People need to keep in mind that the bulk of the modern Dominican population grew out of just 60,000 people. That's the estimated population of the country after the pre-1844 French/Haitian invasions took place, causing the emigration of upwards of two-thirds the original population, mostly to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Many also went to Colombia and Mexico, but the majority went to the first three places.
What recent DNA testing among Dominicans is proving is that a large percentage, if not most, are actually related by blood and are distant cousins. This comes a shock sometimes because couples that thought were anything but related have had the shock of discovering that they had been family all along. Simply the memory was lost as people moved from one part of the country to another and started lineages without properly passing the family history to the new generations.
These blood lineages are not simply intra-social, meaning they are not limited to people within the same social class or even racial mixture. Almost everyone is related regardless of social standing. The older a family lineage, the higher the likelihood that there are millions of Dominicans also related, from the common folk to those above the rest. This increases substantially when one focuses on the regions where the original patriarchs settled. There are many places across the country where literally every other person is probably related and don't know it.
This, of course, gives a whole new meaning to the sense of nationhood among Dominicans, because in most countries, especially in the big ones, hundreds of millions of people feel patriotic and have a sense of self when in fact most of those people don't have much in common, they are not even related. Among Dominicans things are different because a large percentage of the population is related. This means that our history as a nation is one that is shared by most of the population. What ever the past generations of Dominicans went through, good or bad, has a direct implication to a large segment of the population even if its solely due to a blood connection. It isn't like in other countries where certain things happened in the past and most people are sure they didn't descend from the victims.
Food for thought.
What recent DNA testing among Dominicans is proving is that a large percentage, if not most, are actually related by blood and are distant cousins. This comes a shock sometimes because couples that thought were anything but related have had the shock of discovering that they had been family all along. Simply the memory was lost as people moved from one part of the country to another and started lineages without properly passing the family history to the new generations.
These blood lineages are not simply intra-social, meaning they are not limited to people within the same social class or even racial mixture. Almost everyone is related regardless of social standing. The older a family lineage, the higher the likelihood that there are millions of Dominicans also related, from the common folk to those above the rest. This increases substantially when one focuses on the regions where the original patriarchs settled. There are many places across the country where literally every other person is probably related and don't know it.
This, of course, gives a whole new meaning to the sense of nationhood among Dominicans, because in most countries, especially in the big ones, hundreds of millions of people feel patriotic and have a sense of self when in fact most of those people don't have much in common, they are not even related. Among Dominicans things are different because a large percentage of the population is related. This means that our history as a nation is one that is shared by most of the population. What ever the past generations of Dominicans went through, good or bad, has a direct implication to a large segment of the population even if its solely due to a blood connection. It isn't like in other countries where certain things happened in the past and most people are sure they didn't descend from the victims.
Food for thought.
