Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future
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Title: Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future
Author: Otto Schoenrich
Release date: February 1, 2006 [eBook #9813]
Most recently updated: December 26, 2020
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SANTO DOMINGO: A COUNTRY WITH A FUTURE ***
Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Keren Vergon, Michael Lockey
and PG Distributed Proofreaders
SANTO DOMINGO
A COUNTRY WITH A FUTURE
BY
OTTO SCHOENRICH
1918
PREFACE
It is remarkable how little has been written about the Dominican
Republic, a country so near to our shores, which has for years had
intimate commercial and political relations with our country, which is
at present under the provisional administration of the American
Government, and which is destined to develop under the protection and
guidance of the United States. The only comprehensive publications on
the Dominican Republic, in the English language, are the Report of the
United States Commission of Inquiry to Santo Domingo, published in
1871, Hazard's "Santo Domingo, Past and Present," written about the
same time, and Professor Hollander's notable Report on the Debt of
Santo Domingo, published in 1905. The first and the last of these
publications are no longer obtainable; hence, Hazard's book, written
almost half a century ago, is still the chief source of information.
These considerations prompted me to indite the following pages, in
which I have essayed to give a bird's-eye view of the history and
present condition of Santo Domingo. The task has been complicated by
two circumstances. One is the extraordinary difficulty of obtaining
accurate data. The other is the fact that the country has arrived at a
turning point in its history. Any description of political, financial
and economic conditions can refer only, or almost only, to the past;
the American occupation has already introduced fundamental innovations
which will shortly be further developed, and a rapid and radical
transformation is in progress. Santo Domingo at this moment is a
country which has no present, only a past and a future.
My personal acquaintance with Santo Domingo and Dominican affairs is
derived from observations on several trips to the Dominican Republic
and Haiti, from friendships formed with prominent Dominican families
during a residence of many years in Latin America, and from experience
as secretary to the special United States commissioner to investigate
the financial condition of Santo Domingo in 1905, and as secretary to
the Dominican minister of finance during the 1906 loan negotiations.
In compiling this work I have endeavored to read all books of any
consequence which have been published with reference to Santo Domingo
and Haiti and have especially consulted the following:
José Ramón Abad,
"La República Dominicana";
Santo Domingo, 1886.
Rudolf Cronau,
"Amerika, die Geschichte seiner Entdeckung";
Leipzig, 1892.
Enrique Deschamps,
"La República Dominicana, Directorio y Guía General";
Barcelona, 1906.
José Gabriel García,
"Compendio de la Historia de Santo Domingo";
Santo Domingo, 1896.
H. Harrisse,
"Christophe Colomb";
Paris, 1884.
Samuel Hazard,
"Santo Domingo, Past and Present, with a Glance at Haiti";
New York, 1873.
Jacob H. Hollander,
"Report on the Debt of Santo Domingo";
59th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document;
Washington, 1905.
Antonio López Prieto,
"Informe sobre los Restos de Colón";
Habana, 1878.
Fernando A. de Meriño,
"Elementos de Geografía Física, Política e Histórica
de la República Dominicana";
Santo Domingo, 1898.
Médéric Louis Elie Moreau de Saint-Méry,
"Description
de la partie espagnole de l'isle Saint-Domingue";
Philadelphia, 1796.
Casimiro N. de Moya,
"Bosquejo Histórico del Descubrimiento y Conquista
de la Isla de Santo Domingo";
Santo Domingo, 1913.
F.A. Ober,
"A Guide to the West Indies and Panama";
New York, 1914.
Publications of the Dominican Government.
Publications of the Bureau of American Republics
and the Pan-American Union.
Annual Reports of the General Receiver of Customs of the
Dominican Republic to the Bureau of Insular Affairs,
War Department, Washington, 1907 to 1917.
"Report of the United States Commission of Inquiry to Santo Domingo";
42d Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document,
Washington, 1871.
Emiliano Tejera,
"Los Restos de Colon";
Santo Domingo, 1878;
and
"Los dos Restos de Colon";
Santo Domingo, 1879.
L. Gentil Tippenhauer,
"Die Insel Haiti";
Leipzig, 1892.
A. Hyatt Verrill,
"Porto Rico, Past and Present, and San Domingo of To-Day";
New York, 1914.
William Walton, Jr.,
"Present State of the Spanish Colonies, including a particular
report of Hispañola";
London, 1810.
O. S.
New York, _January_, 1918.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. Historical Sketch-Days of the Conquest--1492 to 1533
Aborigines--Discovery--Founding of Isabela--Disaffection of the
colonists--Indian wars--Oppression of the Indians--Founding of
Santo Domingo City--Roldan's insurrection--Humiliation of
Columbus--Ovando's administration--Extermination of the
natives--Administrations of Diego Columbus--Treaty with Indian
survivors.
CHAPTER II. Historical Sketch--Colonial Vicissitudes--1533 to 1801
Decline of the colony--English attacks on Santo Domingo
City--Settlement of Tortuga by freebooters--French settlements in
western Santo Domingo--Border wars--Cession of western coast to
France--Return of prosperity--Effect of French Revolution--Negro
uprising in French Santo Domingo--Rise of Toussaint
l'Ouverture--Cession of Spanish Santo Domingo to France--Evacuation
by Spain.
CHAPTER III. Historical Sketch--Changes of Government--1801 TO 1844
Rule of Toussaint l'Ouverture--Exodus of whites--Capture of Santo
Domingo by French--War with negroes--Government of
Ferrand--Incursion of Dessalines--Insurrection of Sanchez
Ramirez--Reestablishment of Spanish rule--Proclamation of Colombian
State of Spanish Haiti--Conquest by Haiti--Haitian rule--Duarte's
conspiracy--Declaration of Independence.
CHAPTER IV. Historical Sketch--First Republic and Spanish
Annexation--1844 TO 1865.
Constitution of the government--Santana's first administration--Wars
with the Haitians--Administration of Jimenez--Victory of Las
Carreras--Baez' first administration--Santana's second
administration--_Repulse of Soulouque_--Baez' second
administration--Period of the two governments--Santana's third
administration--Annexation negotiations--Annexation to Spain--War of
the Restoration.
Chapter V. Historical Sketch--Second Republic-Revolutions and
Dictatorships--1863 TO 1904.
Restoration of the Republic--Military presidents--Cabral's
administration--Baez' fourth administration--Annexation negotiations
with the United States--Civil wars--Heureaux's rule--Administrations
of Jimenez, Vasquez and Woss y Gil--Election of Morales.
Chapter VI. Historical Sketch--American Influence-1904 to date (1918)
Financial difficulties--Fiscal convention with the United
States--Caceres' administration--Provisional presidents--Civil
disturbances--Jimenez' second administration--American intervention.
Chapter VII. Area and Boundaries
Area of Republics of Haiti and Santo Domingo--Boundary
disputes--Harbors on north coast--Character of shore--Samana
Bay--Character of east and south coast--Harbors of Macoris and Santo
Domingo--Ocoa Bay--Islands--Haitian frontier.
Chapter VIII. Topography and Climate
Mountains--Valleys and plains--Rivers--Lakes--Temperature and
Rainfall--Hurricanes--Health conditions.
Chapter IX. Geology and Minerals
Rock formation--Mineral
deposits--Gold-Copper--Iron--Coal--Silver--Salt--Building
stone--Petroleum--Mineral springs--Earthquakes.
Chapter X. Flora and Fauna
Agricultural conditions--Land titles and measures--Wet and arid
regions--Exports--Sugar--Cacao--Tobacco--Coffee--Tropical
fruits--Forest products--Insects--Reptiles--Fishery--Birds--Cattle
raising.
Chapter XI. The People
Population--Distribution--Race--Descendants of American
negroes--Language--Physical traits--Mental
traits--Amusements--Dances, theatres, clubs,
carnivals--Gaming--Morality--Homes.
CHAPTER XII. Religion
Catholic religion--Concordat--Ownership of church
buildings--Clergy--Religious sentiment--Shrines--Religious customs
and holidays--Religious toleration--Protestant sects.
CHAPTER XIII. Education and Literature
Education in Spanish times--Work of Hostos--School
organization--Professional institute--Primary and secondary
education--Literacy--Libraries--Newspapers--Literature--Fine arts.
CHAPTER XIV. Means of Transportation and Communication
Railroads-Samana--Santiago Railroad--Central Dominican
Railway--Roads--Mode of traveling--Inns--Principal highways--Steamer
lines--Postal facilities--Telegraph and telephone lines.
CHAPTER XV. Commerce
Exports and imports--Foreign trade--Trade with the United
States--Ports of entry--Wharf concessions--Domestic
trade--Business houses--Banks--Manufactures.
CHAPTER XVI. Cities and Towns
General condition of municipalities--Santo Domingo City; ruins,
churches, streets, popular legends--Other towns of Santo Domingo
Province--San Pedro de Macoris--Seibo--Samana and
Sanchez--Pacificador Province--Conceptión de la Vega--Moca--Santiago
de los Caballeros--Puerto Plata--Monte Cristi--Azua--Barahona.
CHAPTER XVII. The Remains of Columbus
Burial of Columbus--Disappearance of epitaph--Removal of remains in
1795--Discovery of remains in 1877--Resting-place of Discoverer
of America.
