|
The indigenous
inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola, on which
the Dominican Republic is located, were the Taíno
Amerindians. The Taínos were a seafaring
branch of the South American Arawaks. Taíno
means "the good" or "noble"
in that native language. A system of cacicazgos
(chiefdoms) was in place, and Marien, Maguana,
Higuey, Magua and Xaragua (also written as Jaragua)
were their names. These chiefdoms were then subdivided
into subchiefdoms. The cacicazgos were based on
a system of tribute, consisting of the food grown
by the Taíno. Among the cultural signs
that they left were cave paintings around the
country, which have become touristic and nationalistic
symbols of the Dominican Republic, and words from
their language, including 'hurricane' (hurrakan)
and 'tobacco' (tabakko).
The islands
was subsequently explored and claimed by Christopher
Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, and Hispaniola
became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the
Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697,
Spain recognized French dominion over the western
third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti.
The remainder of the island, by then known as
Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence
in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians
for 22 years; it finally attained independence
as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the
Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish
Empire, but two years later they launched a war
that restored independence in 1865. Later the
United States ruled Dominican territory with a
military government from 1916-1924.
|
