- Thread starter pollogringo
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Black in Latin America- Ep. 1- Haiti & the Dominican Republic- An Island Divided
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Most of the Dominican republic is actually black mixed with native american. This is actually very similar to African Americans. You know African Americans are more watered down versions of Africans. They view themselves as more american and less African like the Dominicans see themselves as more Spanish and less African. AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE NORMALLY BLACK MIXED WITH INDIAN AND WHITE. That is why they look so different than African blacks and Haitians. Haiti sees themselves as more African and has more people with pure African blood that has not been watered down by mixing races. Jamaica, Trinidad and some other places are like Haiti in seeing themselves as more African than non African.
The sad thing is that due to ignorance and racism, people do not realize that Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba have closer African ties than African Americans which is similar to Haiti. The music, religion, culture, food and other society aspects are very close the Africa. The Salsa clave rhythm is one of the many examples. It came from Africa. The slaves brought it! That 1 2 3 beat comes from west Africa. Listen to west african music and you will be shocked! Black bloodlines are all over the entire caribbean, colombia, panama, brazil and venezuela. There are lots of books out on this. It is very interesting.
The sad thing is that due to ignorance and racism, people do not realize that Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba have closer African ties than African Americans which is similar to Haiti. The music, religion, culture, food and other society aspects are very close the Africa. The Salsa clave rhythm is one of the many examples. It came from Africa. The slaves brought it! That 1 2 3 beat comes from west Africa. Listen to west african music and you will be shocked! Black bloodlines are all over the entire caribbean, colombia, panama, brazil and venezuela. There are lots of books out on this. It is very interesting.
Also, the British had the USA as a colony. They would not let the slaves play their music, speak African languages or bring their rice and beans with them to the USA. They banned the African cultures. That is why African Americans are further from African cultures than other blacks.
In the DR, the Spanish handled everything differently. They let the slaves bring their rice and beans and music and religions and mixed it into their society. However, they had a system set up where the whiter you were meant the higher your position would be in society. The mixed people which would be most of society would be at the middle of the pyramid. This led to the DR putting Haiti at the bottom because they tend to be less white. Also, they had the classic Spanish pride put into the DR which led to such great pride in being from the DR and not being very prideful of having African roots all over the society. The truth is that the DR has closer roots in their culture to Africa than the African Americans do just like the rest of the Caribbean does. Many of even the white people on the island have a black grandparent or great grandparent.
In the DR, the Spanish handled everything differently. They let the slaves bring their rice and beans and music and religions and mixed it into their society. However, they had a system set up where the whiter you were meant the higher your position would be in society. The mixed people which would be most of society would be at the middle of the pyramid. This led to the DR putting Haiti at the bottom because they tend to be less white. Also, they had the classic Spanish pride put into the DR which led to such great pride in being from the DR and not being very prideful of having African roots all over the society. The truth is that the DR has closer roots in their culture to Africa than the African Americans do just like the rest of the Caribbean does. Many of even the white people on the island have a black grandparent or great grandparent.
With all due respect rice and beans were never prohibited in the Deep South US, in fact black slaves worked on many a rice plantation.
Also, blacks had their own creole language called Gullah which has a very distinct non traditional Southern accent. this accent is typical to whites and blacks in the Low Country, South Carolina. My dad was a Geechee.
Saw some stuff about the Gullah culture at the museum in Hilton Head. Very interesting.
First of all most Dominicans are Mulattos, not Mestizos. Their mixture is mainly European and Black, with a little native Indian thrown in. There are numerous white Dominicans and mixed with green or blue eyes.
There is an amazing amount of your post that is incorrect. Chip just enlightened you on rice and beans.
Did you know that by the time slavery was abolished in the Dominican Republic, the liberation applied to a minority of the population?
Did you know that by the mid-1600s, most of the population lived as free men, despite being mulatto?
Did you know that the actual slavery that was practiced in the DR for most of its colonial history, was based on cattle ranching and the slaves themselves lived as if they were freed men, given the nature of their work?
