Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Santo Domingo Highlights
Wandering the 500-year-old cobblestone backstreets of the
Zona Colonial
(
Click here
)
Entering the
Catedral Primada de América
(
Click here
) - the first church in the New World - and
imagining how 16th-century worshippers felt
Rooting for the home team at raucous
Estadio Quisqueya
(
Click here
), one of the premier places to
watch a baseball game in the Dominican Republic
Letting the night slip away after a late dinner along romantic
Calle la Atarazana
(
Click here
), off
Plaza España
Dancing to
merengue
,
bachata
or
salsa music
(
Click here
) or just plain-old grinding down at one
of the capital's vibrant Malecón nightclubs
History
In a way, it can be said that the founding of Santo Domingo was an act of desperation.
Columbus' first settlement, Villa La Navidad in present-day Haiti, was burned to the
ground and all settlers killed within a year. His second settlement, La Isabela, west of
present-day Puerto Plata, lasted only five years and was beset from the beginning by dis-
ease and disaster. Columbus' brother Bartolomé, left in charge of La Isabela and facing re-
bellion from its disgruntled residents, pulled up stakes and moved clear around to the other
side of the island. He then founded Nueva Isabela on the east bank of the Río Ozama. The
third time, evidently, was the charm for Columbus, and this city - though moved to the
west bank and renamed Santo Domingo - has remained the capital to this day.
That's not to say the city hasn't had its fair share of troubles. In 1586 the English buc-
caneer Sir Francis Drake captured the city and collected a ransom for its return to Spanish
control. And in 1655 an English fleet commanded by William Penn attempted to take Santo
Domingo but retreated after encountering heavy resistance. A century and a half later a
brazen ex-slave and Haitian leader by the name of François Dominique Toussaint Louver-
ture marched into Santo Domingo. Toussaint and his troops took control of the city without
any resistance at all; the city's inhabitants knew they were no match for the army of former
slaves and wisely didn't try to resist. During the occupation many of the city's residents
fled to Venezuela or neighboring islands. It was in Santo Domingo on February 27, 1844,
that Juan Pablo Duarte - considered the father of the Dominican Republic (DR) - declared
Dominican independence from Haiti, a day still celebrated today.