CHAPTER XVIII. Government
Form of
government--Constitutions--Presidents--Election--Powers--Executive
Secretaries--Land and sea forces--Congress--Local
subdivisions--Provincial governors--Communal governments.
CHAPTER XIX. Politics and Revolutions
Political parties--Elections--Relation between politics and
revolutions--Conduct of revolutions--Casualties--Number of
revolutions--Effect of revolutions.
CHAPTER XX. Law and Justice
Audiencia of Santo Domingo--Legal system--Judicial
organization-Observance of law--Prisons--Character of offenses.
CHAPTER XXI. The dominican debt and the fiscal treaty with the United
States.
Financial situation in 1905--Causes of debt--Amount of debt--Bonded
debt--Liquidated debt--Floating debt--Declared claims--Undeclared
claims--Surrender of Puerto Plata custom-house--Fiscal convention of
1905--Modus vivendi--Negotiations for adjustment of debt--New bond
issue--Fiscal treaty of 1907--Adjustment with creditors--19l2
loan--Present financial situation.
CHAPTER XXII. Finances
Financial system--National revenues--Customs tariff--National
budget--Legal tender--Municipal income--Municipal budgets.
CHAPTER XXIII. The Future of Santo Domingo
Attraction by the United States--Political future of Santo
Domingo-Economic future of Santo Domingo.
APPENDIX A. Chiefs of State of Santo Domingo, 1492-1918
APPENDIX B. Old Weights and Measures in Use in Santo Domingo
APPENDIX C. American-Dominican Fiscal Convention of 1907
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Columbus Monument on Cathedral Plaza, Santo Domingo City.
Map of Santo Domingo
Historic Gateway "La Puerta del Conde," where
the independence of the Dominican Republic
was declared:
View from within the city
View from without, during a revolution
The Strongest Presidents of Santo Domingo:
President Pedro Santana
President Buenaventura Baez
President Ulises Heureaux
President Ramon Caceres
Four Prominent Dominicans:
President Juan Isidro Jimenez
President Horacio Vasquez
Minister of Finance Federico Velazquez
Archbishop Adolfo A. Nouel
One of the Many Beautiful Spots on the Shores
of Samana Bay
Partaking of Cocoanut-water
Street in Bani
Street in Puerto Plata
A Roadside Store
Building a House with the Products of the Palm-tree
Room in "Casino de la Juventud," Santo Domingo City
A Holiday Gathering, Santo Domingo City
Ruins of San Francisco Church, Santo Domingo City
A "Calvario" in the Road
Road Scene: A Mudhole
Wharf and Harbor of San Pedro de Macoris
Entrance to Cathedral of Santo Domingo
"House of Columbus," Ruins of Diego Columbus' Palace
The "Tower of Homage," the oldest fortification erected by white men
in America:
View from mouth of Ozama River
View from within fort
Puerto Plata Scene: Milkmen
Puerto Plata Scene: The Ox as a Riding Animal
Sanctuary of Santo Domingo Cathedral
Diagram of Sanctuary of Cathedral
Lead Box found in 1877 with Remains of Columbus
Inscription on Lid of Lead Box
Obverse Side of Silver Plate
Reverse Side of Silver Plate
The Bane of Santo Domingo: Intrenchment at Puerta del Conde during a
revolution
Independence Plaza, Santo Domingo City
Cathedral Plaza, Santo Domingo City
SANTO DOMINGO
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL SKETCH.--DAYS OF THE CONQUEST.--1492 to 1533
Aborigines.--Discovery.--Founding of Isabela.--Disaffection of the
colonists.--Indian wars.--Oppression of the Indians.--Founding of
Santo Domingo City.--Roldan's insurrection.--Humiliation of
Columbus,--Ovando's administration.--Extermination of the
natives.--Administrations of Diego Columbus.--Treaty with Indian
survivors.
When Columbus, in December, 1492, sailed along the northern coast of
the island of Haiti or Santo Domingo, he was more enchanted with what
he saw than he had been with any of his previous discoveries. Giant
mountains, covered with verdant forests, seemed to rise precipitately
from the blue waters and lift their heads to the very clouds.
Beautiful rivers watered fertile valleys, luscious fruits hung from
the trees, fragrant flowers carpeted the ground, and the air was
filled with the songs of birds of gay plumage. There were scenes of
nature's magnificence such as are found only in the tropics. Columbus,
as he gazed upon them in admiration, little thought that this
beautiful island was to witness his greatest sorrows, that it was to
be his final resting place, and that it was in later generations to
become the theater of long years of war and carnage.
At the time of its discovery the island of Santo Domingo was thickly
inhabited. The native Indians were Arawaks belonging to the same race
as those who occupied the other larger West India Islands. Unlike the
fierce Caribs who inhabited some of the smaller Antilles, the Arawaks
were of a gentle and meek disposition. They were inclined to idleness
and sensuality. Columbus lauded their kindliness and generosity; the
possession of these traits, however, did not prevent them from
fighting bravely when exasperated.
Living in the stone age, they knew none of the useful metals, but gold
ornaments were used for adornment. Older men and married women wore
short aprons of cotton or feathers; all other persons went entirely
nude. Their favorite amusements were ball games and savage dances with
weird, monotonous music; their religion was the worship of a great
spirit and of subordinate deities represented by idols, called
"zemis," carved of wood and stone in grotesque form, and of which some
are still occasionally found in caverns or tombs. They dwelt in rude
palm-thatched huts, the principal article of furniture being the
hammock. Simple agriculture, hunting and fishing provided their means
of livelihood.
The natives called the island Haiti, signifying "high ground," but the
western portion was also called Babeque or Bohio, meaning "land of
gold" and the eastern part Quisqueya, meaning "mother of the earth."
The name Quisqueya is the one by which Dominican poets now refer to
their country. The inhabitants lived in communities ruled by local
caciques, and the country was divided into five principal regions,
each under an absolute chief cacique, as follows:
Magua, signifying "watered plain," the northeastern part of the island
and comprising most of what is to-day known as the Cibao--that part of
the Dominican Republic lying north of the central mountain-range. The
chief was Guarionex.
Marien, or Mariel, comprised the northwestern portion of the island
and was ruled by Guacanagari.
Jaragua comprised the southwestern part, its chief being Bohechio, the
oldest of the caciques.
Maguana extended from the center of the island to the south coast near
Azua and was ruled by the proud Caonabo.
Higuey, or Higuayagua, the most bellicose portion of the country,
comprised the entire southeast and was ruled by Cayacoa.
Columbus happened upon the island on his first voyage. After
discovering Guanahani on October 12, 1492, and vainly searching for
Japan among the Bahama Islands, he discovered Cuba and while skirting
along the north shore of what he supposed to be the mainland heard of
an island said to be rich in gold, lying to the east. Taking an
easterly course, he was abandoned by the Pinta, one of his caravels,
whose captain, disregarding the admiral's signals, sailed away to seek
his fortune alone. Continuing with his remaining caravels, the Santa
Maria and the Niña, Columbus reached Cape Maisi, the easternmost point
of Cuba, where he sighted a high mountainous land lying in a
southeasterly direction. On the following day, December 6, 1492, he
reached this land, which he called la Española, because it reminded
him of Andalusia. In English histories the name is modified to
Hispaniola. The port Columbus called San Nicolas, as he had entered it
on St. Nicholas day, and it is now known as Mole St. Nicolas.
Columbus then sailed along the north coast of the island and entered
the pretty little port known to-day as Port-à-l'Ecu. Here, on December
12, he solemnly took possession of the country in the name of his
sovereigns, erecting a wooden cross on a high hill on the western
side of the bay. He then visited Tortuga Island, to the north, giving
it this name on account of its shape and the great number of turtles
in the water near its coast. After stopping in a harbor which he
called Puerto de Paz, Port of Peace, because of the harmony which
prevailed at the meetings with the natives, Columbus continued in an
easterly direction, but adverse winds compelled him to put into the
bay of Santo Tomas, to-day bay of l'Acul, where the cordial
intercourse with the natives was renewed. Here he received an embassy
from the chief of the district, Guacanagari, inviting him to visit the
cacique's residence, further along the coast, and bringing him as
presents a wampum belt artistically worked and a wooden mask with
eyes, tongue and nose of gold.
To accept the invitation Columbus set sail on the morning of December
24. In the evening when the admiral had retired the helmsman committed
the indiscretion of confiding the helm to a ship's boy. About midnight
when off Cape Haitien, near their destination, the vessel was caught
in a current and swept upon a sandbank where she began to keel over.
During the confusion which followed, Columbus had the mainmast chopped
down but all efforts to right the ship were in vain, and Columbus and
the crew were obliged to take refuge on the little Niña.
As soon as Guacanagari received news of the disaster he sent large
canoes filled with men to help the strangers transport their stores to
the shore. The relations between the Spaniards and the Indians became
most cordial, especially as the Spaniards were gratified to obtain
much gold in exchange for articles of insignificant value, owing to
which circumstances and to the natural advantages of the location,
Columbus determined to build a fort with the wreckage of his vessel.
The fort was on a hill east of the site of the present town of Cape
Haitien. Columbus gave it the name of La Navidad because he had
entered the bay on Christmas day, and leaving thirty-nine men as
colonists set out on the Niña on January 4, 1493, on his return
trip to Spain.
