subject: The Rich History Of Santo Domingo [print this page] The capital city of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, is one of the oldest cities of its kind in the Americas. It was established in 1498 and remained inhabited continually by Europeans for a period of several hundred years. Founded by Bartholomew Columbus, the brother of Christopher, the city has an incredible history which includes pirate invasions, slave uprisings, and a period of having been renamed and controlled by a dictator, but still managed to be the oldest European city in the Western Hemisphere.
After the arrival of Columbus and prior to 1944, the Dominican Republic was known as Hispaniola. Following two failed attempts to colonize the island in other locations, the city of Santo Domingo was founding in 1498. In 1502, the city was wiped out by a hurricane and rebuilt again and in 1503, it became the official station of Spanish exploration and expansion in the New World. The Spanish established political offices and remote royal courts in the city. Thousands of Spanish colonials passed through the city on their way to other parts of the royal territories. Most of the early colonial conquests in Central and South American went through their planning phases in Santo Domingo.
By the later part of the 16th century, many of the Spanish colonials traveling to the Western Hemisphere settled in parts of Mexico and Central and South America rather than in the Caribbean. The emergence of Spanish colonies in the Americas brought the population of Santo Domingo down sharply. With the decreased population, Santo Domingo was easy prey for pirates, and in 1586, Sir Francis Drake seized control of the city with the help of a few hundred men. They held the city for a period of just over a month and ransomed it back to the Spanish. When they departed, they left the city in ruins, burning it down and taking everything they could with them, including the bells to the city's churches.
Still recovering from the devastation wrought on the island by pirates, Hispaniola was invaded by the French in the mid-1600s. The western half of the island was taken over and renamed Haiti. The French transported thousands of African slaves to Haiti. The Spanish, unable to stop the French incursion, retreated to the eastern half of the island and maintained control of Santo Domingo. Taking advantage of the French invasion of the island, the British attacked Santo Domingo in 1655 but were forced out by the Spanish. Spain remained in control of Santo Domingo until 1795, when the city and the rest of the island were ceded to France following conflicts between the two nations.
Between 1795 and 1822, Santo Domingo changed hands several times. In 1801, it was captured by Haitian slaves who rebelled against the French. In 1802, it was recaptured by the French only to be briefly returned to Spanish control in 1809 and passed back to the French within four years. During the early 1800s, Haitian slave revolts continued and the French were unable to retain control of Santo Domingo. By 1821, the French were expelled from the entire island and independent Haitians attacked the eastern part of the island, taking control of Santo Domingo which became the capital of the new independent nation of Haiti Espanol.
Santo Domingo remained in Haitian control until the mid-1840s when the people of the eastern section of the island drove the Haitians back and declared themselves to be a free and independent Dominican Republic, taking their name from the capital city of Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo remained the capital of the new republic even through several civil conflicts with Haiti, a brief reoccupation by the Spanish, and a period of American occupation in the early 1900s.
Struck by a hurricane in 1930, the city was once again rebuilt. For 30 years, the city of Santo Domingo was officially known as Ciudad Trujillo, renamed by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, but resumed the former name when Trujillo was assassinated in 1961. Occupied briefly again in 1965 by the United States, Santo Domingo is a city that has been marked by conflict and natural disaster.
In spite of the difficulties the city has seen over the more than 500 years of its existence, Santo Domingo remains a historic site in which many of the original buildings and a large section of the city's defense wall can be seen by visitors. The Colonial Zone, a section of the historic city, contains palatial estates, churches, and other 16th-century buildings, all of which were declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 1990.
Contemporary Santo Domingo is a city that has experienced a boom in tourist activity. The historic sites still present in the city make it a prime destination for people the world over. Many of the Colonial Zone's historic sites have undergone recent restorations. Santo Domingo hotels and restaurants have also expanded in number to better accommodate visitors.