I bet you didn't knew that.
The extreme poverty of the colony explains why the institutions, including racial institutions, were not able to be maintained here; unlike in other parts of the Spanish empire that were wealthier. This is also the main reason for why the mixed race population became a majority by the end of the 1600s. The breakdown in the economic well being of the people caused most to depend on their neighbors, regardless what their race was or whether they were of slave origin or not. Most former slaves were left to their own devices and most became subsistence farmers and free for all practical purposes. As people depended on each other for their survival, the newer generation began to mix and before anyone knew it, Dominican society became a mulatto society. The percentages have fluctuated since, but this country has never been anything other than a mulatto-majority society since then.
This is very different from the history of other places, including Cuba and Haiti; which can be considered to be "right there." Different histories produces different results.
It is true that there is more African influence in Dominican culture and in the rest of the Spanish Caribbean than among African Americans, but it still a minor part of the culture. For a person arriving from the US, the African culture among Dominicans appears huge, but that is only by perspective.
If we were to segment everything that makes up culture, it becomes clear that the African component is minor.
For example:
Language: It seems that less than 5% (and this is probably quite generous to begin with) of words in Dominican Spanish, are of African origin. Most non-Spanish words used in the Dominican dialect are actually of Taino origin.
Architecture: Mostly European/Taino and more recently, American and International influences. Africa is not quite visible here either.
Food: There is a greater input of African elements in many Dominican dishes than there is in the language or the architecture, but its still minor. Mang? comes from Africa, but most Dominican dishes quite simply don't have much of Africa in them. If anything, most Dominican dishes are mostly of Spanish origin.
Clothing: Its true that American influence is much more visible here, albeit the average Dominican is much more conscious about his/her fashion sense and, as a result, tend to dress nicer than Americans even for simple things such as going to supermarket. However, traditional Dominican fashion has been 100% of European origin. Africa simply has no presence in this.
We can keep disecting the culture and the only thing that will come to light is that Europe and Taino influences are greater in most aspects than the African, and in many areas Africa is not even present.
There are three things that the African influence is obvious among Dominicans, albeit almost always as a minor component.
1. Music, especially popular music. Its not African in nature a nor is it dominated by the African influence, but the influence is strong enough to be noticed.
2. Religion, not so much the formal part but the beliefs in brujos and other nonsense (to me its nonsense.)
3. Genetics, although the average Dominican is much more mixed than a typical African American, and this makes the typical Dominican look different from even the typical African American. This, I have discovered, varies greatly within the US. In some parts of the US, Dominicans may not be as distinguished from African Americans while in most areas, there is a clear difference in appearance, usually due to greater European admixture among Dominicans.
Beyond those aspects, the African component is few and far between and this is what we Dominicans mean when we say that we don't have much African influences. We see the whole picture, not enlarge the parts that have a visible African influence while ignoring most aspects of our culture.
"Nals", being a dominican, you do all you can to disassociate your self from your African/ Haitian "Brothers & Sisters"!
But your last post is just NOT correct!
You abviousley know little, to nothing about African Americans in the USA, or their culture.
Just don't bother "Going There"!
You, like even the blackest dominican I have ever met, can't wait to tell us about your "Spanish Heritage". ...."WTF"???
Dominicans should embrace your roots. It's the first step to end your self-loathing!
Get a lot of snow at your home in Connecticut??????
Come home, you are forgiven!
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But your last post is just NOT correct!
You abviousley know little, to nothing about African Americans in the USA, or their culture.
Just don't bother "Going There"!
You, like even the blackest dominican I have ever met, can't wait to tell us about your "Spanish Heritage". ...."WTF"???
Dominicans should embrace your roots. It's the first step to end your self-loathing!
Get a lot of snow at your home in Connecticut??????
Come home, you are forgiven!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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As an African, in my eyes, Haitian and Dominican have more in common with each other than Haitian have with African. Let it be food, clothes, music.....The only exception being religion.
