Coordinates: 19°00′N 70°40′W / 19.000°N 70.667°W /
19.000; -70.667The Dominican Republic (/dəˈmɪnɪkən/
də-MIN-ik-ən; Spanish: República Dominicana, pronounced
[reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana] (listen)) is a country located on the
island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the
Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island,
which it shares with Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two
Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two
sovereign states. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest nation
in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers
(18,792 sq mi), and third-largest by population with approximately
10.8 million people (2020 est.), of whom approximately 3.3 million
live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city. The
official language of the country is Spanish.The native TaÃno people
had inhabited Hispaniola before the arrival of Europeans, dividing it
into five chiefdoms. The TaÃno people had eventually moved north over
many years, and lived around the Caribbean islands. The TaÃno natives
had done quite well for themselves and were on their way to being an
organized civilization. Christopher Columbus explored and claimed the
island, landing here on his first voyage in 1492. The colony of Santo
Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement in
the Americas and the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the
New World. Meanwhile, France occupied the western third of Hispaniola,
naming their colony Saint-Domingue, which became the independent state
of Haiti in 1804. After more than three hundred years of Spanish rule
the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821. The
leader of the independence movement José Núñez de Cáceres,
intended the Dominican nation to unite with the country of Gran
Colombia, but the newly independent Dominicans were forcefully annexed
by Haiti in February 1822. Independence came 22 years later in 1844,
after victory in the Dominican War of Independence. Over the next 72
years the Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal conflicts and
a brief return to Spanish colonial status before permanently ousting
the Spanish during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1863â€"1865.
The United States occupied the country between 1916 and 1924; a
subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez
followed. From 1930 the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
ruled until 1961. A civil war in 1965, the country's last, was ended
by U.S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule
of JoaquÃn Balaguer (1966â€"1978 and 1986â€"1996). Since 1978, the
Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy, and has
been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time after 1996. Danilo
Medina succeeded Fernández in 2012, winning 51% of the electoral vote
over his opponent ex-president Hipólito MejÃa. He was later
succeeded by Luis Abinader in the 2020 presidential election.
19.000; -70.667The Dominican Republic (/dəˈmɪnɪkən/
də-MIN-ik-ən; Spanish: República Dominicana, pronounced
[reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana] (listen)) is a country located on the
island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the
Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island,
which it shares with Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two
Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two
sovereign states. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest nation
in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers
(18,792 sq mi), and third-largest by population with approximately
10.8 million people (2020 est.), of whom approximately 3.3 million
live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city. The
official language of the country is Spanish.The native TaÃno people
had inhabited Hispaniola before the arrival of Europeans, dividing it
into five chiefdoms. The TaÃno people had eventually moved north over
many years, and lived around the Caribbean islands. The TaÃno natives
had done quite well for themselves and were on their way to being an
organized civilization. Christopher Columbus explored and claimed the
island, landing here on his first voyage in 1492. The colony of Santo
Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement in
the Americas and the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the
New World. Meanwhile, France occupied the western third of Hispaniola,
naming their colony Saint-Domingue, which became the independent state
of Haiti in 1804. After more than three hundred years of Spanish rule
the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821. The
leader of the independence movement José Núñez de Cáceres,
intended the Dominican nation to unite with the country of Gran
Colombia, but the newly independent Dominicans were forcefully annexed
by Haiti in February 1822. Independence came 22 years later in 1844,
after victory in the Dominican War of Independence. Over the next 72
years the Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal conflicts and
a brief return to Spanish colonial status before permanently ousting
the Spanish during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1863â€"1865.
The United States occupied the country between 1916 and 1924; a
subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez
followed. From 1930 the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo
ruled until 1961. A civil war in 1965, the country's last, was ended
by U.S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule
of JoaquÃn Balaguer (1966â€"1978 and 1986â€"1996). Since 1978, the
Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy, and has
been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time after 1996. Danilo
Medina succeeded Fernández in 2012, winning 51% of the electoral vote
over his opponent ex-president Hipólito MejÃa. He was later
succeeded by Luis Abinader in the 2020 presidential election.
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