Dominican Republic

## **The Dominican Today**

The Dominican Republic stands today as a relatively stable and somewhat prosperous nation in Latin America, at least in comparison to its neighbor, Haiti. Tensions are very high between the two nations, especially following the ascension of Rafael Trujillo to the Dominican presidency. War is on the horizon for both countries.

## **Whispers of Freedom**

Prior to their war of independence , the Dominican half of Hispaniola saw a period of brutal oppression under Haiti. This directly resulted in the formation of the resistance movement *La Trinitaria* by educated nationalist Juan Pablo Duarte, alongside Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez.

## **The Dominican War of Independence**

The Dominican War of Independence began in earnest on February 27, 1844 when rebel forces seized the Ozama Fortress in the city of Santo Domingo, provoking an invasion of 30,000 Haitian troops by Haitian dictator Charles Hérard, which was swiftly defeated. Duarte was encouraged to take power, but he countered, stating that he would only take power if free elections were held. This proved unnecessary as in July Dominican commander Pedro Santana successfully captured the city proper and declared Duarte as leader of the new Dominican Republic. What followed (and preceded) this was a series of humiliating defeats for the Haitians, notable ones including;

### Battle of Fuente del Rodeo

The first battle of the war, it saw a meager force of Dominicans, led by General Fernando Taveras, defeated an outnumbering force of Haitians. Dominicans fought with whatever they had - stones, knives, rifles, clubs, machetes, and lances.

### Battle of Cabeza de Las Marías

Fought from the 13th to the 18th of March, 1844, it was the first military engagement of the war. A force of 500 Dominicans, led by General Manuel de Regla Mota, defeated 10,000 Haitians, inflicting 1,000 casuatlies upon them while only suffering 3.

### Battle of Azua

Fought on the 19th of March, 1844, at Azua de Compostela in the Azua province. A force of around 2,200 Dominican troops, led by General Pedro Santana, defeated an outnumbering force of 10,000 troops of the Haitian Army led by General Souffrand.

### Battle of Santiago

Fought at Santiago on the 30th of March, 1844, a meager force of around 500 Dominican troops defeated an outnumbering force of 10,000 Haitians.

The pattern of outnumbered and/or outgunned Dominican forces was common throughout the war, with the second major invasion of 30,000 Haitians under Haitian Emperor Faustin Soulouqe proving disasterous for the petty Empire, his forces being all-but destroyed at the Battle of Monte Cristi and the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince falling to triumphant Dominican troops in March of 1856, cementing Dominican independence and its superiority over Haiti, seizing the Haitian treasury and wealth in the process.

## **The Old Trinitario Era**

### Duarte's First Term

While President Duarte could have easily used the threat of Haitian invasion as grounds to secure greater power for himself, he chose not to. Instead, he created a constitution based upon the ideals of prominent figures behind the Great Colonial Rebellion, as well as his own ideals. He established equality among races, political and religious freedom, and overall ruled with the best interests of the people in mind. Additionally he saw the Dominican military formed into an apolitical and organized one, the infrastructure (notably roads) greatly improved upon and expanded, and formal relations with other nations. Duarte did not run in the election of 1860, instead allowing his old friend and war hero Matías Ramón Mella to step up to the role of leader.

### The Mella Presidency

Mella ruled similarly to his old friend Duarte, most notably seeing to the formation of the Dominican Navy, which until this point was included under the Dominican Army. Additionally he continued and expanded upon Duarte's road projects, provided protections for the farmers of and helped enrich the Cibao Valley, and calmed what limited fears there were of Haitian invasion. His presidency ended in with his passing in 1864.

## **Duarte's Return**

With the other two founders of the Trinitaria having passed away, Duarte reluctantly returned to the presidency following a nearly unanimous victory in the election of 1864. He notably caused a sharp decline in illiteracy with education policies, developed railroads and sugar mills, and briefly came into conflict with General Santana, who had invaded and occupied the Haitian provinces of Nord and Nord-Est. He reluctantly allowed the annexation of the territories and settlement of them by Dominicans, while Santana stepped down, knowing full well that he could not challenge Duarte's rule without sparking a civil war - one he would lose. Duarte served until 1872, establishing a three term limit for future presidents. The Trinitaria Era was continued by Duarteists with little change until 1884, with the dark horse politician Ulises Heureaux securing a victory in the election of that year.

## **The Reign of Heureaux**

It didn't take long for Ulises Heureaux to lose what little support he had. His regime was that of constant conflict with the other branches of government, who fortunately combatted many of his attempts at securing more power and wealth for himself. Heaureaux barely managed to score another victory in 1888, mostly due to his development of infrastructure, introduction of electricity to the capital, as well as the beginning of a telephone and telegraph service. In 1891 he began to make preparations for a Dominican invasion of Haiti, which were cut short by him losing the presidency in 1892. However, the ensuing presidency was soon cut short, and in 1895 he returned to the presidency, albeit temporarily. He managed to keep a hold on control until 1899, when he launched his invasion of Haiti. While this was met with relative success, his continued conflict with government and rapidly declining popular support (having attempted to finance the war by raising taxes) culminating in his assassination in July of that year, and a Dominican withdrawal from Haiti.

## **The New Trinitario**

The New Trinitario period (lasting from 1900 to 1932) saw a series of Dominican presidents belonging to the New Trinitaria party. Their policies continued the relative peace and stability the nation was used to, and undid the damages left by Heureaux while at the same time expanding upon the positives he brought the nation. By the year 1930, electricity was available and nearly every home, poverty kept below 20%, and a general era of prosperity hit the nation. The Trinitaria Era came to a close with the election of Rafael Trujillo in 1932.

## **The Reign of Trujillo (1932-)**

President Trujillo's focus as president was to combat the effects of the economic hardship throughout the world closing in on the Dominican, as well as "settling the score" with Haiti. Trujillo masterfully played upon the public's fears and prejudices against Haitians and Communism to support his military build-up in preparation for the war with Haiti. Behind closed doors, Trujillo and his inner circle have already created plans to stage an incident on the border, as well as enact his "Final Solution" to the Haitian question. The future of Hispaniola is likely to be shaped through bloodshed. Whatever may happen, one thing is for certain: *there will be blood.*