Haitian culture is significantly different from Dominican culture from what I've seen.
Misinformation and a deliberate attempt to show the DR more African than it actually is. No one in the entire show remotely looks like anyone from the Cibao Region. Almost as if those fairer skinned people were edited out.
I have repeated this very thing until I was blue in the face. DOMINICANS are HAITIANS and HAITIANS are DOMINICANS its that simple.
Dominicans like to think they are somewhat similar to Puerto Ricans, but they have way more in common with Haitians then Puerto Ricans. BTW I am not speaking about music, dance and food I am talking about their mentality.
Haitians sneek into DR, and Dominicans sneek into Puerto Rico. Now if these two nations aren't cousins I don't know who is.
Not only that, but in the DNA tests that has been done so far (at least in 23andme), Haiti doesn't registers as often in the list that shows the countries where there are the largest number of people that share relatively significant stretches of DNA among the typical Dominican tested.
This comes to the dismay of some people, including a few that participate in this website.
Personally, it seems to me that it corresponds to the different parts of Africa from which the Spanish and the French got their slaves from, not to mention that what now is the DR received among the least amount of African slaves. Also, a large amount of African descended people migrated as free men to the DR and until the late 20th century, migration from Haiti was always negligible.
Most African slaves in the Caribbean were taken to Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica.
And within the Spanish Empire, most African slaves were taken to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela.
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I should have known Santiago would come up sooner or later. Look NOBODY on the planet knows or care about Santiago Dominican Republic unless they are Dominican or have ties to Dominican Republic by marriage of friends.
If you say Santiago to a person Chile will be the first place that pop into their heads. Santo Domingo is the capital of DR that is why is was there.
I have said this plenty of times. WE DO NOT need the Dominican Republic to accept their African roots, we have enough nations that respect the fact Africa is the motherland. If you look at the Haitian women dancing during that ceremony they look very similar to Puerto Ricans "Plena y Bomba" celebration and that is ALL AFRICAN ALL DAY
BTW I do see people in Madrid similar to people in Santo Domingo LOL!!! Also the BEST city in the Caribbean is Ponce!!!
Santiago DR man please!!!
I am not African! The Case of the Dominican Republic: Afro- Descendants in Latin America Part 2 | Orijin Culture
"According to the Genome project ethnicity studies 97% of all Dominicans are of African decent. So obviously half of the republic cant be white since only 3% of the population are free of African blood. DR is not the only island state involved in this kind of selective racial memory. 80% of Jamaicans claim black as their racial Identity but Genome study showed only 60% of the population are of African ancestry and only 20% are of any where near pure African ancestry. Its all part of reaction to slavery and the dictates of the Master class on society"
Photo Gallery | Black in Latin America | PBS
"He said 90% of Dominicans have African ancestry all while highlighting ... said but close enough) have some form of African blood, only 9% are truly black."
Dominican Republic
Afro-Latin American - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)
Main article: Demographics of the Dominican Republic
According to the CIA Factbook, 16% of the Dominican population is White, 11% is Black and 73% is "mixed" .[50] This source, however, does not define "mixed", nor does it indicate the specific demographic or genetic study from which these percentages were obtained. Other sources give similar figures,[51][52] but also without naming a specific study.
Other sources pinpoint the Dominican population to be 90% of African descent (black or mulatto), and 10% white. Regardless of the specific racial breakdown of the Dominican population, it is generally acknowledged that a large percentage of it is of mixed ancestry, including Black African. Some commentators and race/ethnicity scholars have been harshly critical of Dominicans of mixed racial background for their reluctance to self-identify as Black.[51][52] However, this reluctance is shared by many people of multiracial background, who find inappropriate to identify with only one side of their ancestry.[53][54] Those people refuse to express a preference for any of the races that make up their background, and resent being ascribed to any single race.
