Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Since 1492, when Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Re-
public (DR) has seen wave after wave of foreign interlopers. The destruction of the
native population led to periods of intermittent neglect and conflicts between the
French and Spanish colonial systems. Shaping its identity as much as anything, is its
relationship with Haiti, its onetime invader and neighbor sharing the island. Decades
of dictatorial and general misrule left scars, both physical and psychological, though
Dominicans are proud of their Spanish heritage and recent years have seen relative
stability and a resurgence of nationalist pride.
A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and Carib to the Present
by Jan Rogozinski does an excel-
lent job of placing Hispaniola into the larger currents of Caribbean history.
