Soon after being part of Spain, the colony of Santo Domingo felt ignored by Spain while it focused more on its colony of Cuba, and as a result, many in the colony wanted independence for Santo Domingo. On 9 November 1821 the Spanish colonial government of Santo Domingo was toppled by a rebel group led by José Núñez de Cáceres. The rebels managed to obtain independence for the colony from Spain in December 1821 and Santo Domingo became known as the Republic of Spanish Haiti. The new government soon introduced a petition for the union of Spanish Haiti with Gran Colombia, however, in February 1822, Haiti invaded and took control of the country. In February 1844, after the Dominican War of Independence, Santo Domingo regained its independence from Haiti.