Dominican culture is a mixture of Taino Amerindian, West African, and European origins. While Taino influences are present in many Dominican traditions, the European and West African influences are the most noticeable.
Afro-Dominicans can be found anywhere in the island, but they makeup the majorities in the southwest, south, east, and the north parts of the country. In El Cibao you can find people of either European, Mixed, and African descent.
Notable Dominicans whose physical features suggest Black African ancestry include bachatero Antony Santos, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martinez, salsa singer Jose Alberto, and 2009 Miss Universe runner-up Ada De La Cruz, among others. However, there is no reliable procedure to ascertain the degree, if any, to which their ancestry is Black African.
The most common Black African ethnic groups among all Dominicans are the Bantu-Congo peoples and the Yoruba (known as Lucumi)[citation needed]. Other small ethnic groups but yet sagnificant are the Akan, Mandinga, Igbo, Ewe, Fon, Bambara, and as well as the Fula.[citation needed]
A system of racial stratification was imposed on Santo Domingo by Spain, as elsewhere in the Spanish Empire.
This link says 8- percent are black.
What is the percentage of black people in Dominican Republic
This link syas 90 percent
MiamiHerald.com | Afro-Latin Americans
These all fit what I was saying. I took 10 courses from an Ivy league college on the Caribbean and learned this that the Caribbean is full of black roots and culture but most people are not aware of this. Countless books, textbooks and websites validate what I was saying earlier in my first post. I am always open for new information but the support for what I was saying seems to be too strong.
"According to the Genome project ethnicity studies 97% of all Dominicans are of African decent. So obviously half of the republic cant be white since only 3% of the population are free of African blood. DR is not the only island state involved in this kind of selective racial memory. 80% of Jamaicans claim black as their racial Identity but Genome study showed only 60% of the population are of African ancestry and only 20% are of any where near pure African ancestry. Its all part of reaction to slavery and the dictates of the Master class on society"
Photo Gallery | Black in Latin America | PBS
"He said 90% of Dominicans have African ancestry all while highlighting ... said but close enough) have some form of African blood, only 9% are truly black."
Dominican Republic
Afro-Latin American - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)
Main article: Demographics of the Dominican Republic
According to the CIA Factbook, 16% of the Dominican population is White, 11% is Black and 73% is "mixed" .[50] This source, however, does not define "mixed", nor does it indicate the specific demographic or genetic study from which these percentages were obtained. Other sources give similar figures,[51][52] but also without naming a specific study.
Other sources pinpoint the Dominican population to be 90% of African descent (black or mulatto), and 10% white. Regardless of the specific racial breakdown of the Dominican population, it is generally acknowledged that a large percentage of it is of mixed ancestry, including Black African. Some commentators and race/ethnicity scholars have been harshly critical of Dominicans of mixed racial background for their reluctance to self-identify as Black.[51][52] However, this reluctance is shared by many people of multiracial background, who find inappropriate to identify with only one side of their ancestry.[53][54] Those people refuse to express a preference for any of the races that make up their background, and resent being ascribed to any single race.
Dominican culture is a mixture of Taino Amerindian, West African, and European origins. While Taino influences are present in many Dominican traditions, the European and West African influences are the most noticeable.
Afro-Dominicans can be found anywhere in the island, but they makeup the majorities in the southwest, south, east, and the north parts of the country. In El Cibao you can find people of either European, Mixed, and African descent.
Notable Dominicans whose physical features suggest Black African ancestry include bachatero Antony Santos, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martinez, salsa singer Jose Alberto, and 2009 Miss Universe runner-up Ada De La Cruz, among others. However, there is no reliable procedure to ascertain the degree, if any, to which their ancestry is Black African.
The most common Black African ethnic groups among all Dominicans are the Bantu-Congo peoples and the Yoruba (known as Lucumi)[citation needed]. Other small ethnic groups but yet sagnificant are the Akan, Mandinga, Igbo, Ewe, Fon, Bambara, and as well as the Fula.[citation needed]
A system of racial stratification was imposed on Santo Domingo by Spain, as elsewhere in the Spanish Empire.
