Dominican Republic

Geography

Bordering Haiti, the Dominican Republic, they share the island of Hispaniola. Its capital is Santo Domingo - the full name being Santo Domingo de Guzman. Originally a single city located within the province Distrito Nacional (National District), it has now been divided into a Province of Santo Domingo and the National District. The Province of Santo Domingo is comprised of several municipalities: Santo Domingo Norte (North Santo Domingo), Santo Domingo Este (East Santo Domingo, which is the provincial capital), Santo Domingo Oeste (West Santo Domingo) and Boca Chica. The Ozama River serves a natural border between the National District and the Province of Santo Domingo. The country has three major mountain ranges: The Central Mountains (Cordillera Central), the Septentrional Mountains, and the Eastern Mountains. The two largest islands, nearshore, are Saona Island in the southeast and Beata Island in the southwest. To the north, at a distance between 100 and 200 km, are three extensive, largely submerged banks, which geographically are a southeast continuation of the Bahamas; Navidad and Silver Banks have been officially claimed by the Dominican Republic.

Culture

The country's culture is predominantly from Spain. Baseball is the top national sport in the Dominican Republic and there are many popular Dominicans who play Major League Baseball in the U.S., including Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Rafael Furcal, Miguel Tejada, and Manny Ramirez. Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for a form of music called Merengue, which has been popular since the mid- to late-1900s. It has sexually charged syncopated beats using Latin percussion, brass instruments, bass and electric guitars. What was considered unpopular to the youth, until today, is a form of folk music called Bachata. Bachata is usually slow, romantic, and Spanish guitar driven. However, bachata's rhythm can be sped up to the same syncopation as Merengue, and its called bacharengue. The Dominican Republic culture is heavily based on music. Some of the major international exponents include Juan Luis Guerra, Millie Quezada, Sergio Vargas, and Johnny Ventura. In recent years, many young artists have also emerged such as Alih Jey, and Carlo Silver.

Religion

Eighty-nine percent of Dominicans are baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. Other substantial religious groups are the Evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Around one percent of the nation's inhabitants practice pure spiritism, although it is very common for Catholicism and spiritism to be mixed in Santeria's seancees and "saint" parties.

History

Before Spain conquered Hispaniola, the island was primarily inhabited by the Tano, a branch of the Arawaks. A system of Cacicazgos (chiefdoms) was in place. Explored and claimed by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of 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. During the Cold War, Soviet and capitalist ideologies clashed openly on the island. Apart from tentative U.S. support for the Trujillo dictatorship (1930-1961) (though this faded during his final years), the largest example of this was the 1965 invasion by American troops in the midst of a Dominican civil war, an uprising that was sparked by an attempt to restore the republic's first democratically-elected president of the 20th century, Juan Bosch, who had been overthrown by a right-wing coup in 1963. Following this civil war, and America's deployment of troops in Operation Power Pack, Joaqun Balaguer (1966-1978) was democractically elected, winning by 57%. Juan Bosch's constitutional government never returned to power. The Johnson administration justified the 1965 intervention by stating that it suspected many of Bosch's supporters were pro-Cuban Communists.

Economy

The Dominican Republic is a middle-income developing country primarily dependent on agriculture, trade, and services, especially tourism. Despite the many services available having overtaken agriculture monetarily, agriculture remains a major element in the Dominican Republic's economy. Tourism accounts for more than $3 billion in annual earnings. Free Trade Zone earnings and tourism are the fastest-growing export sectors. Remittances from Dominicans living abroad are estimated to be about $3 billion per year. Currency-wise, the Dominican Republic Peso (RD$) is the national currency of the country although the US dollar is often acceptable in some places, especially tourist oriented shops and hotels. Initially, the peso was worth the same as a US dollar. In more recent years, however, the value has decreased relative to the US dollar. The exchange rate to the US dollar was about RD$14.00 in 1993 and RD$16.00 in 2000, but in early 2004 reached RD$54.00 per US dollar. It ended the year 2005 at about RD$34.00 per dollar.

Study Abroad

• CIEE Dominican Republic
• ISA Study in Santiago
• Study Abroad Dominican Republic
• Learn To Speak Spanish In The Dominican Republic
• Amerispan Study Abroad