Comendador, Dominican Republic

The Dominican city of Comendador is the head municipality of the Elías Piña province, on the border with Haiti.

Population
The municipality had, in 2010, a total population of 19,344: 9,675 men and 9,669 women. The urban population was  of the total population.

History
The city was founded in 1868, and named after Nicolás de Ovando, the "Comendador of Lares" (Comendador was the chief of a military or religious order). It was founded where there was a military post close to the border with Haiti. The Taíno name of the region was Duan.

There was several fights between Haitian and Dominican soldiers during the Dominican-Haitian War after 1844. The most important fight was the La Estrelleta Battle in a savanna near Comendador.

The old military post was made a Cantón (now called Municipal District) of the Azua province in 1907. The next year, in 1908, it was elevated to the category of municipality of the same province.

Its name was changed to Villa Elías Piña on 29 November 1930. In 1972, its name was changed back to Comendador..

Geography
Comendador is at  to the west of Santo Domingo and    of San Juan de la Maguana. The limits of the municipality are the municipality of Bánica to the north, the San Juan province to the east, the municipality of El Llano to the south and Haiti to the west.

The average daily temperature in the city is  and the average rainfall for the year is .

Administrative division
The municipality of Comendador has two municipal districts; these are:

+ Municipal districts of Comendador Code  Municipal district  Population(2010)  Area(km2)  Density  070102  Sabana Larga  2,056  101.1   070103  Guayabo  4,524  28.1  

Economy
The main economic activity of the municipality is agriculture. Commerce with Haiti is also an important economic activity in the city.

 References 

Category:Settlements in the Dominican Republic
Category:1868 establishments in North America
Category:1860s establishments in the Dominican Republic