This link says 8- percent are black.
What is the percentage of black people in Dominican Republic
This link syas 90 percent
MiamiHerald.com | Afro-Latin Americans
These all fit what I was saying. I took 10 courses from an Ivy league college on the Caribbean and learned this that the Caribbean is full of black roots and culture but most people are not aware of this. Countless books, textbooks and websites validate what I was saying earlier in my first post. I am always open for new information but the support for what I was saying seems to be too strong.
I agree because they both are colonies form Europe that brought Africans there who had a dominant influence in making their society. Haiti has that French cold feeling to it and the Dominican Republic has the Spanish pride feeling to it. They both are just places where Africans were brought in to shape the culture with a huge attitude that was set by their European colonizers hundreds of years ago. Haiti took over the DR and put more black and Haitian roots all over the island if you study history.
Puerto Ricans tend to be lighter and have African influences but not as much as the DR. Puerto Ricans are Americans and have a huge American influence in them along with the black and Spanish.
Vacanodr if you look a the woman who represents the DR in the Miss Universe contest she is ALWAYS super white. The people in DR want to show the world that they are not as "black" as everybody think they are, but they are not fooling anyone. They had a president applying makeup on his face to whiten his skin, how TWISTED is that? Then years later a "nut job" name Sammy Sosa did the same thing LOL
The funny thing about the Dominican Republic is WAYYYY blacker then my state of Illinios way blacker LOL I do not know where they come of thinking they are not black, go to Wisconsin if you want to see white people, but in Santo Domingo it can't get any BLACKER then that. Cuba and Dominican Republic are two of the blacker latin nations, but Dominican want to discount the fact that they are African people.
My favorite is how "taino" keep coming up and in my eyes the Dominicans in 2013 are no more indian then John Kerry or Sarah Palin John McCain or the late Mr Rogers.
Dominicans are black people on a black island, speaking a black language(all SLANG) enjoying black burned rice from the bottom of the pot, getting water from a black tinaco, picking on their black cousins( Haitians)
BTW This will STING a bit Dominican Republic has a MAJOR issue with HIV and AIDS just like in Africa, Brazil and the African American community in the USA. Dominican Republic have one of the worst educational system in all of Latin America and have the worst literacy rate. A large percentage of Dominicans live way below the poverty line just like in AFRICA. Dominican Republic is considered an unsafe place to live on 1st world standards. Prostitution is a part of life in DR and is not considered "taboo" Poor eating habits and unbalance diet also is common all over DR therefore Dominicans have many health issues.
ASK any profound white person and they will tell you the list above is usually associated with "black people" on the planet we call earth.
The funny thing about the Dominican Republic is WAYYYY blacker then my state of Illinios way blacker LOL I do not know where they come of thinking they are not black, go to Wisconsin if you want to see white people, but in Santo Domingo it can't get any BLACKER then that. Cuba and Dominican Republic are two of the blacker latin nations, but Dominican want to discount the fact that they are African people.
My favorite is how "taino" keep coming up and in my eyes the Dominicans in 2013 are no more indian then John Kerry or Sarah Palin John McCain or the late Mr Rogers.
Dominicans are black people on a black island, speaking a black language(all SLANG) enjoying black burned rice from the bottom of the pot, getting water from a black tinaco, picking on their black cousins( Haitians)
BTW This will STING a bit Dominican Republic has a MAJOR issue with HIV and AIDS just like in Africa, Brazil and the African American community in the USA. Dominican Republic have one of the worst educational system in all of Latin America and have the worst literacy rate. A large percentage of Dominicans live way below the poverty line just like in AFRICA. Dominican Republic is considered an unsafe place to live on 1st world standards. Prostitution is a part of life in DR and is not considered "taboo" Poor eating habits and unbalance diet also is common all over DR therefore Dominicans have many health issues.
