Dominican Republic
 

Overview
Spanish República Dominicana
Country in the West Indies, occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti.

Area: 18,792 sq mi (48,671 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 8,895,000. Capital: Santo Domingo. The majority of the people are of mixed European-African ancestry; most of the rest are of European or African descent. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant). Currency: Dominican peso. The country is generally mountainous, with ranges and hills running from northwest to southeast. The Central Highlands reach 10,417 ft (3,175 m) at Duarte Peak, the highest point in the West Indies. The Cibao Valley in the north is noted for its fertility; the southwestern part of the country is generally dry with large stretches of desert. Traditionally dominated by sugar production, the Dominican Republic’s mixed economy became increasingly diversified in the late 20th century, when the country experienced one of the world’s highest economic growth rates, though widespread poverty remained despite a growing middle class. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. The Dominican Republic was originally part of the Spanish colony of Hispaniola. In 1697 the western third of the island, which later became Haiti, was ceded to France; the remainder of the island passed to France in 1795. The eastern two-thirds of the island were returned to Spain in 1809, and the colony declared its independence in 1821. Within a matter of weeks it was overrun by Haitian troops and occupied until 1844. Since then the country has been under the rule of a succession of dictators, except for short interludes of democratic government, and the U.S. has frequently been involved in its affairs. The termination of the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in 1961 led to civil war in 1965 and U.S. military intervention. For the rest of the country, politics in the Dominican Republic were dominated by seven-time president Joaquín Balaguer. The country suffered from severe hurricanes in 1979 and 1998.

Profile
Official name República Dominicana (Dominican Republic)
Form of government multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Senate [32]; Chamber of Deputies [178])
Head of state and government President
Capital Santo Domingo
Official language Spanish
Official religion none1
Monetary unit Dominican peso (RD$)
Population estimate (2008) 9,507,000
Total area (sq mi) 18,792
Total area (sq km) 48,671
1Roman Catholicism is the state religion per concordat with Vatican City.

Main
Spanish República Dominicana

country of the West Indies that occupies the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the second largest island of the Greater Antilles chain in the Caribbean Sea. Haiti, also an independent republic, occupies the western third of the island. The Dominican Republic’s shores are washed by the Caribbean to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north. Between the eastern tip of the island and Puerto Rico flows the Mona Passage, a channel about 80 miles (130 km) wide. The Turks and Caicos Islands are located some 90 miles (145 km) to the north, and Colombia lies about 300 miles (500 km) to the south. The republic’s area, which includes such adjacent islands as Saona, Beata, and Catalina, is about half the size of Portugal. The national capital is Santo Domingo, on the southern coast.

The Dominican Republic has much in common with the nations of Latin America (with which it is often grouped), and some writers have referred to the country as a microcosm of that region. Dominicans have experienced political and civil disorder, ethnic tensions, export-oriented booms and busts, and long periods of military rule, including a Haitian occupation (1822–44), the oppressive dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo (1930–61), and military interventions by the United States (1916–24 and 1965–66). However, the nation’s troubles have paled in comparison with those of neighbouring Haiti. The two countries have long been strategic because of their proximity to the United States and their positions on major sea routes leading to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.

 

The land
Relief, drainage, and soils
The Dominican Republic includes the highest and lowest elevations in the West Indies. Its major mountain ranges and elongated, fertile valleys mainly extend from northwest to southeast.

The Cordillera Septentrional, the northernmost range, looms above a narrow coastal plain drained by such short rivers as the Balabonico and the Yasica. The southern slopes of the mountains give way to the extensive Cibao Valley, which stretches from Manzanillo Bay in the northwest to the Samaná Peninsula and the Bay of Samaná in the east. The valley’s fertile soils are fed by two of the nation’s main river systems: the Yaque del Norte, which flows generally northwestward, and the Camu-Yuna system, which flows eastward.

The Cordillera Central, the island’s most rugged and imposing feature, is known in Haiti as the Massif du Nord (“Northern Massif”). In Dominican territory its crest line averages some 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) in elevation and rises to 10,417 feet (3,175 metres) at Duarte Peak, the highest mountain in the Caribbean. Other prominent peaks are Yaque, La Rucilla, Bandera, and Mijo. Tributaries of the Yaque del Norte drain most of the range’s northern flanks, whereas its southern flanks are drained by the Yaque del Sur system and the Ocoa, Nizao, and other smaller rivers. The San Juan River, one of the Yaque del Sur’s main tributaries, is the centrepiece of the fertile San Juan Valley, which connects with Haiti’s Central Plateau via the upper Artibonite River valley.

Bounding the Cibao Valley to the south is the Sierra de Neiba, which corresponds to the Matheux and Trou d’Eau mountains of Haiti; its high peaks reach approximately 7,200 feet (2,200 metres). Water flowing off the Neiba range drains partly to the Caribbean, via the Yaque del Sur system, and partly inland, to saline Lake Enriquillo. Enriquillo is the country’s largest natural lake, about 23 miles (37 km) long and up to 11 miles (18 km) wide; the lake’s surface is also the lowest point in the West Indies, at 144 feet (44 metres) below sea level. The Dominican Republic’s southernmost range, the Sierra de Baoruco (Bahoruco), is called the Massif de la Selle in Haiti; it overlooks Cape Beata and the arid southwestern plain, including the largely infertile Pedernales region.

The Cordillera Oriental forms the country’s less-rugged eastern spine, separating a narrow coastal plain to the north from a wider belt of rolling lowlands to the south, where most of the country’s sugarcane is grown. The region’s main rivers all flow to the Caribbean, including the Ozama, which reaches the coast at Santo Domingo, and the Macorís, Soco, Chavón, and Yuma.

