Bayahibe Village - In this regard, the Dominican Republic commemorates this Saturday, February 27, the 177th anniversary of National Independence.
The independence of the Dominican Republic is the political process by which the eastern part of the Spanish Island, known as Spanish Santo Domingo, became independent in 1844 from the Empire of Haiti, which had kept it occupied militarily since 1822.
Independence
During the Haitian occupation, Juan Pablo Duarte, of Santo Domingo, created a secret society called "La Trinitaria" and planned a coup against the Haitian rulers. On February 27, 1844, Juan Pablo Duarte and the rest of "La Triniatria" obtained the independence of the Dominican Republic as a sovereign state with a cannon shot from the "Puerta del Conde" of Santo Domingo and raised the blue, red and white from the Dominican Republic.
Today, on Dominican Independence Day, locals honor their founding fathers, Juan Pablo Duarte, Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez at the “Puerta del Conde” in Santo Domingo, where the war of independence was declared. The president of the Dominican Republic also delivers an annual speech on this day to pay their respects.
Spanish and Haitian rule
Christopher Columbus arrived on the island of Hispaniola, now known as the Dominican Republic and Haiti, on his first trip to America in 1492. The capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, was the first Spanish settlement in the New World.
In the 16th century, Hispaniola was the bridge between the Caribbean and mainland America under Spanish rule. As the island's importance declined in the 17th century, the Spaniards were forced to cede the western part of the island, known today as Haiti, to the French in 1697 and the rest of the island, a century later, in 1795. The whole island was then known as Santo Domingo. The Dominican side did not adapt well to this cultural change and soon after the Haitian side of the island gained independence in 1804, France lost the rest of the island forever in 1809.
The Dominicans' first attempt at independence was stopped by the Spaniards, who reconquered the eastern part of the island with the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Seven years later, the Dominicans gained independence and expressed the hope of becoming part of the Republic of Greater Colombia (which today would include almost Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela and Colombia.). However, in 1822, Haiti conquered the entire island and ruled it for 22 years.
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