ASK any profound white person and they will tell you the list above is usually associated with "black people" on the planet we call earth.
That's based on mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from generation to generation unaltered through the maternal line. Every DNA test that has been done on Dominicans shows a majority have African mtDNA.
But, the majority also has European Y-chromosomes, which are inherited from the father line. And Taino DNA is also present in most Dominicans, despite most not having Taino Y-chromosomes or Taino mtDNA. On average, the Taino component ranges from 5% to 13%. Roughly 15% of Dominicans have Taino mtDNA, which means that their maternal line goes back to a Taino woman roughly 500 years ago, which is before the massive modern migrations of Europeans and Africans started.
On average, autosomal DNA tests have shown that the genome of the typical Dominican tends to be between 40% and 60% European, very rarely does the African component surpases 50%, and the Taino component hardly never is greater than 13%. This is on an individual basis, which varies even within blood-related brothers, because the typical Dominican is the product of mixtures, with remixing in every generation. For most of Dominican history, most Dominicans have been mating with people that are triracial, which simply causes a shuffle of each DNA origin, but all three components are present in most people. A minority of Dominicans have more than 60% of their genome originating in Europe. Asian and Oceanic origins are negligible as well.
The major problems regarding Dominicans, is that most foreigners make assumptions based on what happened in other places, without truly looking into how the Dominican society actually formed.
By the late 1600s, most of the population was already of mixed race and lived free, mostly as subsistence farmers. There is even an account by S?nchez Valverde, who was complaining that the severe lack of slaves in the late 1600s, caused the cacao harvest to go unpicked, at time when most of the population had at least some African ancestry.
By the time slavery was officially abolished in the mid-1800s, the liberation affected a minority of the population and most of the population had been living as free men for centuries. This is also why among the Trinitarios, Francisco del Rosario S?nchez, a typical Dominican mulatto, was able to form part of the independence movement, along with many other mulattoes and blacks. Had they been slaves, it would had been impossible.
By the time slavery ended in many other parts of the Americas, most Dominicans had been living as free men for centuries and this greatly impacted social relations and race relations in the country. It also was the main reason for why most Dominicans have never suffered from a strong resentment and hate towards whites, which is what bothers many African descended people from other parts of the Americas when they visit the country. They completely dismiss the social formation of the country and simply assume that it was similar to how it occurred elsewhere, when it didn't.
There are even historical accounts in which even the Haitian military were struck as to why the Dominicans went to the aid of their white neighbors, when the Haitian army began to attack them. The Haitian military and high ranking officials couldn't understand why most Dominicans didn't felt the resentment and the hate towards the whites, as they themselves felt. The answer is in the social formation of the country. While Haiti got its independence due to a slave revolt, with over half of its population having been born in Africa at the time they separated from France and almost the entire population subjugated to slavery; the majority of the Dominican population had been living free for centuries. This was even a cause for concern to the French plantation owners, because some of their slaves would escape and enter the Spanish part of the island, and their property (ie. the slaves) were never returned by the Spanish authorities. They were allowed to become subsistence farmers as free men and women.
Basically, the memory of the first slave sugar economy that started in the 1500s and had extinguished itself by the end of that century, the lack of new massive slave imports after that period, the extreme poverty that affected Dominican society, in which even the wealthiest households were quite modest; and the very few Africans that were still slaves and worked in cattle ranches; caused the extensive racial mixing that has characterized Dominican society since the late 1600s and reduced the resentments and the hatred. This was a memory that was still alive and well among the Haitians, considering that most of the Haitian troops had been slaves of the French a couple of decades before they militarily invaded the DR. They still had the anger that time had extinguished on the Spanish side of the island. And this resentment is what characterizes many African descended people in the Americas, especially those from the former British Empire (USA, Jamaica, and the British islands in the Lesser Antilles.)
Click on the following links to see the documents:
Quote in which Juan Pablo Duarte expresses his admiration for Haiti.