The country’s most fertile alluvial soils are located in the valleys of the Yaque del Norte, Yuna, San Juan, and Yaque del Sur rivers, as well as the Ozama and various smaller rivers in the southeast. The mountain slopes have lower-quality soils and are generally covered in forests and grasslands. Salt deposited around Lake Enriquillo creates some of the nation’s only unproductive soils.

Climate
The Dominican Republic has a moderate, relatively mild tropical climate, although it lies well within the tropical zone. Conditions are ameliorated in many areas by elevation and by the northeast trade winds, which blow steadily from the Atlantic all year long. The annual mean temperature is 77 °F (25 °C); regional mean temperatures range from 69 °F (21 °C) in the heart of the Cordillera Central to as high as 82 °F (28 °C) on the coastal plains. Temperatures rarely rise above 90 °F (32 °C), and freezing temperatures are unknown.

The heaviest precipitation is in the mountainous northeast (the windward side of the island), where the average annual rainfall is more than 100 inches (2,540 mm). As the trade winds pass over the country, they lose their moisture on various mountain slopes, so that the far western and southwestern valleys, along the Haitian border, remain relatively dry, with less than 30 inches (760 mm) of annual precipitation. The northwestern and southeastern extremes of the country are also arid. The Dominican Republic is occasionally damaged by tropical storms and hurricanes, which originate in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern Caribbean from August until October each year; hurricanes in 1930, 1954, 1979, and 1998 were particularly devastating.

Plant and animal life
Vegetation varies considerably, but there is generally more ground cover in the Dominican Republic than in neighbouring Haiti. The mountains are still largely forested with pines and tropical hardwoods, although the trees on the lower and more accessible slopes have been severely cut for use as charcoal and commercial lumber. In the drier regions low shrubs and scrub predominate, but grasslands and dense rainforests occur where there is heavier precipitation. Royal palms grow throughout much of the country. Cultivated crops have largely replaced the natural vegetation in many areas, particularly in the more fertile upland valleys and on the lower mountain slopes. Mangrove swamps line some coastal areas, whereas extensive sandy beaches are found elsewhere, notably along the northern shore.

Wild animals are not abundant; for several centuries cattle and goats, introduced by the early Spanish colonists, ran wild on the grasslands and in the desert areas. Alligators are found near the mouths of the Yaque rivers and in the waters of Lake Enriquillo. A great variety of birds, including ducks, are hunted. Fish and shellfish inhabit the surrounding waters, particularly within the coral reefs.

Settlement patterns
The nation’s coasts and interior plains have been inhabited since Arawak Indians maintained villages there in pre-Columbian times. Settlement from the late 15th century was closely tied to sugarcane plantations and export-oriented commerce. Throughout the colonial period the population of European colonists and African slaves grew slowly, and their mulatto (mixed African and European) descendents now predominate in most regions of the country. People of mainly European descent inhabit the southeastern savannas, which include large sugar plantations, cattle ranches, and small and medium-size farms. However, the southeastern coastline itself is increasingly inhabited by blacks from Haiti and other West Indian nations who have gone there to work on the plantations, in the mills, or on the docks; most are temporary or seasonal workers. Many of the inhabitants of the town of Azua and its environs are the descendants of immigrants from the Canary Islands.

Santo Domingo, the nation’s largest city, is central to one of the nation’s most densely populated regions; founded by the Spanish in 1496, it was the first permanent town established by Europeans in the Americas. The Cibao Valley is also densely settled, particularly in its central and eastern sections at Santiago, San Francisco de Macorís, and La Vega. Santiago, the nation’s second largest city, vies with Santo Domingo in political, cultural, and economic matters. Secondary coastal centres include La Romana and San Pedro de Macorís in the southeast, Barahona in the southwest, and Puerto Plata in the north. South of the Cordillera Central lies an alluvial plain where rice is grown; its population is centred on San Juan de la Maguana.

The Dominican Republic still has a large rural population, accounting for nearly half of the total, but growing numbers have moved to cities and towns since the mid-20th century. In rural areas some settlements exist as well-defined villages, but most take the form of scattered neighbourhoods, typically clustered around a small store or church or stretched along a roadside, with cultivated patches behind the houses. In addition, there are still many households so isolated from roadways that they can be reached only on foot or horseback.

The people
Ethnicity
The population of the Dominican Republic is predominantly mulatto, and there are small black and white minorities. Few people are descended, even indirectly, from the indigenous Taino peoples, who were largely decimated by disease, warfare, and the effects of forced labour shortly after their first contact with Europeans.

The colonizing whites, mostly Spaniards, were joined in the 19th and 20th centuries by immigrants from East Asia and from such European countries as France, Italy, England, and Germany, as well as by small numbers of Sephardic Jews and Arabs from North Africa and the Middle East. This last group of immigrants at first competed with Chinese peddlers and shopkeepers in the rural areas, but most later moved to the cities, where they now occupy positions in commerce and industry. The Chinese particularly established themselves in the hotel and restaurant business. A small group of Japanese developed truck farming in the Constanza River valley before World War II, and their descendants are now found throughout the republic. Intermarriage among all these groups has blurred, but not erased, their ethnic origins.

The exact African heritage of the large black population is unknown, although many of their ancestors arrived as slaves from West Africa. Some were brought in within the first two decades of the Spanish conquest to work in mines and early sugar plantations. Others came indirectly, via the French colony of Saint-Domingue (later independent Haiti), particularly during the early 19th century when Haitian troops occupied the Dominican Republic. Haitian workers without immigration papers have long crossed over the mountainous frontier between the two countries; other Haitians have worked legally in the south as itinerant cane cutters, and some have found ways to remain after their contracts expired.

