Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβliˌka ðoˌminiˈkana]) is a sovereign state located in the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with the nation of Haiti,^[15][16] making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two countries. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) at 48,445 square kilometers (18,705 sq mi), and third by population with approximately 10 million people, of which approximately three million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.^[17][18]

Christopher Columbus landed on the island on December 5, 1492, which the native Taíno people had inhabited since the 7th century. The colony of Santo Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, the oldest continuously inhabited city, and the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World. After more than three hundred years of Spanish rule the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821. The leader of the independence movement José Núñez de Cáceres, intended the Dominican nation to unite with the country of Gran Colombia, but no longer under Spain’s custody the newly independent Dominicans were forcefully annexed by Haiti in February 1822. Independence came 22 years later after victory in the Dominican War of Independence in 1844. Over the next 72 years the Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal conflicts and a brief return to colonial status (but Spain had not come to take away its independence) before permanently ousting Spanish rule during the Dominican War of Restoration of 1863–1865.^[19][20][21] A United States occupation lasted eight years between 1916 and 1924, and a subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez was followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo until 1961. A civil war in 1965, the country’s last, was ended by U.S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer (1966–1978 & 1986–1996), the rules of Antonio Guzmán (1972–1978) & Salvador Jorge Blanco (1982–1986). Since 1996, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy^[3] and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time since 1996. Danilo Medina, the Dominican Republic’s current president, succeeded Fernandez in 2012, winning 51% of the electoral vote over his opponent ex-president Hipólito Mejía.^[22]

The Dominican Republic has the ninth-largest economy in Latin America and is the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region.^[23][24] Over the last two decades, the Dominican Republic has had one of the fastest-growing economies in the Americas – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5.4% between 1992 and 2014.^[25] GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7.0%, respectively, the highest in the Western Hemisphere.^[25] In the first half of 2016 the Dominican economy grew 7.4% continuing its trend of rapid economic growth.^[26] Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining. The country is the site of the second largest gold mine in the world, the Pueblo Viejo mine.^[27][28] Private consumption has been strong, as a result of low inflation (under 1% on average in 2015), job creation, as well as a high level of remittances.

The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses are major attractions.^[29] A geographically diverse nation, the Dominican Republic is home to both the Caribbean’s tallest mountain peak, Pico Duarte, and the Caribbean’s largest lake and point of lowest elevation, Lake Enriquillo.^[30] The island has an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great climatic and biological diversity.^[29] The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in the Americas, located in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site.^[31][32] Music and sport are of great importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music, and baseball as the favorite sport.

Names and etymology:

The “Dominican” word comes from the Latin Dominicus, meaning Sunday. However, the island has this name by Santo Domingo de Guzmán, founder of the Order of the Dominicans.

The Dominicans established a house of high studies in the island of Santo Domingo that today is known as the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and dedicated themselves to the protection of the native taínos of the island, who were subjected to slavery, and to the education of the inhabitants of the island.^[33]

For most of its history, up until independence, the country was known as Santo Domingo^[34]—the name of its present capital and patron saint, Saint Dominic—and continued to be commonly known as such in English until the early 20th century.^[35] The residents were called “Dominicans” (Dominicanos), which is the adjective form of “Domingo”, and the revolutionaries named their newly independent country “Dominican Republic” (República Dominicana).

In the national anthem of the Dominican Republic (himno nacional de la República Dominicana), the term “Dominicans” does not appear. The author of its lyrics, Emilio Prud’Homme, consistently uses the poetic term “Quisqueyans” (Quisqueyanos). The word “Quisqueya” derives from a native tongue of the Taino Indians and means “Mother of the lands” (Madre de las tierras). It is often used in songs as another name for the country. The name of the country is often shortened to “the D.R.” (la R.D.)