The Dominican Republic Is a Caribbean Nation That Shares an Island with Haiti

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares an island with Haiti.

The Dominican Republic takes up a little over half of the island of Hispaniola, which is located in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The country shares this island with Haiti.

President Danilo Medina has led the country since 2012. With more than ten million people, the Dominican Republic is the third-most-populated country in the Caribbean. About one million people live in the capital and largest city, Santo Domingo, which is home to many historic buildings.

Most Dominicans are of mixed African and European heritage. They are descended from the European settlers and the slaves that were brought there beginning in the 1500s to work on large farms or plantations.

The Dominican Republic has the largest economy in the Caribbean. About 80 percent of the land is good for farming. Sugarcane is the country’s main crop, and cocoa and tobacco are important exports. But industries such as mining and manufacturing have also contributed to the country’s growth.

In addition, the Dominican Republic is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean. For a small country, it has an incredibly varied landscape. It is famous for beautiful beach resorts like Punta Cana on the eastern coast.

The country also has four mountain ranges. The largest is the Cordillera Central, which runs through the middle of the country and contains Pico Duarte, the highest point in the Caribbean.

The Taino were the indigenous people of Hispaniola. But in 1492, Christopher Columbus claimed the island for Spain. Columbus’s brother, Bartholomew, established Santo Domingo, the first permanent European settlement in the New World. (The “New World” was the name given by Europeans in the 1500s to the Americas and the Caribbean.)

San Nicolás de Bari, in Santo Domingo, was the first hospital in the Americas. The first university, cathedral, and fortress in the New World were all in Santo Domingo, as well.

Dominicans gained their independence from Spain in 1821, but the country was quickly conquered by neighboring Haiti. It won independence again in 1844.

In 1930, a man named Rafael Trujillo took over. He was a brutal dictator. (A dictator is a leader with complete control over a country, who usually rules by force.) During his time in power, thousands of people were killed. Trujillo himself was killed in 1961. Since then, the country has moved to a democracy.

The Dominican Republic is famous for music and dance. The most famous is the merengue, a fast dance with a strong rhythm.

Baseball is the most popular sport. In fact, the Dominican Republic has more players in the U.S. Major Leagues than any other nation besides the U.S. One of the best known Dominican players is Albert Pujols, who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Angels.