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Writer: Kimani Leftridge
The island of Hispaniola is located in the Carribean and is considered the second largest island in the West Indies, Cuba being the first. The island is divided into two countries, Haiti on the western side of the island and the Dominican Republic on the eastern side. Hispaniola is the first of Christopher Columbus’ permanent settlements in the Americas.
The indigenous peoples of the island (the Taino and Arawak people) were subjected to harsh slavery and the redirection of food supplies and labor had a significant effect on the indigenous population. As their population continued to decrease due to harsh conditions and the lack of immunity to diseases introduced by the europeans, colonizers opted to bring in enslaved Africans for additional labor, by May 1519 as many as one third of the indigenous population had died. The french were introduced to the northern and western parts of the island and in 1665 the french colonization of the western part of the island was officially recognized. The french occupied sections of the island witnessed many violent slave revolts and finally the enslaved africans gained the upper hand, defeated french colonizers and took control of the country that is now known as Haiti (abolition of slavery in 1793 and independence in 1804). The United States and other european powers refused to recognize Haiti, in fear of a society that had successfully revolted against slaveholders. The french demanded high payment for compensation to slaveholders who had lost their “property” and Haiti was bombarded with unimaginable debt, it is considered one of the poorest countries in the Americas.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic gradually developed into one of the largest economies in the Carribean. Portions of modern-day Domincan Republic, then known as Santo Domingo (now the capital of the country) were controlled by spanish colonizers until the two countries were unified (from 1822 to 1844) slavery was abolished and independence was gained, for the first time, during this time period as well. After 1844, there were many instances where the Haitians made attempts to control the entire island, but those efforts were squashed because the inhabitants of Santo Domingo had the support of countries such as the united kingdom. Eventually the country had come to be known as the Dominican Republic, the government went through a very unstable period and it was even reinstated as a spanish colony from 1861 to 1864.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a very long history of being at odds and are forever inextricably linked. The two countries have very different relationships with the countries that they were colonized by as well as all other world powers. This has contributed to their current states and the nature of their relationship with each other. Now, there is a very clear difference in the resources that both countries have been afforded, one side of the island on a map is very green and fertile while the other side is brown and perhaps less desirable and it does not take much for the average person to guess which country is the latter and which is the former. There is an unfortunate amount of Dominicans that feel as though the presence of Haitians in the DR and the existence of Haiti in general can only have a negative effect on their country.
There has been a very distinct difference in the way Haitians are treated in the DR, for example, in the 1930s about 15,000 Hatians were systematically murdered by united states backed Dominican dictator Raphael Trujillo. And even now, any person that is assumed to be of Haitian descent in the DR is at risk for deportation, those who are of a darker hue are often assumed to be Haitian. In addition to this, there is a common fear among Dominicans of the reunification of the island, despite the validity of that fear being questionable.
All in all, the linked histories of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic and their relationships to world powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and France has shaped their futures together. This history should always be taken into account in any discourse surrounding the current state of the island of Hispaniola.
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An art project on genocide features Rafael Trujillo’s statement about the start of the killings. (Photo courtesy of Paige Tripp.)
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