The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola
with the country of Haiti.
Hispaniola is bordered on the north by the North Atlantic
Ocean and on the south by the Caribbean Sea. The Dominican
Republic is the largest Caribbean country after Cuba.
The capital is Santo Domingo.
Christopher Columbus explored and claimed Hispaniola for Spain on his first voyage in 1492. Hispaniola became the launching pad for Spanish conquest of other islands in the Caribbean and of coastal areas of the present United States. Spain recognized the French dominion over the western portion (one-third) of the island which became Haiti in 1804. The remainder (two-thirds) of the island was known at the time as Santo Domingo, which attempted independence in 1821, but was conquered by Haiti and held until 1844, when it gained its independence from Haiti as the Dominican Republic. In 1861 the Dominican Republic chose to return to Spanish control, but waged a war two years later to become independent again in 1865. Subsequent history has been turbulent, particularly the era of the dictator Rafael Trujillo who was in control from 1930-1961.
The total area of the Dominican Republic is 48,730 square kilometers. It is slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire.
The climate is tropical maritime, seasonal temperature is rather regular, rainfall varies by season. The topography is highlands and mountains with fertile valleys. Water shortages and deforestation are environmental issues. Hurricanes in the months July-October often do substantial damage.
The current population is 9,365,818 (July 2007 est.), of whom the majority are of mixed ethnicity (73 percent), Caucasian 16 percent and Black 11 percent. The official language is Spanish, and the majority (95 percent) are Roman Catholic.
Agricultural products are sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas, cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef and eggs. Industries are tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, and tobacco processing. The Dominican Republic is the largest producer of cigars in the world.
Web Sites
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for
- Dominican Republic
- Many books by Julia Alvarez are set in the Dominican Republic
Databases
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