Language and religion
The Spanish language has always been predominant, although English is becoming more common because of continued emigration to the United States—which has been accompanied by continual visiting back and forth—plus some repatriation. A French Creole is spoken among Haitian immigrants.

More than four-fifths of the people are adherents to the Roman Catholic church, which exerts a marked influence on all levels of cultural, political, and economic life. Many of the religious beliefs and practices of the rural populace are syncretic, rooted in the cultures of both the early Spanish and African communities. Evangelical groups account for a small but growing segment of the population. There are a few adherents of Judaism and other religions.

Demographic trends
The rate of population increase in the Dominican Republic is greater than in most other West Indian nations, and more than one-third of the population is less than 15 years of age. Both birth and death rates in the republic have long been higher than the regional average, although they have been lower than in Haiti (see Health and welfare).

The country experienced one of the world’s highest urbanization rates in the late 20th century: in 1950 roughly one-fourth of Dominicans lived in cities, but by the late 1990s nearly two-thirds of the population was urban. Santo Domingo expanded into formerly rural zones as it became more crowded, and its urban slums grew as well. Santiago, La Romana, and other cities also grew considerably.

The Dominican Republic’s high rate of emigration has been primarily directed to New York City and other cities in the United States. Since the mid-1960s more than one-tenth of the total population has emigrated, principally to improve their economic situation; many have been illegal immigrants. The outward flow of people alleviated the strain on local resources (notably housing, water supplies, and food production) while boosting many families’ incomes with remittances of cash and consumer goods.

The economy
The Dominican Republic has a mixed economy based largely on services (including tourism and finance), trade, manufacturing, telecommunications, and construction; agriculture and remittances from the many Dominicans living abroad are also important. Agricultural production (mainly sugarcane, with smaller amounts of coffee, cacao, and tobacco) was the economic mainstay until the late 20th century, when the economy became more diversified. The growing economy, in turn, helped to accelerate the rate of urbanization and increase the size of the middle class. The government has long played a major directing role in the economy, and in the 1990s controversy arose concerning its privatization of many formerly state-owned companies. The government also permitted numerous maquiladoras (foreign-owned factories) to be established in tax-free port zones. At the close of the decade, the nation had one of the highest economic growth rates in the world; however, the government’s privatization program remained contentious.

About three-fifths of Dominicans remain below the poverty level, despite improvements in the national economy, and the vast majority of the population belongs to the lower-income segment, including most farmers, landless agricultural workers, itinerant merchants, and unskilled manual labourers. However, the middle class has grown markedly since the mid-20th century, and the nation’s economic and social oligarchy has become somewhat fragmented as newly affluent families have joined its ranks.

Resources
Agricultural land was long the nation’s most important economic resource. About one-third of the land is under permanent cultivation. Pastures and meadows account for more than two-fifths of the total, whereas forests make up roughly one-eighth. Deposits of laterite nickel ore, bauxite (aluminum ore), gold, silver, gypsum, and iron ore have been developed commercially. Salt, largely from deposits near Lake Enriquillo, is also produced in commercial quantities. A smaller salt-producing enterprise, based on the evaporation of sea water, has also been of some importance at Monte Cristi. The Dominican Republic is one of the Western Hemisphere’s relatively few sources of high-quality amber; local artisans produce distinctive amber jewelry, but the gem has not yet been extensively exploited there. Other minerals of potential importance include sulfur, titanium, molybdenum, cobalt, tin, and zinc. The country has some reserves of coal, but it has no coal-mining or petroleum-extraction industries. Imported petroleum is used to generate nearly three-fourths of the country’s electric power; the remainder is produced by hydroelectric installations, particularly those near La Vega and Santo Domingo.

Agriculture, fisheries, and forestry
The Dominican Republic produces much of its own basic food, as well as a considerable amount for export, which is unlike the case in most other Caribbean nations. Agriculture accounts for about one-eighth of both the gross domestic product (GDP) and the workforce. Sugarcane remains the main cash crop; however, sugar prices fell during the 20th century, and coffee, cacao, and other export-oriented crops have become more prominent. Rice, tomatoes, vegetables, animal hides, bananas, other tropical fruits, root crops, and sorghum are also important. The tourist trade in the country has increased local demand for chickens, eggs, pork, beef, and dairy products, which Dominican farmers have produced in greater amounts.

Small, subsistence-level farmers barely eke out a living from the soil and often must supplement their incomes by selling handicrafts, including baskets, pottery, rocking chairs, and straw hats. These items either are sold to middlemen, who market them in towns, or are displayed and sold along the roads and highways.

The fish supply has been sufficient for local needs, and sport fishing has been an additional tourist attraction; however, because of the relative scarcity of marketable fish in nearby waters, a large-scale fishing industry has not developed. Forestry is of little consequence, although some lumbering is carried out in the pine forests of the Cordillera Central and other highlands.

Industry
Only a tiny proportion of the GDP and the labour force depend directly on the nation’s mines, which produce mainly ferronickel (smelted ore that is nearly 40 percent nickel), gold, silver, and bauxite. Manufacturing accounts for roughly one-sixth of the GDP and an equal share of the workforce. Petroleum refining has grown in importance, and locally made textiles and finished clothing—particularly shoes, shirts, and hats—have replaced some imports. Wooden, metal, and plastic furniture has become important on both domestic and foreign markets. Maquiladoras and other factories assemble products for export, mainly in duty-free-port zones. The food-processing and beverage industries produce rum, beer, and numerous other items. Small factories turn out consumer goods such as soap, candles, rope, cigars, concrete blocks, cement, and tiles.

