Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After protracted struggles Spain ceded
the western half of the island to France in
1697 and retained the eastern part under
the designation Santo Domingo. The west-
ern part was called St.-Domingue by the
French, but the name
Haiti
eventually
became associated with the French-speak-
ing western area, although the same name
was sometimes applied to the whole
island, both before and after 1697. The
slave revolts that began in 1791 under the
stimulus of the French Revolution even-
tually replaced all European government
with a series of rebel leaders. Spanish rule
was reestablished between 1807 and 1821
but was abandoned once again when a
new president in Haiti proclaimed the uni-
fication of the whole island. In 1844 the
erstwhile colony of Santo Domingo pro-
claimed its independence as the D
OMINI
-
CAN
R
EPUBLIC
(República Dominicana).
Dissidents invited Spain to resume her
sovereignty over this eastern region of
Hispaniola in 1861. By 1865 the arrange-
ment had proved mutually unpopular,
and Spain ended the relationship, leaving
the Dominican Republic to resume her
interrupted existence.
Honduras
First sighted by C
HRISTOPHER
C
OLUMBUS
on
his last voyage to the Americas in 1502, this
region was subsequently explored and
claimed for Spain by the lieutenants of
H
ERNÁN
C
ORTÉS
. The first significant Spanish
settlements were made at Trujillo and Puerto
Cortés in 1525. During the remainder of the
colonial period Honduras formed a province
under the Captaincy General of G
UATEMALA
.
Honduras declared its independence in
1821, adhered to the United Provinces of
Central America until 1839, and thereafter
remained a sovereign republic.
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