Today I bring to your forefront of thought, the island of Hispaniola. This island is the namesake for the two countries who run the land, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Both nations hail from a joint introduction into the world market and post-European colonization, but as time progressed, each one had a different outlook to the world stage. The present day Dominican Republic and Haiti are worlds apart on an island which keeps them together. Their culture is separated by the colonial residuals that lay imbedded into their communities. They are on different sides of the spectrum of structural growth due to the resulting outcomes from decades of political ruling and policy making. On one side we have the second independent state of the Americas, …show more content…
The unification under Boyer lasted for twenty-two years. The Dominicans regained their independence from the Haitians in 1844. The political unrest in both countries between the time of their independences and the United States occupation of the nations of 1915 and 1916 was staggering. “Haiti had 33 heads of state, with an average time in power of 3.4 years. Meanwhile, between independence in 1844 and the U.S. military occupation in 1916, the Dominican Republic had 61 heads of state, with an average time in power of only 1.2 years” (Jaramillo & Sancak). The political landscape on both sides of the island were identical. There was no foreign interest on the Haitian side of the island from the period of their independence to the American intervention. Due to a chaotic political landscape and with Haiti’s policy of no foreign landowners allowed there was no hope for the previous Caribbean powerhouse to take its place on the throne of sugar …show more content…
Both nations are considered under developed and in relative poverty, but the founding differences that have expanded over time has them on separate sides of the disparity of poverty. The data we have access to has given us some light into seeing how the policies enacted after the American occupation is one of the main contributing factors as to why there is such a vast difference in each nation
All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly.
Haiti began as the French colony Saint-Domingue. The island was filled with plantations and slaves to work on them. Almost a decade and a half after its settlement, this colony paved the way for many changes throughout the French empire and many other slave nations. Through its difficult struggle, we examine whether the slave revolt of Saint-Domingue that began in the late 16th century was justifiable and whether its result of creating the free nation of Haiti was a success.
... Housing for the D.R. Fellow nations sought to believe that the U.s would repeat the actions with the D.R that they took almost 50 years the events of the Dominican revolution. The U.S and the Dominican Republic share a good relationship and today with a strong democracy the small island in the Caribbean has well imitated the United States and gain a strong independence.
Latin America’s independence kicked of with the independence of Haiti. Before the the independence movement that overtook Latin America, Haiti had gained independence twenty years before the movement. The Spanish Empire had been in decline for a period of time after the rise of the English empire and many failed battles on the Spanish (class notes). The French Revolution and the American Revolution had inspired many of the Latin American countries to fight for independence (Chapter 3). They were inspired by the Enlightenment that washed over Europe. Of the inspired, one man stood out and took the movement by heart.
This article explores Haitian Independence in terms of a war for national liberation. The disassociation from white governance left a window of opportunity for long-term nat...
Although, after the revolution, both France and Haiti’s economy was negatively impacted, as a result of the violent rebellions that occurred in order to acquire independence. France was required to overthrow their own government, which was an internal force, however Haiti was required to overthrow an external force, which was France. Nevertheless, both applied violence in their movements and were influenced by significant leaders who enabled the success of the revolution, as they desired political equality within society. Plus, each possessed the same government after the revolutions took place. Thus, even though the French Revolution and Haitian Revolution occurred chronologically in this era of changing society, they both possess distinct aspects, as well as certain similarities.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Several of the problems that Haiti faces today have their genesis in the country’s colonial history. The country was like a toy being fought over by spoiled children. The first of these children arrived in the early sixteenth century in the form of Spanish settlers in search of gold. They enslaved the native Taino population and, poisoned by avarice, nearly eradicated the indigenous work force. Thousands of African slaves were brought in to take their place. Eventually, the Spanish left the island to grab their share of newly discovered treasure in other lands. Tiring of their toy, the Spanish
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
The United States interest in Haiti, as mentioned above, began a huge increase in the first decade of the twentieth century. The extent of U. S. economic penetration was not as great as that of France and Germany, but by 1910 it controlled sixty percent of Haiti’s import industry. Unfortunately, the Haitian banking system did not follow this path and was, at this time, "perilously close to domination by European interests." (Langley, 1982, 70) In an effort to gain more control over Haitian economic affairs, the United States engaged in a battle with France and Germany over the Banque Nationale. Two banks from the U. S. attempted to obtain control of the bank but lost out to a German bank, which proceeded to ally itself with the Banque’s French managers in an effort to acquire domination. But the United States protested the exclusion of American banks so forcefully that the French and Germans folded and agreed to let the two American banks have a fifty percent share in the Banque Nationale. With a foot in the door, the Americans essentially took control of the Banque’s management. In doing so they gained much influence over the Haitian government executives, who relied on the Banque to cover monthly expenses. This would prove to be a huge asset in terms of fulfilling American interests in Haiti in the future.
Dominican Republic and Haiti are two different worlds on one island that are coexisting. This one island is separated into two countries, which was caused centuries ago. Many problems have occurred because of this border and created economical and cultural differences. Many of the world want to believe that racism is extinct but little do they know that it's still all around them. That's the problem that the island of Hispaniola is experiencing today, racism against merely their own. Many things have built up to this occurrence, all the way back to when Spain had colonies.
“Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures” (Chavez). Recently the idea of merging the Dominican Republic and Haiti has gotten vast amount of attention. There has been an extensively turbulent past between these two countries, ever since the formation of the “Hispaniola”. The tensions between these two countries were eased for a period of time, after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. At this point, the Dominican Republic aided Haiti in its time of need. This earthquake resulted in the idea of merging both countries to benefit one another economically. Ultimately, the merge of these two cultures would destroy both cultures. The Dominican Republic and
The Dominican Republic declared their independence from Haiti by the liberal thinker Juan Pablo Duarte in 1844. Before the island was named La Hispaniola and its habitants were the Taino. It was discover by the Italian but, working under the Spaniard Catholic Monarchs Christopher Columbus. La Hispaniola was made out of two countries we know today Haiti and Dominican Republic. While the country was declared under Spain power, the Taino got banish off the land, by the hard labor Spaniards made them do. Therefore, the Spanish speakers started to import slaves from Africa. Now there’s around 10,478,756 Dominicans with a population of 73% mix, 16% white, and 11% black. Today, the Dominican Republic is one of the most famous touristic places in the
Scholars have debated not only the nature of Iberian colonialism, but also the impact that independence had on the people of Latin America. Historian Jaime E. Rodriguez said that, “The emancipation of [Latin America] did not merely consist of separation from the mother country, as in the case of the United States. It also destroyed a vast and responsive social, political, and economic system that functioned well despite many imperfections.” I believe that when independence emerged in Latin America, it was a positive force. However, as time progressed, it indeed does cause conflict.
Also the outcomes of each are different in each case. Poverty varies from situation to another. Felling poor in Canada is different from living in poverty in Pakistan and India. Likewise there can be great differences between the rich and poor within the borders of a country. Some of the causes I believe of poverty