Services
Tourism, trade, finance, and government services account for half of the Dominican workforce and nearly half of the GDP. Service providers are among the nation’s more dynamic and rapidly growing businesses; however, the government bureaucracy, which is the largest component of the service sector, has long been criticized for inefficiency and cronyism. It has been estimated that between one-fifth and half of the urban workforce contributes to the informal sector of the economy, which is largely service-oriented, including domestic servants (who are found even in middle-class households), gardeners, day labourers, and street vendors.

Tourism
Tourism has become one of the Dominican Republic’s most important sources of foreign exchange, and since the mid-1980s the country has been one of the Caribbean’s more popular tourist destinations. The favourable climate, beautiful beaches, restored Spanish colonial architecture, and relatively low prices have drawn an increasing number of foreign visitors and encouraged the building or expansion of resorts and airports on the northern, eastern, and southern coasts. In addition, a significant number of visitors have availed themselves of the country’s liberal divorce code. The United States accounts for the majority of vacationers; smaller numbers come from Canada, Italy, and other European nations. The main tourist sites are La Romana, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, and the colonial centre of Santo Domingo, which was designated a World Heritage site in 1990. The drawbacks associated with tourism, as in other Caribbean nations, have included the need to import high-priced luxury items, which affects the country’s balance of payments, and to produce large amounts of additional foodstuffs and potable water; in addition, greater quantities of trash and sewage have strained the country’s limited resources.

Trade and finance
The Dominican Republic’s chief imports are petroleum and petroleum products, foodstuffs (notably cereals), and manufactured goods. The principal exports are ferronickel, raw sugar, coffee, cacao, and gold. The United States is the single largest trading partner. Venezuela, The Netherlands, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Canada are also important. Although the country historically refused to ally itself with other countries in the Caribbean basin, because of cultural differences as well as the great distances between nations in the region, it increasingly has supported regional trade organizations, beginning in the late 20th century. The country has a persistently negative balance of trade.

The Santo Domingo Stock Market began operating in 1991. The national monetary system is managed by the Central Bank, which issues currency (the Dominican peso), maintains a gold and foreign currency reserve, and administers exchange rates. The private banking system is well developed, and several financial institutions, loan companies, and insurance agencies operate in the urban centres.

Transportation
Santo Domingo is the hub of a transport system that connects virtually all parts of the republic. The highway between the capital and the Cibao region is heavily traveled and in poor repair, but secondary roads are in adequate condition. Buses and a large fleet of private taxicabs provide transportation both within and between cities. Most goods are shipped by truck to the important market centres.

A government-owned freight railroad runs through the eastern half of the Cibao Valley from La Vega to the port of Sánchez on the Bay of Samaná. Most of the country’s other railway lines are privately owned and serve the sugar industry in the southeast. There is no passenger service.

The principal international airports are located at Cape Caucedo, about 15 miles (24 km) east of Santo Domingo, and at Puerto Plata on the northern coast. In the late 20th century, new or expanded international airports were opened at the eastern tip of the island (near Cana Point), at La Romana in the southeast, and at Barahona in the southwest. A secondary airport in Santiago handles smaller commercial planes. Other airfields around the country are open to small private craft.

Freight is exported and imported mainly by sea. Until the 20th century the primary commercial ports lay along the northern coast, such as at the Bay of Samaná, one of the finest and largest natural harbours in the entire Caribbean basin; however, with the rise of the sugar plantations in the south, the ports of Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macorís, and La Romana increased in importance. Most general goods pass through Santo Domingo, but sugar is exported largely through the ports of San Pedro de Macorís and La Romana. The historically important ports of Monte Cristi and Sánchez in the north are now almost defunct. Only Puerto Plata in the north retains its commercial importance, largely because of the tobacco, coffee, and cacao interests in the Cibao region. Barahona exports bauxite, gypsum, and salt but receives few imports.

Administration and social conditions
Government
The Dominican Republic is a representative democracy whose current constitution was promulgated in 1966. The constitution, like its numerous predecessors, provides for civil and economic rights and divides the branches of government. It also allows a president, who is head of state and government, to invoke emergency powers to supersede the legislative and judicial branches. Dominicans have had universal suffrage since 1942. Citizens aged 18 and older may vote in elections unless they are members of the armed forces or the police.

The president is directly elected to a four-year term and may not seek immediate reelection. The bicameral legislature is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies; members of both houses are directly elected to four-year terms and may be reelected. The 30-member Senate is composed of one representative from each province and one from the National District. The size of the Chamber of Deputies is proportional to the population, but there are no fewer than two representatives from each province and two from the National District.

Following Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship (1930–61), political life during the late 20th century largely revolved around two men: Joaquín Balaguer, a moderate who held presidential office for a total of three decades, and Juan Bosch Gavino, who led the leftist Dominican Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Dominicano; PRD) until 1973, when he formed the Dominican Liberation Party (Partido de la Liberación Dominicana; PLD). Balaguer’s Social Christian Reformist Party (founded 1963) continues to vie with the PRD, the PLD, and several smaller parties.

The nation is divided into 29 provinces (provincias) and one National District (Distrito Nacional), the site of Santo Domingo. The central government administers the provinces through governors appointed by the president. Each province is subdivided into municipalities (municipios) that elect their own councils and have some local autonomy.

