of White, Black, and Taino heritage.^[13] Other ethnic groups in the Dominican Republic include Haitians, Germans, Italians, Portuguese, Irish, Corsicians, French, Spaniards, and Americans. A smaller yet significant presence of East Asians (primarily ethnic Chinese and Japanese) and Middle Easterners, primarily Lebanese and Jews can be found throughout the population.

Racial issues

As elsewhere in the Spanish Empire, the original Spanish colony of Hispaniola employed a social system known as casta, wherein Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain) occupied the highest echelon. These were followed, in descending order of status, by: criollos, castizos, mestizos, mulattoes, Indians, zambos, and lastly, black slaves.^[56]^[57] The stigma of these social strata persisted for many years, reaching its culmination in the Trujillo regime, as the dictator used racial persecution and nationalistic fervor against Haitians.^[58]^[32]

According to a study by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, about 70% of the contemporary Dominican population has African ancestry.^[59] Most Dominicans self-identify as being of mixed-race rather than black in contrast to African identity movements in the United States. A variety of terms are used to represent a range of skintones depending on ancestry such as "morena" (brown), "canela" (red/brown), "india" (Indian), "blanca oscura" (dark white), and "trigueño" (wheat colored),^[60] among others.

Many have claimed that this represents a reluctance to self-identify with African descent and the culture of the freed slaves. According to Dr. Miguel Anibal Perdomo, professor of Dominican Identity and Literature at Hunter College in New York City, "There was a sense of 'deculturación' among the African slaves of Hispaniola. [There was] an attempt to erase any vestiges of African culture from the Dominican Republic. We were, in some way, brainwashed and we've become westernized."^[61]

However, this view is not universal, as many also claim that Dominican culture is simply different and rejects the racial categorizations of other regions. Ramona Hernández, director of the Dominican Studies Institute at City College of New York asserts that the terms were originally an act of defiance in a time when being mulatto was stigmatized. "During the Trujillo regime, people who were dark skinned were rejected, so they created their own mechanism to fight it." She went on to explain, "When you ask, 'What are you?' they don't give you the answer you want ... saying we don't want to deal with our blackness is simply what you want to hear."^[62] The Dominican Republic is not unique in this respect either. In a 1976 census survey conducted in Brazil, respondents described their skin color in 136 distinct terms.^[62]^[63]

Religions

Main article: Religion in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is almost uniformly Christian. 95% of the population adheres to Christianity, mostly Roman Catholicism,^[64] followed by a growing contingent of

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