Near the great yellow promontory on the north of the island, to which
Columbus gave the name it still retains of Monte Cristi, the Pinta,
which had deserted the other vessels off Cuba, was sighted. Columbus
having heard the excuses of the Pinta's captain, took no action with
respect to the latter's delinquency, but set about exploring a large
river in the vicinity to which he gave the name of Rio de Oro and
which to-day is called the Yaque. Continuing the journey along the
coast of the island the vessels rounded the giant promontory of Cape
Cabron and that of Samana and entered the great bay of Samana which
Columbus at first took to be an arm of the sea. Here it was that the
first armed encounter between sons of the old world and the new took
place. The Indians set upon the Spaniards when they landed but were
quickly driven to flight, one of their number being severely wounded.
On the following day, however, a more pleasant meeting took place and
presents were exchanged. On January 16 the two vessels set sail
for Spain.
The immense excitement produced in Spain by the discoveries of
Columbus made the preparation of another expedition an easy matter,
and on September 25, 1493, the admiral again set out from Spain, this
time with sixteen ships and some 1300 men. After touching at several
of the Leeward Islands and Porto Rico, the fleet sighted the Samana
peninsula on November 22, 1493, and three days later arrived at Monte
Cristi. Here the finding of two corpses of Spaniards filled the
members of the expedition with grave apprehensions, which proved
justified when two days later they arrived at La Navidad and found the
fort completely destroyed, the Indian village burnt to the ground, and
the whole neighborhood silent and desolate.
Guacanagari was found at a village further inland and according to his
story and that of other Indians, a number of Spaniards had succumbed
to disease, others were killed in brawls among themselves and the
remainder died at the hands of the inland caciques Caonabo and
Guarionex and their warriors, who attacked and destroyed both the fort
and the village of Guacanagari. At the same time it was stated that
the Spaniards had made themselves hateful to the natives by their
domineering disposition and their lewdness and covetousness. The
finding in some of the native huts of objects that had belonged to the
colonists, as well as other suspicious circumstances, caused Father
Boil and other companions of Columbus to doubt the chief's story and
insist that sanguinary vengeance be taken. Columbus, however, affected
to be satisfied with the explanation given and determined to take no
further action, but to seek a new location for the colony. From this
time forward discord divided not only the Spaniards and Indians but
also the Spaniards themselves.
As the fleet was sailing east the weather obliged it to put into an
indentation of the coast fifty miles east of Monte Cristi. The place
so charmed the Spaniards that it was decided to found a town here. The
first city of the new world was therefore laid out and Columbus gave
it the name of Isabela, in honor of his royal patron. During the
construction of the city Columbus sent two expeditions to the Cibao
mountains, both of which succeeded in collecting a large amount
of gold.
It soon became evident that the neighborhood of Isabela was not a
healthy one. Fever invaded the colony; Columbus himself was not
exempt. Discontent came and an uprising among the soldiers was nipped
in the bud. On recovering from his illness Columbus resolved to make
an exploration of the interior; and with drums beating and flags
flying a brilliant expedition left Isabela. The beautiful Royal Plain
was soon reached and friendly relations established with its peaceful
inhabitants, whose wonder at the Spaniards and terror at their horses
knew no bounds. A fortress was founded on the banks of the Janico
river and called Santo Tomas. Columbus then returned to Isabela to
find the town in a state of excitement on account of petty quarrels
and the general sickness. Picking out the principal malcontents he
sent them to Santo Tomas, and ordered that another fortress be
founded. On April 24, 1494, he left the island with three vessels for
a voyage of exploration to the west, entrusting the government of the
colony to his brother Diego and an executive council.
But a short time elapsed before new dissensions broke out, followed by
troubles with the Indians. A military expedition dispatched to the
interior committed numerous depredations and drove the natives into
the ranks of Caonabo, who was planning the expulsion of the strangers.
The commander of the expedition, Moisen Pedro de Margarite, was called
to account by Diego Columbus; but conspiring with Father Boil, the
religious head of the colony, the two contrived to excite a popular
insurrection against the governor, which may be regarded as the first
Dominican revolution. At this time Bartholomew Columbus, another
brother of the admiral, arrived with provisions, and the
insurrectionists, taking possession of the ships, returned in them to
Spain where they lost no opportunity to disparage the achievements of
Columbus and to slander him and his brothers.
The principal caciques of the island now formed an alliance and
uniting their forces laid siege to Santo Tomas. Only Guacanagari
refused to join them and hurried to Isabela to offer his services to
the Spaniards. At this juncture, on September 29, 1494, Columbus, sick
and weary, returned from his voyage, during which, after other
discoveries, he had explored a portion of the south coast of the
island. As soon as he had recovered sufficient strength he led an
expedition into the interior, relieved Santo Tomas, won numerous
victories over the natives and founded another fortress, La
Concepcion, in the Vega Real, or Royal Plain. Caonabo, however,
assembled a vast number of warriors and forced Columbus to renewed
efforts. The Spaniards and Indians met where the ruins of the old city
of Concepcion de la Vega now are, and the famous battle of the Royal
Plain was fought on March 25, 1495. The natives are alleged by the
Spanish historians to have numbered 100,000, while the Spaniards had
but 200 men and 20 horses, besides the warriors of Guacanagari. In the
battle, a bloody one, the Indians were completely beaten, their
discomfiture being due principally to the superior arms of the
Europeans and the fear inspired by the horses and by twenty
blood-hounds brought into the fight by the Spaniards. On the occasion
of this battle the miracle of the Santo Cerro, or Holy Hill, is said
to have occurred, when, according to the Spanish chroniclers, the
Indians captured an eminence on which the Spaniards had erected a
wooden cross, but were unable to destroy the cross with fire or
hatchet, and were finally frightened away by the apparition of the
Virgin Mary.
This one crushing defeat definitely broke the Indians' power, for
though there were subsequent outbreaks they were only sporadic and,
with one exception, of comparatively little importance. Caonabo still
remained at large and the Spaniards secured possession of his person
by one of those feats of individual prowess which mark the history of
the conquest. The Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda went out in search of the
cacique, and having found him with his warriors, suggested that they
repair to Isabela together to arrange terms of peace with Columbus.
The suggestion being accepted, they set out and on crossing the Yaque
river Ojeda pressed the Indian to put on a pair of handcuffs,
asserting that these bracelets were a distinction of the king of
Castile. Caonabo acceded, whereupon the Spaniard sprang upon his horse
and swinging the chief upon the croup, fled from the midst of the
astonished warriors and bore him a prisoner to Isabela. Caonabo was
later embarked for Spain but died on the voyage.
A beginning was now made of the harsh oppression which was soon to
cause the entire disappearance of the native race. A quarterly tribute
was imposed on every Indian above the age of fourteen. Those who lived
in the auriferous region of the Cibao were obliged to deliver as much
gold dust as could be held in a small bell, others were to give
twenty-five pounds of cotton. Many natives fled to the mountains to
escape the onerous tax and new settlements were established by the
Spaniards.
The enemies of Columbus had in the meantime been sufficiently
successful in Spain to cause one de Aguado to be sent out with the
object of investigating conditions in the colony. His conduct from the
very first was so arrogant that the admiral determined to return at
once to justify himself before the court. On March 10, 1496, he
embarked for Spain, leaving his brother Bartholomew as governor of
the colony.
Before his departure the news arrived of the discovery of several rich
gold mines in the southern part of the island. They were found by a
soldier named Miguel Diaz, who having fled to the wilderness to escape
punishment for wounding a comrade, had established conjugal relations
with an Indian woman near the present site of Santo Domingo City.
Noticing that her consort was tiring of her, the lady tried to retain
him by revealing the existence of gold deposits in the region; and
Diaz promptly secured his pardon and promotion by reporting the find
to Isabela. The romance had a sad ending, for the Indian, shocked at
the cruel treatment accorded her countrymen by the Spaniards who came
to the place, abandoned her husband and children and disappeared in
the forest.
On arriving in Spain, Columbus wrote his brother to found a town on
the south coast at the mouth of the Ozama. Bartholomew Columbus
immediately set out to select a site and on August 4, 1496, laid the
first stone of the new city on the left bank of the Ozama, calling it
Nueva Isabela, in honor of the queen. The name was afterwards changed
to Santo Domingo in honor, so tradition has it, of the saint to whom
the day of its foundation was dedicated. As the location of this city
was much healthier than that of fever-ridden Isabela on the north
coast, the settlers in an ever increasing stream removed to the new
town which flourished as the other decayed, until after a few years
Isabela was entirely abandoned. The only vestiges now remaining of it
are a few ruined foundation walls and shapeless heaps of stone
overgrown with rank tropical vegetation.
Bartholomew Columbus busied himself with further explorations of the
interior, founding a number of strongholds, among them Santiago de los
Caballeros, which commanded the Royal Plain. While at Concepcion de la
Vega he was informed that several Indians had burned an altar erected
by friars in the interior, and had buried the sacred images. The
bigoted governor had the Indians apprehended and burnt alive in the
public square. This cruel act induced fourteen caciques to conspire
for an uprising; but their designs being betrayed, they were captured
by a bold stroke and two of them executed. Determined to crush the
spirit of the natives, Bartholomew Columbus invaded and devastated the
district of Monte Cristi, driving the Indians into the remote forests
and capturing and imprisoning their chiefs.