Justice
The legal system is based on the Napoleonic Code. A nine-member Supreme Court rules on constitutional matters and is the final court of appeal. The Senate appoints Supreme Court justices, who in turn appoint judges to lower courts, which include courts of appeal and provincial, municipal, commercial, and land courts. Separate military tribunals hear cases involving members of the armed forces. The constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, the president and other members of the government have frequently influenced court decisions. Public confidence in the judicial system has long been undermined by corruption, the inadequate legal training of some judges, and the routine preemptive detention of suspected criminals. As is the case in some other Latin American nations, the vast majority of prisoners are held without a trial, sometimes for years.

Armed forces and police
During the Trujillo regime the armed forces were used to preserve the dictatorship, and afterward the military continued to play a role in politics; however, in the 1990s the government placed the military under civilian control, reduced its size and budget, and attempted to make it more professional in character. As a result, the military’s political influence diminished moderately, but its senior officers continued to guard its institutional privileges. The police force is organized on a national basis and is sometimes seen as a rival to the army. Detective work is carried on by the National Department of Investigations (Departamento Nacional de Investigaciones; DNI), whereas narcotics laws are the focus of the National Drug Control Directorate (Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas; DNCD). Both the DNI and the DNCD include members of the police and military. Corruption, extrajudicial killings, and participation in drug trafficking are major concerns within the nation’s security forces, although the nation has worked closely with the United States on drug interdiction.

Education
Primary education is officially free and compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and 14, although those who live in isolated areas have limited access to schooling. Primary schooling is followed by a two-year intermediate school and a four-year secondary course, after which a diploma called the bachillerato is awarded. Relatively few lower-income students succeed in reaching this level, because the system is designed to encourage middle- and upper-income students to prepare for admittance to a university. Most wealthier students attend private schools, which are frequently sponsored by religious institutions. Some public and private vocational education is available, particularly in the field of agriculture, but this too reaches only a tiny percentage of the population.

The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, founded in 1538, is the oldest institution of higher education in the New World. It was originally affiliated with the Roman Catholic church, but in the early 19th century its religious ties were severed; the university was reorganized in 1914, and the national government now provides most of its funding. Costs are low, and even poor students may attend if they have been fortunate enough to have secured the requisite primary and secondary preparation. The government or police have occasionally interfered in the university’s operations because it has long been a source of political activism.

The private Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University, located in Santo Domingo, was founded (1966) in part to counter the politicizing of the public university. It received support from the Roman Catholic church, prominent business leaders, and the national and U.S. governments. Apec University (1965) is also located in Santo Domingo, whereas Central del Este University (1970) is in San Pedro de Macorís. The Madre e Maestra Pontifical Catholic University (1962) is based in Santiago but also has a campus in the capital.

Health and welfare
The Dominican people are generally healthier than those of neighbouring Haiti. However, unsanitary water, inadequate housing and health services, and poor nutrition undermine health conditions among the poorer classes in both rural and urban zones. As a result, infectious and parasitic diseases are common, and the infant mortality rate is high. Hospitals and trained medical personnel are available only in the larger cities and towns. In the rural areas, home remedies and traditional healers are often the only means of preserving or restoring health. Severely ill patients may be transported to a nearby urban centre, where hospitalization is free; however, most families take that measure only in extreme cases, often when death is already imminent. Leading causes of death include diseases of the circulatory system, infectious and parasitic diseases, cancer, and respiratory illnesses.

Social conditions in the Dominican Republic generally resemble those of other developing nations in the Americas. The national social security system helps support the elderly and disabled, and maternity and death benefits are also provided; however, public resources are limited, and few Dominicans have additional health insurance, so the elderly and infirm often must rely on family support.

Cultural life
The Dominican Republic’s society and culture largely reflect its Hispanic heritage; African traditions have also influenced the nation because of its slave heritage and its lengthy border with Haiti, which has a predominantly black population. The nation developed in colonial times as a slave-plantation society, creating a castelike system divided by skin colour. In addition, past generations of Dominicans attempted to define their culture in anti-Haitian terms that implied a racist ideology, although most Dominicans have since discouraged those views. However, it is difficult to identify traditions that are uniquely Dominican.

Daily life
The Dominican people share religious, linguistic, and historical traditions, but their society remains largely fragmented and individualistic, and their day-to-day experiences are commensurate to differences between their socioeconomic classes, ethnic groupings, and physical settings, among other factors. Much of the population still lives in rural areas—many as impoverished peasants or migrant workers, others as independent small-scale landowners, and a small minority as elite landowners. Moreover, rural life in the Cibao Valley generally diverges from that of the southeastern sugar plantations and other areas, and city life varies from the frenetic pace of Santo Domingo to the more relaxed, traditional character of Santiago and smaller towns.

Sugar plantations in the south provide barracklike housing units for their temporary workers, but more permanent employees frequently have their own small huts, or bohios, often on company-owned land. Some bohios have double-reed walls filled with rubble and plastered with mud, whereas others are little more than lean-tos of palm leaves and bamboo. In the relatively prosperous Cibao Valley, houses are built solidly of palm board or pine and are commonly painted and decorated, with shutters and lintels in contrasting colours. Roofs are most often covered with corrugated metal sheets, but those of poorer households may be thatched. The houses of prosperous families may have concrete floors, but most are of packed earth.

Urban squatter settlements and inner-city ghettos include dwellings constructed of cardboard, discarded inner tubes, and other scavenged materials. Middle- and upper-class houses and apartments characterize many other urban districts. Government programs, often funded with international loans, have financed housing construction for lower- and middle-income families, especially in Santo Domingo, where large neighbourhoods have been built.

Staple foods for poorer Dominicans include rice, beans, and vegetables. The cuisine of middle- and upper-class Dominicans often makes generous use of peppers, fresh seafood, and tropical fruits; meals might include queso fresco (white cheese), fried plantains, hearts-of-palm salad, shrimp pilaf with chiles and onions, or grilled sea bass. Locally produced rums from the Bermudez and Barcelo distilleries are also popular.