The law put in effect by General Pedro Santana and the rest of the Dominican government in July 1844, 5 months after achieving independence from the Haitian military domination.
The Slave Trade (1619-1808): Notice the small amount that were taken to the DR and the bulk were imported before the mid-1600s. Notice Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, the USA, the Lesser Antilles. Also, keep in mind that in places like Cuba, large numbers of African slaves were imported until well into the 1800s, which explains why African influences have been better preserved there than in the Dominican Republic, despite a constant European influence.
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You're forgetting about the language barrier, dearest, and Haitians would be the first to tell you about their not wanting to have anything to do with us "panyols".
People also forget that much of the central part of Haiti, was Dominican territory until the beginning of the 20th century, when that territory was formally ceded to them in order to put an ended to the dispute regarding the border. The Haitian departments of Centre and much of Artibonite was all Dominican territory, which before the creation of the Republic, such land corresponded to the Spanish overseas province of Santo Domingo.
Our very own General Pedro Santana was born in Hincha, which today is the capital of the Haitian department of Hinche. San Miguel and San Rafael de Atalaya, which today are well into Haitian territory, was also Dominican and were settled by Spaniards from the Canary Islands. There are still some towns in Haiti that have not had their names translated to French, such as Las Cahobas, which is near El?as Pi?a and was also a Dominican town.
The original French territory, and hence, the original Haiti; was limited to the coastal regions on the western part of the island. Starting from the bahia de Manzanillo in the north to the Pedernales river in the south. Every island off that stretch of coast the Spaniards also ceded to the French. The entire two peninsulas on the western part of the island was also given to the French. On the middle part of what today is Haiti, the French territory only made it inland to as far as the moutain chain that fringes the northern edge of the Artibonite Valley. Everything from those mountains eastwards and everything south of the Massif du Nord was Spanish territory and later, Dominican territory.
There is no question that when the Haitians finally took over that land, which was our west (notice that the regions of the DR are only the east, the south, and the north; there's no west for us), all the Dominicans (most of whom were mulattoes and/or white) didn't leave. Many must had stayed and with the years, either became Haitians or were absorbed by the Haitian population. But once a culture exist in a particular area, there are always hints that persist well into the future after the initial population disappears.
Many people, including many that participate in this very website, are simply ignorant of Dominican history. They make assumptions based on the histories of other countries and then assume it must apply here too, when in fact it doesn't. It never has and it never will, regardless to whom reality may dismay.
Our very own General Pedro Santana was born in Hincha, which today is the capital of the Haitian department of Hinche. San Miguel and San Rafael de Atalaya, which today are well into Haitian territory, was also Dominican and were settled by Spaniards from the Canary Islands. There are still some towns in Haiti that have not had their names translated to French, such as Las Cahobas, which is near El?as Pi?a and was also a Dominican town.
The original French territory, and hence, the original Haiti; was limited to the coastal regions on the western part of the island. Starting from the bahia de Manzanillo in the north to the Pedernales river in the south. Every island off that stretch of coast the Spaniards also ceded to the French. The entire two peninsulas on the western part of the island was also given to the French. On the middle part of what today is Haiti, the French territory only made it inland to as far as the moutain chain that fringes the northern edge of the Artibonite Valley. Everything from those mountains eastwards and everything south of the Massif du Nord was Spanish territory and later, Dominican territory.
There is no question that when the Haitians finally took over that land, which was our west (notice that the regions of the DR are only the east, the south, and the north; there's no west for us), all the Dominicans (most of whom were mulattoes and/or white) didn't leave. Many must had stayed and with the years, either became Haitians or were absorbed by the Haitian population. But once a culture exist in a particular area, there are always hints that persist well into the future after the initial population disappears.
Many people, including many that participate in this very website, are simply ignorant of Dominican history. They make assumptions based on the histories of other countries and then assume it must apply here too, when in fact it doesn't. It never has and it never will, regardless to whom reality may dismay.
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