His severity was not confined to the Indians, but the Spaniards,
naturally restive under the government of a Genovese, were also made
to feel it until their disaffection developed into open rebellion.
At the head of the conspiracy was Francisco Roldan, the judge of the
colony, a man ambitious and seditious by nature, but who owed Columbus
many favors. Others, disgusted because their dreams of gold had not
been realized, followed him and the insurrection was soon well under
way. The rebels took Isabela and sacked the government storehouse and
then took steps to besiege Bartholomew Columbus at Concepcion de la
Vega. The arrival of fresh troops and stores from Spain enabled the
governor to hold the rebels in check.
Such was the deplorable state of affairs when Columbus returned to the
island on August 30, 1498. Realizing Roldan's strength, he consented
to make terms under which the insurgents were to receive stores and
other property and return to Spain. By the time their vessels were
ready most of them had changed their mind and declined to go, but
they wrote letters to Spain bitterly complaining of the admiral and
his brothers, and accusing them of oppression and despotism. Columbus
found himself obliged to agree to the most humiliating terms with the
rebels, conceding a complete pardon, restoring them to their official
posts, promising to pay their salary in arrears and distributing lands
and Indians among them. Nevertheless, other quarrels followed,
Columbus was forced to take severe measures and the complaints
against him grew.
Little by little the stories of arrogance and oppression circulated
with reference to the Columbus brothers undermined the esteem in which
they were held by the sovereigns, who were also disappointed at not
seeing the fabulous wealth they had expected from the new discoveries.
They determined to send to the island of Española a person authorized
to investigate conditions and decide all disputes.
Their choice for the mission was unfortunate; it fell on Francisco
Bobadilla, a spiteful, arrogant and tactless man. On arriving in Santo
Domingo on August 23, 1500, he immediately began to annul dispositions
made by Columbus and sent for the admiral who was in the interior. As
soon as Columbus appeared, Bobadilla, far exceeding his authority,
caused him to be put in chains and confined in a cell of the fortress
of Santo Domingo. He also imprisoned the brothers of Columbus and sent
them to Spain together with the Discoverer, all chained like infamous
criminals. At the same time he made a report attributing malfeasance,
injustice and fraud to all.
The administration of Bobadilla was disastrous. In his efforts to
ingratiate himself with Columbus' enemies he heaped favors on Roldan
and his followers and gave them franchises and lands. He made the
slavery of the Indians more galling than ever, obliging them to labor
in the fields and mines. Columbus' property and papers were
confiscated and Columbus' friend, the explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas,
was imprisoned and his property seized.
The captain of the vessel bearing Columbus treated his distinguished
prisoner with all possible deference and offered to take off the
chains, but the Discoverer, whose heart was breaking under the
indignities heaped upon him and the injustice of which he was the
victim, proudly refused. When the vessel arrived in Spain the
sovereigns, shocked at Bobadilla's proceedings, commanded the
immediate release of Columbus, ordered that his property be restored
and overwhelmed him with distinctions, though providing that his
dignities as viceroy were to remain temporarily suspended; probably
because the calculating spirit of King Ferdinand believed that too
much power had been vested in his subject. Bobadilla was removed from
office, and Nicolas de Ovando, a member of the religious-military
order of Alcantara, was appointed governor in his place.
Ovando arrived in Santo Domingo on April 15, 1502, with a fleet of
thirty vessels, the largest which up to that time had arrived in the
new world, carrying stores of every kind and over 1500 persons, among
them many who later attained distinction in conquests on the mainland.
He was courteous to Bobadilla, but took measures to send Roldan and
the most turbulent of his companions back to Spain on the return of
his fleet, the largest vessel of which was placed at the disposition
of Bobadilla.
Just before the sailing of the fleet, on June 30, 1502, Columbus
unexpectedly appeared before the city on his fourth voyage, and asked
permission to enter the port for protection from a hurricane which he
believed was approaching. Ovando, either because he had secret orders,
or perhaps because he feared Columbus' presence might cause renewed
disturbances, denied the request, and the great man, deeply wounded by
the refusal, sought shelter further up the coast.
The pilots of the great fleet derided Columbus' prediction and the
ships set sail. They had not reached the easternmost point of the
island when a terrific hurricane broke loose. All but two of the
vessels were lost, and by a strange coincidence one of these two bore
Rodrigo de Bastidas, the friend of Columbus, while the other, the
smallest and weakest vessel of the fleet, was the one that carried
Columbus' property. Bobadilla, Roldan and other enemies of the
admiral, and many other passengers and Indian captives perished and
large stores of gold were lost. Columbus' squadron rode out the storm
in safety in a cove of the bay of Azua, whereupon he continued
his voyage.
On land, too, the hurricane wrought great destruction. The houses of
the town of Santo Domingo were demolished and as the right bank of the
Ozama was higher and seemed more suitable, Ovando ordered that the
town be rebuilt on that side, where it now stands.
Ovando now inaugurated a period of general prosperity. He established
peace and order, issued rules for the different branches of the public
service, placed honest men in the posts of responsibility and
encouraged industry and agriculture. Yet, strange mixture of energy
and cruelty, of valor and bigotry that he was, his treatment of the
Indians was most oppressive. To each Spanish landholder was assigned a
number of Indians under the pretext that they were to be given
religious instruction and accustomed to work; but so onerous and
unremitting was the labor imposed that they succumbed to disease by
thousands, while thousands of others perished by their own hand in an
epidemic of suicide which swept through the country, and many fled to
almost inaccessible mountain regions.
But two Indian chieftains still reigned in the island, one the Indian
queen Anacaona in the district of Jaragua, the other the chief of
Higuey. Ovando's severe measures against the natives made him ready to
believe the tales of conspiracies brought to him. He therefore sent a
troop of 300 infantry under Diego Velazquez, the future conqueror of
Cuba, and 70 horsemen, to the territory of Anacaona, where they were
received with every mark of kindness. The Spaniards invited the
natives to witness a military drill and when the queen, her principal
caciques and a great crowd of Indians were assembled, the exercises
commenced. The Indians were awed by the spectacle so new and imposing
to them, when suddenly the trumpets gave a signal, the infantry opened
fire and the cavalry charged on the defenseless spectators. All the
Indians who could not escape by flight were massacred without respect
to age or sex. Anacaona alone was spared and carried off to Santo
Domingo where she was shortly afterwards ignominiously executed, on
the pretext that she was not sufficiently sincere in the Catholic
religion which she had recently professed! A tenacious persecution of
the Indians who would not become slaves was instituted and but few
were able to hide in the mountains of the interior.
In 1503 the subjugation of the last remaining independent chieftain,
Cotubanama, lord of Higuey, in the extreme eastern part of the island,
was undertaken. Near this province a Spaniard wantonly set his hound
upon one of the principal natives, and the Indian was torn to pieces,
whereupon the chief, indignant at his friend's death, caused a
boatload of Spaniards to be killed, thus giving Ovando a welcome
excuse for the invasion. Four hundred Spaniards dealt death and
desolation throughout the region, pursuing the Indians into the
mountains and forests and sparing neither women nor children. When at
last they captured and hung an aged Indian woman revered as a
prophetess, the terrified aborigines sued for peace and agreed to pay
a heavy tribute. A fortress was erected at Higuey, but the conduct of
the Spanish garrison was so outrageous that the Indians in desperation
again rose, and killed every Spaniard in the district. Ovando then
began a war of extermination and the Indians were killed off by
thousands, Cotubanama resisted heroically but in vain, and after being
beaten in a number of desperate battles he withdrew to the island of
Saona, southeast of Santo Domingo. Here he was surprised and captured
by the Spaniards, his remaining warriors mercilessly shot and he
himself taken to the city of Santo Domingo and hung. With his death
the island was thoroughly pacified, though at a bloody cost, and the
conquest proper ended.
On August 13, 1504, Columbus once more arrived in Santo Domingo. On
his ill-fated fourth voyage he had been shipwrecked in Jamaica and one
of his men crossed the ocean in an open boat, to solicit aid of
Ovando. The latter, after dallying for months, finally yielded to the
murmurings of the colony and sent for the Discoverer. He received
Columbus well, but subjected him to humiliation by arbitrarily
liberating a mutineer imprisoned by the admiral. Disappointed and sad,
the great navigator left the shores of the island he loved and
returned to Spain where his death occurred two years later. The
golden age of the colony was now at hand. Ovando built up the city of
Santo Domingo, constructed forts and other defences, and laid the
foundations of most of its public buildings. Fine private residences
and great churches and convents were erected. Sugar-cane was
introduced in 1506 and gave rich returns, the production of the gold
mines continued to increase, and cattle raising brought large profits.
The Indians were dying out under the rigorous treatment, and others
were imported from the surrounding islands under the pretense of
converting them to Christianity; and when these also succumbed, the
importation of negroes from Africa was commenced. About 1508 the
island began to be called Santo Domingo, but for almost three
centuries royal decrees continued to refer to it as Espanola. So
flourishing was its state at this time that thirteen of its towns were
granted coats of arms and three were declared cities. The colony was
and for many years continued to be a starting point for voyages of
discovery and conquest in the islands and along the shores of the
Caribbean Sea.