The arts
Music, especially when accompanied by dancing, is important at all social levels and in all regions of the country. The most typical forms are those with clear African antecedents, especially in their rhythms. There are also folk songs and tunes deriving from Spain and the Middle East. Popular genres include the merengue, bolero, salsa, and folk songs associated with African heritage. The cities of Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata host merengue festivals at which dozens of groups compete. Radio stations also feature rock music, reggae, and other Afro-Caribbean musical styles, as well as the Mexican ranchera and Cuban danzón. The guitar is probably the most popular instrument, followed by drums, and in some rural areas flutes and homemade marimbas are also common. Juan Luís Guerra, Frank Ceara, and Fernando Villalona are among the many Dominican musicians who have become internationally renowned.

Numerous Dominican painters, including Ramón Oviedo, José Rincón Mora, and Leopoldo Navarro, have produced canvases ranging from exuberant Haitian-style paintings to abstract and Impressionistic works. The tourist trade has sparked renewed interest in Dominican handicrafts, such as ceramics, textiles, wood carvings, jewelry, dolls, and baskets.

The universities, as well as numerous private literary and cultural organizations, have long fostered an interest in the classical European arts of music, painting, drama, and literature. The country sponsors a symphony orchestra, theatres, and art museums.

Literature
During the 19th-century Haitian occupation, a nationalist spirit began to develop in Dominican literature, notably in the poetry of Félix Maria del Monte. Manuel de Jesus Galván continued the trend with his fictional epic Enriquillo: leyenda histórica dominicana (1879–82; “Enriquillo: Dominican Historical Legend”; Eng. trans. The Cross and the Sword), which depicted Spanish settlers’ brutality toward Taino Indians. In the early 20th century, writers such as Américo Lugo and Gastón Fernando Deligne were more influenced by modernism; however, some nationalist expressions arose again in 1916–24, during the U.S. occupation of the country. In the late 20th century, social protest became a major theme, particularly in the short stories of the leftist politician Juan Bosch, who wrote largely from exile. Contemporary writers have focused to some degree on daily life in the Dominican Republic.

Sports and recreation
National holidays on February 27 and August 16 commemorate the country’s independence struggles. Other holidays are largely defined by the calendar of the Roman Catholic church, but the way in which they are celebrated reveals a mixture of official church and ancient folk traditions. Carnival, observed during several weeks preceding Lent, is especially colourful in Santiago. Masked and costumed men and boys circulate in the streets, hitting each other with inflated pig and goat bladders and chanting traditional rhymes intended to provoke each other to what is today usually only playful retaliation. Their masks are usually homemade and constitute a recognized art form in the country. During the final few days of Carnival, elaborately costumed groups of men and women perform in the streets in return for handouts of rum and cash.

Baseball in the Dominican Republic is more than a sport and national pastime—it is a passion. After U.S. marines introduced the sport there, it slowly gained popularity until the 1960s, when Juan Marichal, the Alou brothers (Felipe, Mateo, and Jesus), and other Dominicans became prominent major league players. Their success prompted North American teams to increase their local scouting, recruiting, and financial investments, and by the 1990s major league teams had fielded scores of Dominican players, including the outfielder Sammy Sosa and many shortstops. Hundreds more also play in the minor leagues.

Several Dominicans have become successful amateur or professional athletes in basketball, volleyball, and boxing, such as the bantamweight boxer Pedro Nolasco, who won a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. Football (soccer) is also played in the Dominican Republic, though not as widely as in other Caribbean nations. Cockfighting—usually accompanied by gambling—remains a traditional and popular spectator sport, although it is discouraged in many areas.

Press and broadcasting
From the 1930s to the ’60s, the Trujillo regime severely restricted the press’s freedom of expression, but subsequent constitutional guarantees generally have been upheld. The most influential of the island’s several daily newspapers are published in Santo Domingo and include El Caribe, founded in 1948, and Listín diario, founded in 1889. Other important daily and weekly publications include La información, El nacional, and Rumbo. A variety of newspapers and periodicals are also imported from the United States. Compared with other developing countries, the Dominican Republic has a high per capita rate of newspaper circulation. There are several television stations and dozens of radio stations. Among the main broadcasters, which are concentrated in Santo Domingo, is the government-owned Radiotelevisión Dominicana. Usage of the Internet had increased rapidly by the beginning of the 21st century.

Nancie L. González
Howard J. Wiarda


 

History
The following discussion focuses on the history of the Dominican Republic from the time of European settlement. For a treatment of the country in its regional context, see West Indies, history of, and Latin America, history of.

At the time of Christopher Columbus’s first landing on Hispaniola in 1492, the Carib people, for whom the Caribbean Sea is named, were preying on the Taino (an Arawak people), who had previously settled there. The two peoples had village-centred societies based on farming, fishing, and hunting and gathering, but they were less advanced than the large pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico, Central America, and Peru.

Columbus established a small colony on the north coast, but Indians slaughtered the first settlers. He returned and established a second colony, but reports of abundant gold farther south quickly led the Spaniards to abandon the northern outpost and found (1496) the city of Santo Domingo on the Caribbean coast.

The colonial era
Hispaniola was the first area in the New World to receive the full imprint of Spanish colonial policy. The oldest cathedral, monastery, and hospital in the Americas were established on the island, and the first university was chartered in Santo Domingo in 1538. The earliest experiments in Spanish imperial rule were conducted there as well. Class and caste lines were rigidly drawn, and the Roman Catholic Church served as the strong right arm of temporal authority. A cruel, exploitative slave-based society and economy came into being.