After the death of Christopher Columbus his son Diego made fruitless
efforts to recover the honors of which his father had been despoiled,
but it was not until he married Maria de Toledo, the beautiful niece
of the Duke of Alba, that he met with partial success, probably more
because of the influence of his wife's family than because of the
justice of his claims. In 1509 he was appointed governor of Santo
Domingo to succeed Ovando and arrived in the colony with his wife, his
uncles, and a brilliant suite.
Diego Columbus inaugurated his administration with a splendor till
then unknown in the new world, establishing a kind of vice-regal
court. He built the castle of which the ruins are still to be seen
near the San Diego gate in the city of Santo Domingo, and which in its
glory must have been an imposing structure. Unfortunately many persons
transferred to the son the hatred they had borne the father and he
found his plans balked. Intending to carry into effect the royal
dispositions relative to the release of the Indians from slavery he
incurred the hostility of the planters and when he desisted owing to
their opposition, he was attacked by the friars. Complaints poured in
upon King Ferdinand; the accusation most calculated to arouse the
suspicious monarch's fears was that the second admiral, as Diego
Columbus was called, harbored the intention of proclaiming himself
sovereign of Santo Domingo. Ferdinand accordingly instituted the
audiencia or high court of justice of Santo Domingo, which was
invested with a comprehensive jurisdiction, being authorized to hear
appeals even from decisions of the governor, whose powers were thus
materially curtailed.
This circumstance, as well as a new distribution of the Indians, made
over the head of the governor, induced Diego Columbus to return to
Spain in 1515 in order to defend his interests. During the term of the
two governors who succeeded him, various dispositions were made for
the protection of the natives whose numbers were rapidly diminishing
notwithstanding importations from the other islands and from South
America. The only result of these orders was a change of masters; for
when Diego Columbus returned as governor in 1520, he found the Indians
exploited by the priests and officers of the crown to whom they had
been intrusted ostensibly for religious instruction, while the
mine-owners and planters now employed negro slaves.
Almost simultaneously with the return of the second admiral began the
insurrection of a young Indian cacique known as Enrique. This noble
Indian, a relative of Anacaona, had been converted to Christianity and
educated by the Spaniards, but was nevertheless enslaved in one of the
"repartimientos," or distributions. His wife having been gravely
offended by the Spaniard to whom they were assigned, he retired to the
almost inaccessible mountains in the center of the island, and many of
the remaining natives fled to join him. Efforts to dislodge him were
in vain and negotiations only elicited from him the promise to act on
the defensive alone, which was equivalent to an indefinite truce. The
number of negro slaves had in the meantime increased, and the
treatment given them was as harsh as that which had been accorded the
aborigines. As a result an insurrection, the first negro uprising in
the new world, began near Santo Domingo City on December 27, 1522.
Several Spaniards were murdered, but the troops overpowered the
mutineers and a number were hung.
Diego Columbus continued in his efforts to promote the welfare of the
colony, but became involved in a quarrel with the royal audiencia and
found himself obliged in March, 1524, to return to Spain where he died
two years later. The new governor, Bishop Sebastian Ramirez de
Fuenleal, was appointed president of the royal court, and the offices
of governor and president of the court were thenceforth consolidated.
Both he and his successor used their best efforts to promote
immigration into the colony which was beginning to suffer on account
of the draughts of men that left for the mainland. An army was
dispatched against the insurgent chief Enrique who still menaced the
tranquillity of the colonists from his mountain fastnesses. When it was
found impossible to reach him, peaceful methods were employed.
Negotiations were opened, and a treaty of peace signed in 1533, on an
island in the beautiful lake still known as Lake Enriquillo. By this
treaty the Indians, now reduced to not more than 4000 in number, were
freed from slavery and assigned lands in Boya, in the mountains to the
northeast of Santo Domingo City. From this time forward there is no
further mention of the Indians in the island's history; they
disappeared completely by dying out and by assimilation.
CHAPTER II
HISTORICAL SKETCH.--COLONIAL VICISSITUDES.--1533 TO 1801
Decline of the colony.--English attacks on Santo Domingo
City.--Settlement of Tortuga by freebooters.--French settlements in
western Santo Domingo.--Border wars.--Cession of western coast to
France.--Return of prosperity.--Effect of French revolution.--Negro
uprising in French Santo Domingo.--Rise of Toussaint l'Ouverture.
--Cession of Spanish Santo Domingo to France.--Evacuation by Spain.
Within forty years after its discovery Santo Domingo had passed the
zenith of its glory. The vast and wealthy countries discovered and
conquered on the mainland of America absorbed the attention of
colonists and of the government, and Santo Domingo quickly sank to a
position of economic and political insignificance. So little
importance was given the island by chroniclers during the ensuing two
hundred and fifty years and so few are the records remaining, that not
even the names of all the governors and the periods of their rule can
be accurately determined. The colony barely existed, the monotony of
its life was interrupted only by occasional attacks or menaces of
attacks by pirates or other foes.
Every effort was made to prevent decay. Decrees were issued forbidding
emigration or the recruiting of troops for expeditions of discovery,
but they were evaded. Thus Louis Columbus, the grandson of the
Discoverer and one of the most influential men of the colony, fitted
out an expedition against Veragua. African slaves continued to be
imported to take the place of the exterminated Indians, but as their
importation was expensive the mines were abandoned and the number of
sugar estates declined. For the greater part of the period from 1533
to 1556 the government was in the hands of an energetic man,
Licentiate Alonso de Fuenmayor, Bishop of Santo Domingo and La Vega,
and later first Archbishop of Santo Domingo. He pushed to a conclusion
the work on the cathedral and other religious edifices then building,
repaired the edifices belonging to the state and constructed the walls
and bastions which still surround the city. He was able to ward off
the attacks of corsairs, who multiplied in West Indian waters to such
an extent that in 1561 the Spanish Government forbade vessels to
travel to and from the new world except under convoy.
In 1564 the cities of Santiago de los Caballeros and Concepcion de la
Vega were completely destroyed by an earthquake and the few remaining
inhabitants reestablished the towns at short distances from the
original sites. The entire intercourse of the colony with Spain was
reduced to two or three caravels a year and the revenues sank so low
that the salaries of state officials were paid and continued to be
paid for over two hundred years, from the treasury of Mexico.
The year 1586 was marked by the capture of Santo Domingo City by the
noted English navigator, Sir Francis Drake, during the celebrated
cruise on which he took the strongest towns on the Spanish main. On
the morning of January 11, 1586, the inhabitants of Santo Domingo City
were thrown into consternation at seeing eighteen foreign vessels in
the roadstead, in a line which stretched from Torrecilla Point to the
slaughterhouse. To the joy of the people the fleet set sail for the
west, but their joy was short lived, for the next morning messengers
arrived with the news that the enemy had landed at the mouth of the
Jaina River and was marching on the city. Preparations were made for
defense, but terror gained the upper hand and soon the civil and
religious authorities, the monks and nuns and the entire population
were fleeing in confusion on foot, in carts and in canoes, leaving
their belongings behind. Some one hundred and fifty men remained to
dispute the passage of Lieutenant-General Carliell who appeared at the
head of a thousand men. They were quickly dispersed by the invaders
who entered the gates with little loss and proceeded to the plaza
where they encamped. For twenty-five days Drake held the deserted
city, carrying on negotiations meanwhile for its ransom. When these
flagged he ordered the gradual destruction of the town and every
morning for eleven days a number of buildings were burned and
demolished, a work of some difficulty on account of the solidity of
the houses. Not quite one-third of the city was so destroyed when the
residents paid a ransom of 25,000 ducats, about $30,000, for the
remainder. Drake thereupon embarked, carrying with him the bronze
cannon of the fort and whatever of value he found in the churches and
private houses. He also ordered the hanging of several friars, held by
him as prisoners, in retaliation for the murder of a negro boy whom he
had sent with a flag of truce.
Seventy years later Santo Domingo was again attacked by English
forces, this time with the object of making a permanent landing.
Oliver Cromwell after declaring war against Spain sent a fleet to the
West Indies under the command of Admiral William Penn, having on board
an army of 9000 men. The fleet appeared off Santo Domingo City on May
14, 1655, and a landing was effected in two bodies, the advance guard
under Col. Buller going ashore at the mouth of the Jaina River while
the main body under General Venables disembarked at Najayo, much
further down the coast. Buller met with strong resistance at Fort San
Geronimo and was forced to retire to Venables' intrenchments. The
united English forces made several attempts to march on the capital,
but fell into ambuscades and sustained heavy losses. Despairing of
success, the fleet and army left the island on June 3 and proceeded to
Jamaica, which they captured.
The rovers of the sea and the restrictive trade regulations imposed by
the Spanish government, which limited trade with the new world to the
single port of Seville in Spain, made development of the island's
commerce impossible. The trade restrictions had the effect of
encouraging a brisk contraband traffic with Dutch vessels on the north
coast, to stop which the Spanish government adopted the incredible
expedient of shutting up every port except Santo Domingo City and
ordering the destruction of the north coast towns. Puerto Plata, Monte
Cristi and two villages on the coast of what is now Haiti were thus
destroyed in 1606 and the inhabitants transferred to towns almost in
the center of the island, where they were far removed from temptation
to smuggle. The measure temporarily stopped contraband trade on the
north coast, but destroyed all legitimate trade in that region,
transformed the coast into a desert and furnished an opportunity for
the settlement of the buccaneers in the northwest.
The English, French and Dutch, in resisting Spain's claim to sole
trading rights in the new world, authorized the fitting out of
privateers that often degenerated into pirates. The bays and inlets of
the coast of Santo Domingo became favorite resorts for such ships. The
depot of the corsairs on the island of St. Christopher having been
destroyed by the Spaniards in 1630, a number of refugees sought
shelter on the island of Tortuga, on the northwest coast of Haiti.
Some of them began to cultivate the soil, others took to hunting wild
cattle on the mainland of Haiti, while others indulged in piracy.
Tortuga soon became the busy headquarters of reckless freebooters of
all nations, who here fitted out daring expeditions and returned to
waste their gains in wild carousals. In 1638 the Spanish governor of
Santo Domingo made a descent on the island and destroyed the
settlement, but most of the buccaneers were absent at the time and the
only result of the raid was to cause them to organize under the
captaincy of an Englishman named Willis. French national pride
asserted itself, however, and with the assistance of a French force
from St. Christopher, the English inhabitants of Tortuga, who were in
a minority, were persuaded to leave for Jamaica, and Tortuga
thenceforth continued under French governors.
In 1648 the Spaniards of Santo Domingo made another fruitless attempt
to expel the buccaneers; but in 1653 the Spanish governor, the Count
of Peñalva, collected a force which caught the island unawares and was
strong enough to overawe the inhabitants, who were permitted to leave,
though abandoning all their property. The Spaniards left a garrison
but the persistent Frenchmen returned and drove it out. In 1664 the
French West India Company took possession, established a garrison, and
appointed as governor an energetic man, D'Ogeron, under whom the
country rapidly advanced in prosperity and commerce. With the idea of
encouraging permanent settlement, D'Ogeron had women brought over from
the slums of Paris and portioned out as wives to the rude colonists.
The rapidly increasing population caused settlements to be made on
the Haitian mainland, and the city of Port-de-Paix was founded on a
beautiful bay opposite Tortuga. The city flourished to such an extent
and the advantages of settlement on the mainland were so superior that
the settlers of Tortuga gradually left the smaller island and settled
along the Haitian coast. Within twenty years Tortuga was practically
deserted and it so continues to this day.
A better class of people now arrived from France. Families were
brought in from Anjou and Brittany, and the French settlements
continued to spread all the way down the western coast of the island,
the French settlement at Samana being withdrawn. Slaves were imported
from Africa, and in 1678 a rising took place among them, which was
easily put down. In 1684 the French government formally sent out
commissioners to provide for the regular government of the colony, and
churches and courts of justice were established.
The Spanish inhabitants of Santo Domingo meanwhile made attack after
attack on the French, but the Spanish colony was in such reduced
straits that no extended efforts were possible. Where the French were
repulsed the Spaniards were too few numerically to hold the territory
and it was soon reoccupied. Angered at the repeated aggressions,
D'Ogeron sent out an expedition under Delisle in 1673, which landed at
Puerto Plata and marched inland to Santiago. The inhabitants fled to
La Vega and only avoided the burning of their city by paying a ransom
of 25,000 pesos, whereupon Delisle returned to the French colony.
D'Ogeron at this time proposed to the French government the conquest
of the entire island for France, and would probably have attempted to
carry out this plan, had not his death occurred shortly after.
Cordial relations existing between France and Spain in 1685,
tentative boundary agreements were made between the French and Spanish
authorities, but each side accused the other of violations and the
strife continued as before. When in 1689, war broke out between Spain
and France, the French governor organized an expedition to invade the
Spanish section. He reached Santiago where some of his men died after
consuming meat and wine found in the deserted houses. Believing them
poisoned, he ordered the torch to be applied to the city and retired
after seeing it reduced to ashes. Admiral Perez Caro, the Spanish
governor, thereupon made preparations for a telling blow on the
French. The colony's militia and regular troops sent by the viceroy of
Mexico invaded the French section and on January 21, 1692,
administered a crushing defeat on the opposing force in the plain of
La Limonade, killing the French governor and his principal officers.
The victorious army marched through the French settlements, desolating
the fields and putting all prisoners to the sword. At the same time a
new settlement the French had made at Samana was exterminated.
The new French governor found the affairs of his colony in very bad
condition; but with the assistance of refugees from other islands he
sent an expedition to Jamaica, from where over 3,000 slaves together
with stores of indigo and other property were carried off. In
retaliation the English and Spanish fleets combined and with 4,000 men
aboard set sail from Manzanillo Bay in 1695, and sacked and burned
Cape Français and Port-de-Paix, the English carrying off all the men
they took prisoners and the Spaniards the women and children.
Hostilities were ended in 1697 by the peace of Ryswick by which Spain
recovered territory conquered from her by the French and ceded the
western part of the island of Santo Domingo to France. The occupation
of the western coast by France, so long resented as an intrusion, was
thus formally recognized.
The French colony immediately entered upon an era of prosperity which
soon made it the richest country of the West Indies. Great plantations
of tobacco, indigo, cacao, coffee and sugar were established. The
country came to be known as the paradise of the West Indies and the
wealth of the planters became proverbial. The grave defect was that
this prosperity was built on the false foundation of slavery. In 1754
the population numbered 14,000 whites, 4000 free mulattoes and
172,000 negroes.
The Spanish colony on the other hand sank lower than ever. Practically
abandoned by the mother country, there was no commerce beyond a little
contraband and only the most indispensable agriculture, the
inhabitants devoting themselves almost entirely to cattle raising. The
ports were the haunts of pirates, and a number of Dominicans also
became corsairs. By the year 1730 the entire country held but 6000
inhabitants, of whom about 500 lived in the ruined capital and the
remaining urban population was disseminated among the vestiges of
Cotui, Santiago, Azua, Banica, Monte Plata, Bayaguana, La Vega, Higuey
and Seibo. Such was the poverty prevailing that a majority of the
people went in rags; and the arrival of the ship from Mexico, which
brought the salaries of the civil officials and the military, was
hailed with the joyful ringing of church bells.
To how great an extent this depression was due to trade restrictions
is evident from the circumstance that when in 1740 several ports were
opened to foreign commerce there was an immediate change for the
better. Agriculture expanded, exports and imports increased, money
circulated, the cost of the necessaries of life fell, the population
rapidly increased and many new towns sprang up. According to an
ecclesiastical census the population had in 1785 advanced to 152,640
inhabitants. Of these only 30,000 were slaves, owing to the Spanish
laws which made it easy for a slave to purchase his freedom. Many of
the freemen were negroes or mulattoes.
In 1751 the colony was visited by a severe hurricane, which caused the
Ozama to leave its banks, and by a destructive earthquake which
overthrew the cities of Azua and Seibo and did much damage to the
church buildings of Santo Domingo. Azua and Seibo were reestablished
on their present sites. Another earthquake in 1770 destroyed several
towns in the French part of the island.
From the beginning of the century the boundary between the French and
Spanish colonies of Santo Domingo had been a source of constant
friction and bickerings. A preliminary agreement had been made in
1730, but in 1776 a permanent treaty was drafted, it was ratified at
Aranjuez in 1777, and the boundary was marked with stone monuments.
When the French revolution broke out in 1789 both the Spanish and
French colonies of Santo Domingo were enjoying a high degree of
prosperity. In the French colony there were about 30,000 whites, and
the haughty white planters were wont to indulge in every form of
luxury and sybaritic pleasure; the negro slaves, whose number had
grown to almost half a million, were subjected to the most barbarous
ill-treatment; and a class of about 30,000 ambitious free mulattoes
had arisen, many of whom where cultured and wealthy, but who were all
rigidly excluded from participation in public affairs. It was evident
that but a spark was needed to produce what might turn out to be a
general conflagration.
The spark came in the formation of the National Assembly in France and
its declaration of the rights of man. The mulattoes at once petitioned
the National Assembly for civil and political rights, which were in
1790 equivocally denied and in 1791 finally granted them. The whites
resisted the government decrees and uprisings began. The first of
these was a revolt of the mulattoes under Ogé, which was quickly
suppressed. Ogé fled to Spanish Santo Domingo, but was surrendered by
the Spaniards on condition that his life be spared, a promise that was
not kept for he was publicly broken on the wheel. Jean François,
another mulatto, then raised an insurrection of the negroes in the
north, marching on Cape Français, burning and murdering, with the body
of a white infant carried on a spear-head at the head of his troops.
His forces were defeated by the whites, who commenced an
indiscriminate slaughter of their victims. The negroes thereupon rose
in every direction and the paradise of the West Indies became a hell.
The great plantation houses were burned, the wide estates desolated,
white women were ravished and murdered and white men put to death with
horrible tortures, while the liberated slaves indulged in orgies at
which the beverage was rum mixed with human blood. It was a fearful
day of reckoning.