During the first half century of Spanish rule, Hispaniola flourished: its rich mines and lush lands yielded abundant wealth, and it served as the administrative centre for Spain’s burgeoning American empire. However, European diseases and brutal treatment decimated the Indian population, and the Spanish crown soon turned to more lucrative conquests in Mexico and Peru, where gold and silver were more easily available. The more ambitious Spaniards emigrated.

For the better part of the next three centuries, Hispaniola remained a neglected, poverty-ridden backwater of the Spanish empire. Successive raids by British, Dutch, and French marauders and buccaneers further devastated the island. Eventually, the Spanish crown recognized France’s claims to the western third of Hispaniola, a region that was renamed Saint-Domingue (later Haiti); a prosperous sugar-producing colony based on black slavery grew up there. The Spanish colony also experienced a modest economic boom in the 18th century as a by-product of Saint-Domingue’s prosperity, but its population reached only about 100,000—about one-fifth that of the French colony.

Power struggles and nationalism
In 1795 Spain ceded the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola to France as a result of its defeat in the wars that had been raging in Europe. Under French control the economy and vitality of the colony declined further. Meanwhile, a slave uprising had begun in Saint-Domingue, inflamed by the desire of mulatto freedmen for political rights, the inhuman conditions under which black slaves were forced to labour, and the revolutionary currents then sweeping France. Led by Toussaint-Louverture, the Haitians not only succeeded in throwing off French rule but soon overran parts of the previously Spanish eastern end of the island as well, instilling terror in the white ruling class. For a time French, British, and various Haitian armies all vied for control of Hispaniola. The Haitians evicted the main French army from the western part of the island, but Dominican colonists and British forces, in turn, drove the Haitians from the eastern part. In 1809 the colony was reunited with Spain. But in 1821 a group of Dominicans deposed the Spanish governor and declared independence, following the lead of the countries on the mainland. They named the fledgling nation the Independent State of Spanish Haiti.

Haitian occupation
Within weeks Haitian troops under Jean-Pierre Boyer (president of Haiti, 1818–43) again overran the eastern part of the island, initiating a 22-year occupation (1822–42). Haitians monopolized government power, severed the church’s ties with Rome, forced out the traditional ruling class, and all but obliterated the western European and Hispanic traditions. In addition, Haitian troops arbitrarily confiscated foodstuffs and other supplies, and ethnic tensions caused further resentment. Dominican historians have portrayed the period as cruel and barbarous, but Boyer also freed the slaves, and his administration was generally efficient.

In the 1830s Juan Pablo Duarte—known as the father of Dominican independence—organized a secret society to fight the Haitians. The rebellion gained strength after a devastating earthquake in 1842, as well as the outbreak of civil war in Haiti itself, and in 1844 independence was finally achieved. However, Duarte and other idealistic freedom fighters were soon forced into exile.

Caudillos
From 1844 until 1899 several caudillos (military strongmen) dominated the Dominican Republic, most notably Pedro Santana and Buenaventura Báez, two dictatorial presidents who prevented the growth of democracy and sold out the country to foreign and commercial interests. Santana’s maladministration and heavy military spending (to ward off Haitian attacks) bankrupted the nation, and in 1861 he invited Spain to reclaim its former colony and arranged to have himself named governor-general. Santana was thoroughly discredited as a traitor, and Spain withdrew its troops after a brief occupation (1861–65) and a series of battles against patriotic forces. Báez then approached the United States with a protectorate plan. Pres. Ulysses S. Grant favoured annexation, but the U.S. Senate failed to ratify the treaty by one vote.

The instability continued during the 1870s. Ulises Espaillat, an idealistic reformer, was elected president and then overthrown in 1876, marking the country’s first (though short-lived) democratic government. Báez returned to the presidency for a fifth time (1876–78) but was also forced out. A period of civil unrest with a succession of presidents ensued, out of which emerged Ulises Heureaux, who dominated the country from 1882 to 1899. Heureaux presided over a time of unprecedented stability and national growth. His regime built new roads, dug irrigation canals, increased agricultural production, and brought in a great amount of foreign investment, particularly major sugarcane producers from Cuba; like his predecessors, however, he ruled with a dictatorial hand. He created a fearsome secret police force, restricted the press, and committed blatant electoral fraud.

Heureaux was assassinated in 1899 by Ramón Cáceres, a rival politician, and the country returned to the chaotic politics of the past. New leaders took over and were in turn forced out, including Juan Isidro Jiménez and Horacio Vásquez—two bitter rivals—and Cáceres himself. Even the accession of the archbishop Adolfo Nouel to the presidency in 1912 failed to stem the disorder, and within four months he too was forced to resign.

Intervention by the United States
Meanwhile, the United States had expanded its commercial interests in the Dominican Republic (and the entire Caribbean region), and it had replaced Europe as the republic’s major trading partner. However, U.S. and European investors became alarmed by the republic’s deteriorating financial situation. In 1905 the United States began to administer the Dominican Republic’s customs agency, using it in part to pay off the republic’s European creditors, who had threatened to collect on their debts. The United States assumed complete control of the nation’s government in 1916 after its fragile political structure collapsed again.

During the occupation (1916–24) the United States placed thousands of troops in the Dominican Republic as well as in neighbouring Haiti, which it administered from 1915 to 1934. The U.S. Marine Corps built roads, schools, communications and sanitation facilities, and other projects, and the occupation government enacted legal reforms that allowed U.S.-owned sugarcane companies to expand their operations. In addition, the marines transformed the nation’s cultural life by introducing chewing gum and baseball, a sport that has since become a Dominican passion. Some Dominicans reacted strongly against the occupation forces, which had assumed arbitrary control and frequently abused their authority. As they prepared to depart the island, the marines created a modern, unified military constabulary that became the instrument by which future Dominican authoritarians would seize power.