In 1793, France went to war with England and Spain. The Spanish
authorities of Santo Domingo made overtures to negro leaders of whom a
number entered the Spanish army as officers of high rank, among them
Toussaint, an intelligent ex-slave who later assumed the surname of
l'Ouverture and who showed remarkable military and administrative
qualities. The French government sent commissioners to the colony,
whose tactless handling of a difficult situation fanned the flames of
civil war. The English attacked the colony, captured Port-au-Prince,
and enlisted the aid of the revolted slaves in overrunning the
surrounding country. When they besieged Port-de-Paix the French
commander sent secret emissaries to Spanish Santo Domingo and induced
Toussaint to desert from the Spanish ranks and with his negro
followers help to drive out the English. Killing the Spanish soldiers
he found in his way, Toussaint went to fight the English, with such
success that in 1797 he was made general-in-chief of all the French
troops. The English, decimated by disease, were obliged to leave in
1798 and sign a treaty of peace with Toussaint by which the island was
recognized as an independent and neutral state during their war with
France. The operations in Santo Domingo are said to have cost the
English $100,000,000 in money and 45,000 lives.
In the meanwhile border fights were going on in Spanish Santo Domingo
between Toussaint's troops and forces collected from the various
Spanish possessions on the Caribbean Sea. They continued until 1795,
when by the treaty of Basle peace was declared between France and
Spain and the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo was--to the dismay of
its inhabitants--ceded to France, the whole island thus passing under
French control. Toward the end of that year part of the Spanish troops
and members of religious orders embarked and an emigration of the
better families began, many taking their slaves with them. The
Spaniards also exhumed what they supposed to be the remains of
Columbus in the cathedral of Santo Domingo and carried them to Havana.
One of the terms of the treaty was that the colony should formally be
delivered when French troops were sent to occupy it, but as the
French were at this time kept busy in the western portion, the Spanish
governor and authorities continued to administer the country for
several years. Little by little troops and civil officials were
withdrawn and in 1799 the royal audiencia or high court was
transferred to Puerto Principe, in Cuba, most of the lawyers of the
colony leaving at the same time with their families.
Toussaint l'Ouverture was now in supreme command in the west, though
nominally holding under the French republic. He displayed considerable
ability in promoting peace, ordered the blacks to return to work and
gave protection to the whites. It was evident, however, that he aimed
to make himself absolute master of the whole island. Pursuant to this
plan he called on the Spanish governor, General Joaquin Garcia, to
surrender the Spanish colony in accordance with the stipulations of
the treaty of Basle, Governor Garcia prepared to resist, but Toussaint
invaded the colony with an army, was successful in a skirmish on the
Nizao River and appearing before the capital protested that he came as
a French general in the name of the French republic. Garcia had no
alternative but to comply with the negro chief's demands. On the 27th
of January, 1801, Toussaint l'Ouverture entered the capital with his
troops and formally took possession. Amid the booming of cannon the
Spanish ensign was lowered and the French tricolor raised; and
Toussaint invited the authorities to the cathedral where a Te Deum was
chanted. Governor Garcia immediately embarked for Cuba with the
remaining Spanish civil and military authorities.
CHAPTER III
HISTORICAL SKETCH.--CHANGES OF GOVERNMENT.-18O1 TO 1844
Rule of Toussaint l'Ouverture.--Exodus of whites.--Capture of Santo
Domingo by French.--War with negroes.--Government of Ferrand.
--Incursion of Dessalines.--Insurrection of Sanchez Ramirez.
--Reestablishment of Spanish rule.--Proclamation of Colombian
State of Spanish Haiti.--Conquest by Haiti.--Haitian rule.--Duarte's
conspiracy.--Declaration of Independence.
Toussaint l'Ouverture's occupation of Santo Domingo occasioned a new
exodus of white families who were fearful of what might happen under
negro rule. From the French portion of the island the whites had been
emigrating since the first uprisings; a number had fled into the
Spanish colony and these now also left. It is estimated that in the
decade beginning with 1795 the Spanish portion lost over 40,000
inhabitants, more than one-third of its population. Most of the
persons who abandoned the island during these troublous times settled
in Cuba, Porto Rico and Venezuela, where they established coffee and
sugar plantations, to the great advantage of these countries. Some of
the most prominent families of Cuba to-day are descendants of families
which left Santo Domingo at this time.
Toussaint tried to stem the tide of emigration by issuing conciliatory
proclamations; but when he found his efforts in vain, it is claimed
that he conceived the idea of a general massacre of the whites
remaining in the capital. He ordered the entire population, without
distinction of age or sex to gather on the plaza and the men, women
and children to be separated into different groups, the whole plaza
being surrounded by strong forces of cavalry. Appearing before the
terrified people Toussaint declared slavery abolished and began to
walk up and down and ask the women in broken Spanish whether they were
French or Spanish, touching them with his cane in an ever more
insolent manner. It was too much for one high-spirited young woman,
who commenced to upbraid him for daring to touch her. At this critical
moment a severe storm, that had been gathering since he appeared on
the plaza, broke, and Toussaint, apparently regarding it as a sign of
divine disapproval, ordered the children removed, then permitted the
women to retire and finally sent the soldiers to their barracks,
leaving the men to disperse of themselves.
Toussaint divided the Spanish part of the island into two departments,
making his brother Paul l'Ouverture governor of the south with
headquarters at Santo Domingo and General Clervaux governor of the
Cibao, with headquarters at Santiago. He then made a journey through
the country, being everywhere received by the frightened inhabitants
with every mark of distinction. Upon his return to the French section
he promulgated, in July, 1801, a constitution for the island, by which
he was declared governor for life and commander-in-chief, with the
right of appointing his successor and with an annual salary of 300,00
francs. At the same time he confiscated the property of persons who
had emigrated.
Toussaint's constitution was a challenge to Napoleon Bonaparte, who
having temporarily made peace with England, determined to reestablish
French authority in the island. He accordingly dispatched to Santo
Domingo a fleet with a well-equipped army of 25,000 men under his
brother-in-law, General Le Clerc. Upon arriving in Samana Bay the
force was divided into several bodies which were to operate in
different parts of the island. The reconquest of the Spanish part was
confided to Generals Kerverseau and Ferrand.
General Ferrand landed in Monte Cristi and without difficulty took
possession of the Cibao while the colored chief, Clervaux, knowing the
hostility of the population toward him, retired without giving battle.
General Kerverseau took Samana by assault and then sailed for Santo
Domingo City. The negro Governor Paul l'Ouverture prepared to resist,
but a brave Dominican, Colonel Juan Baron, organized an
insurrectionary force and placed himself in communication with
Kerverseau. The first attempt at uprising was a failure, as his plans
were betrayed, and a rough sea prevented the French from landing. His
enemies took the opportunity to sack the town of San Carlos, outside
the city gates, and to murder a number of Dominicans. Baron gathered a
larger force and in unison with Kerverseau demanded the surrender of
the city. Paul l'Ouverture reluctantly capitulated and the French thus
assumed command of the Spanish portion of the island, with Kerverseau
as governor. When Toussaint heard of what had occurred he ordered the
murder of a battalion of Dominican soldiers whom he had retained
as hostages.
The war waged between the French and the blacks in the old French
Colony of St. Domingue was characterized by nameless atrocities
committed on both sides. The last vestiges of former prosperity were
swept away and the country converted into a wilderness. Toussaint was
captured through treachery and died in a European prison, but yellow
fever invaded the French ranks and did great havoc. Le Clerc died, and
Rochambeau, his successor, was unable, even with reinforcements, to
hold his own. England, again at war with France, impeded further
reinforcements and actively assisted the insurgent negroes. Death by
disease and wounds made the great French army melt away, and towards
the end of 1803 the last remnant was forced off the island. On January
1, 1804, the negro generals proclaimed the island an independent
republic under the name of Haiti, one of the island's Indian names.
Jean Jacques Dessalines, a rough, illiterate negro, but of
indefatigable energy, was made governor for life, with dictatorial
powers. One of his first acts was to order the extermination of such
whites as still remained. Dessalines a year later assumed the title
of emperor.
Ferrand, the French general in the Cibao, conceived the project of
disobeying his orders to evacuate and of trying to hold Spanish Santo
Domingo for France. Finding that Kerverseau was ready to capitulate,
he determined to assume command himself, feeling sure that the French
government would approve his action, if his plans were successful. He
therefore marched to Santo Domingo City and after a few days'
parleying deposed Kerverseau, placed him aboard a vessel that carried
him to Mayaguez, in Porto Rico, and assumed the governorship.
Dessalines did not long keep him waiting. Desiring to extend his
authority over the whole island, and angered by an injudicious decree
of Ferrand, which permitted the enslaving of Haitians of over fourteen
years found beyond their frontier, he invaded the country with a horde
of 25,000 men. The population of the border towns fled before him in
terror, the very slaves remaining with their masters rather than join
him. Victorious in an engagement on the Yaque river, he laid siege to
the capital on March 5, 1805. In the meantime his lieutenant,
Christophe, overran the Cibao, sacking the towns and committing
horrors. Santiago was captured before the inhabitants had time to
flee, and a large number were murdered by the savage invaders. The
members of the municipal council were hung, naked, on the balcony of
the city hall; the people who had sought refuge in the main church
were put to the sword and their bodies mutilated; and the priest was
burnt alive in the church, the furniture of the edifice constituting
his funeral pyre.