Civil unrest, dictatorship, and democracy
In 1924 Horacio Vásquez won a U.S.-supervised presidential election, but he proved to be an incompetent and corrupt leader, and pressure built up for his ouster. A revolution was launched in 1930, triggered in part by the initial economic shock of the Great Depression. The armed forces, under the firm control of its leader, Rafael Trujillo, stood by, rather than defending the government, and let the revolution succeed. Trujillo then took power himself.

The Trujillo regime
The dictatorship of Trujillo (1930–61) was one of the longest, cruelest, and most absolute in modern times. Trujillo maintained complete control of the military, appointed family members to key offices, strictly enforced censorship and conformity laws, and ordered the murder of political opponents and the massacre of thousands of Haitian immigrants. Trujillo also dominated the church hierarchy, educational system, entertainment industry, and virtually every other element of Dominican society. He had Santo Domingo renamed Ciudad Trujillo, and he amassed a vast fortune for himself by taking ownership of virtually everything he touched—land, airlines, trading monopolies, manufacturers, and most sugarcane producers—in all as much as three-fifths of the nation’s gross domestic product and workforce.

Most Dominicans deeply feared Trujillo and his secret police force, although they admired his bold personality—which they regarded as fundamentally Dominican—and his ability to control national affairs and promote public works projects. The country’s political and economic stability attracted foreign investors and grants from the U.S. government, and the foreign news media extolled Trujillo’s so-called “Dominican miracle” while downplaying his abuses and his failure to improve the lots of most impoverished Dominicans.

Domestic opposition grew in the late 1950s as the secret police jailed and tortured even larger numbers of dissenters. Meanwhile, Trujillo became increasingly paranoid, particularly after discovering that the Cuban and Venezuelan governments had supported plots against him. Trujillo developed particularly strong rancor for Rómulo Betancourt, the Venezuelan president, whom Dominican agents attempted to assassinate in June 1960. This action was quickly condemned by the Organization of American States, which imposed economic sanctions; the United States also withdrew support. In May 1961 the dictator was assassinated on a rural highway. Trujillo’s heirs and followers attempted to remain in power, but they were also driven out, and the country embarked on a more democratic course.

Bosch, Balaguer, and their successors
In 1963 Juan Bosch and his moderately reformist Dominican Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Dominicano; PRD) took power; he was the first directly elected democratic and progressive president in the country’s history. However, Bosch earned the enmity of the country’s oligarchy and key U.S. officials, and after seven hectic months he was overthrown. In 1965 a democratic revolution was sparked to oppose the country’s return to oligarchical rule, but the United States, fearing the installation of a communist regime (as had happened in Cuba the previous decade), again occupied the country in 1965–66 and snuffed out the revolt.

The winner of the U.S.-organized 1966 elections was Joaquín Balaguer, a former Trujillo puppet who presented himself as a moderate conservative and a symbol of orderly change. Balaguer became one of the main national figures for the next three decades, in the face of political challenges from Bosch and other progressive politicians. Balaguer’s conservative rule, and his reelections in 1970 and 1974, reflected the power of the business, commercial, and industrial oligarchy, as well as of the military. Balaguer’s government made strong economic gains and instituted some social reforms, but large segments of the population still remained dissatisfied. As alternatives to conservative rule, many political activists supported the PRD or Bosch’s newly founded Dominican Liberation Party (Partido de la Liberación Dominicana; PLD).

In 1978 Balaguer was defeated by Antonio Guzmán Fernández of the PRD. Guzmán moved cautiously to implement reforms, but oligarchic elements remained powerful and the economy fragile. A hurricane devastated the country in 1979, and the faltering economy produced inflation, strikes, and depressed conditions. Guzmán was succeeded by another PRD candidate, Salvador Jorge Blanco, who served as president in 1982–86. Thus, the country completed eight years of truly democratic government, the longest in its history to that point. But Jorge Blanco was faced with falling sugar prices on world markets, widespread corruption in the government bureaucracy, and an economic recession. In an attempt to stabilize the economy, he initiated an unpopular austerity program that produced strikes and food riots. As a result, the aging (and by then blind) Balaguer was elected president again in 1986. In the 1990 election he narrowly defeated Bosch despite the nation’s continuing economic difficulties and fears that Balaguer’s advanced age and declining health would invite instability. The opposition claimed fraud in 1990 as well as in 1994, when Balaguer again won narrowly. In the face of massive public demonstrations, Balaguer agreed to step down after serving only two years of his term. During his three decades of rule, he had provided the country with stability and economic growth but at the cost of social injustices and human rights abuses.

The 1996 presidential election was won by Leonel Fernández Reyna of the PLD. Fernández, who hoped to mark the end of caudillo rule, proved an able but occasionally mercurial leader who oversaw unprecedented rates of economic growth. Hipólito Mejía, a former agrarian engineer, was elected president in 2000 as the PRD candidate.

Howard J. Wiarda

Under Mejía, the Dominican Republic entered into the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States and several Central American countries. Mejía also sent Dominican troops to fight in the Iraq War. The end of Mejía’s term was plagued by a declining economy and chronic power shortages. Mejía ran for a second term (after the constitution was altered to allow an incumbent to serve consecutive terms) but lost to Fernández, who took office in 2004 and who was reelected to a third term in 2008.

Ed.