Santo Domingo City had been placed in a state of defense and artillery
mounted on the tower of Mercedes church and the roofs of the San
Francisco and Jesuit churches. The garrison consisted of some 2,000
men, but to maintain these and the 6,000 inhabitants of the city as
well as the refugees there were only limited supplies on hand. Food
quickly ran low when, providentially, a French fleet appeared before
the city. The admiral, who thought the entire island abandoned by the
French, was delighted to find the French flag still flying and gladly
rendered assistance. A desperate sortie was made on March 28, the
twenty-third day of the siege, with such success that Dessalines
precipitately retired, abandoning his stores. The main body of the
Haitians retreated by way of the Cibao, the others through the south,
all devastating the country as far as they could. Azua, San José de
las Matas, Monte Plata, Cotui, San Francisco de Macoris, La Vega,
Santiago and Monte Cristi were reduced to ashes. In Moca 500
inhabitants, deceived by the promises of Christophe, returned from
their hiding places in the hills and assembled for divine service in
the parish church, where they were butchered by the negro soldiers. In
La Vega and Santiago the Haitian troops made prisoners of numerous
families, aggregating 900 persons among men, women and children in La
Vega and probably more in Santiago, and forced them to accompany the
army to northern Haiti, where they were kept in captivity, working
practically as slaves for their captors, for four years. The march was
full of horrors for the poor prisoners, who were prohibited from
wearing hats or shoes and were brutally treated by their guards.
As a civil administrator Ferrand did excellent work. He encouraged the
resettlement of the abandoned fields, persuaded emigrated families to
return, established schools and began to build water-works for the
capital, a work which he nearly completed, but which was abandoned by
his successors and has never been realized in the century that has
since transpired. Napoleon on hearing of Ferrand's conduct not only
approved everything he had done but sent him the cross of the Legion
of Honor and financial assistance. Ferrand was especially impressed
with the importance of Samana Bay and made plans for a city to be
located west of the town of Samana, to which he intended to give the
name of Napoleon. The peaceful conditions to which the country
returned were only troubled by British vessels which occasionally
attempted to establish blockades. On February 6, 1806, a British
squadron of eight vessels under Sir John Duckworth badly defeated a
French squadron, also of eight vessels, in a hotly contested fight off
Point Palenque to the southwest of Santo Domingo City.
Although Ferrand was personally liked, discontent began to brew in the
country. The inhabitants were loyal to Spain and chafed under foreign
rule; many believed there was danger of Haitian invasion so long as
the French remained; certain tax exactions stirred up animosity; and
the stories of Spain's resistance to Napoleon's aggressions inflamed
the spirits of the leading men. Conspiracies ensued, fomented
principally by a Cotui planter named Juan Sanchez Ramirez, who had
emigrated in 1803, but returned after four years of exile, and the
Spanish flag was formally raised in Seibo in October, 1808. Ferrand
immediately set out to quell the uprising and on November 7, 1808, met
Sanchez Ramirez at Palo Hincado, about two miles west of Seibo. He was
vigorously attacked by the revolutionists, his native troops deserted,
and his other troops were cut to pieces. Seeing that all was lost and
that all his work was ruined, Ferrand blew out his brains with
a pistol.
The revolutionists received assistance from the governor-general of
Porto Rico and from their former enemy Christophe, who had made
himself king of northern Haiti; a British squadron took Samana, the
only post held by the French outside of Santo Domingo City, and raised
the Spanish flag; and Sanchez Ramirez laid siege to the capital, where
the French general Barquier had assumed command, while British vessels
blockaded it by sea. The siege lasted almost nine months, during which
the besieged suffered greatly from want of provisions, being reduced
to eating dogs and cats, and the surrounding country was devastated by
sorties and foraging parties. The severest fighting took place about
San Geronimo castle, on the shore three miles west of the city, which
was taken and retaken. In the sixth and seventh months of the siege
the city was repeatedly bombarded from land and sea, but without
result. At length Sanchez applied to the governor of Jamaica and a
British force under Sir Hugh Lyle Carmichael was sent to his
assistance. It landed at Palenque and took up a position in San
Carlos. A general assault had been determined upon, when the brave
little defender of the city, realizing the hopelessness of further
resistance, agreed to capitulate to the English. On July 9, 1809, the
French flag was lowered and the country again became a dependency of
Spain, and in 1814 Spain's dominion was confirmed by the treaty
of Paris.
Spain had been busy fighting the French within her own borders, and
when normal conditions were restored had her hands full in keeping
order and in trying to bring her revolting colonies of America back to
obedience. She had little time for affairs in Santo Domingo, and did
nothing to ameliorate conditions. The colony was left to vegetate in
absolute poverty. This second Spanish era came to be known as the
period of "Espana boba," "stupid Spain," as the home government
remained so indifferent to the colony's affairs. The only redeeming
feature was the return of a number of exiled families. Sanchez
Ramirez, who had been proclaimed governor-general, was confirmed in
the office and held the same until his death in 1811, being succeeded
by Spanish military officers.
In the first years of the new Spanish colony there was an undefined
attempt at uprising on the part of a few white hotheads, and an
attempt to incite the slaves against their masters on the part of a
few black ones, but in both cases the ringleaders were captured and
put to death. The great struggle for independence in South America
gradually influenced the minds of the inhabitants of Santo Domingo;
Bolivar's brief visit to Haiti also had its effect, and secret
separatist societies began to be founded. In the beginning of 1821 a
conspiracy was discovered and numerous arrests made. Plotting
continued nevertheless, stimulated by a prominent lawyer, José Nuñez
de Caceres, who dreamed of making the country a state of Bolivar's
Colombian Republic. On the night of November 30, 1821, the conspiracy
culminated in an uprising in the capital; most of the troops had been
won over to the cause of independence and offered no resistance; the
rest were taken by surprise; and the revolutionists without difficulty
made themselves masters of the gateway "Puerta del Conde" and of the
other gates and forts. The Spanish governor was placed under arrest
and put aboard a vessel sailing for Europe, and the Colombian flag was
raised. Public proclamation was made of the independent and sovereign
State of Spanish Haiti, affiliated with the Republic of Colombia, and
José Nuñez de Caceres assumed the office of political governor and
president of the State, while the provincial assembly became a
provisional junta of government.
The State of Spanish Haiti lasted barely nine weeks. An emissary sent
to Colombia for assistance in maintaining independence was
unsuccessful. Another emissary sent to President Boyer of Haiti, for
the negotiation of a treaty, brought back the answer that "the whole
island should constitute a single republic under the flag of Haiti."
For several years Boyer, a dark mulatto, who had united Haiti under
his rule, had been endeavoring to influence the colored people on the
Spanish side of the border, to such an extent that the activities of
his agents repeatedly provoked protests from the Spanish governors,
and he now recognized that his opportunity had come. Invading the
country in the north and south his forces captured the most important
points. He met with no resistance, due to the fact that the temporary
government was entirely unprepared, that the population feared a
repetition of the horrors of 1805, and that many were in sympathy with
him while others were indifferent. On February 9, 1822, Nuñez de
Caceres was obliged to deliver the keys of Santo Domingo City to the
invader and the whole island came under the dominion of Haiti.
The twenty-two years of Haitian rule marked a period of social and
economic retrogression for the old Spanish portion of the island. Most
of the whites, especially the more prominent families, the principal
representatives of the community's wealth and culture, definitely
abandoned the country, some immediately upon the advent of the
Haitians, others in 1824, when a hopeless conspiracy in favor of a
restoration of Spanish rule was quenched in blood, and others in 1830,
when a quixotic demand of the Spanish king for a return of his domain
was refused by Boyer. The Haitians, anxious to eliminate the whites,
encouraged such emigration and confiscated the property left by the
emigrants. The policy of the Haitian government was to build up a
strong African state in the whole island, and in pursuance of this
policy it emancipated all slaves, colonized Haitian negroes on the
Samana peninsula and in other parts of the Spanish-speaking territory
and brought in colored people from the United States. Some of these
remained in Puerto Plata, others in Santo Domingo City, but the larger
number settled on the Samana peninsula, where their descendants still
form the bulk of the population. Every effort was made to Haitianize
the country by extending the Haitian laws, and imposing Haitian
governors. Representation was also accorded in the Haitian congress.
In 1825 the French government recognized the independence of the
French part of the island in consideration of the payment of an
indemnity, toward which the Haitians forced the Spanish part to
contribute.
The wanton acts of the Haitian authorities, their hostility to whites
and lighter colored mulattoes, their opposition to the Spanish
language and customs, and their neglect of the country's development,
caused much discontent, and the idea of separating from Haiti began to
be entertained. An enthusiastic young man, Juan Pablo Duarte, who had
been educated in Europe, in 1838 founded a secret revolutionary
society, called "La Trinitaria," to work for the country's
independence. In May, 1842, an earthquake destroyed Santiago and La
Vega, as well as Cape Haitien and other towns in the western part of
the island, and with lesser earthquakes which followed caused a panic
throughout the country, which in turn made conditions more favorable
for a change of government.
In the meantime opposition to Boyer had spread in Haiti also, and in
1843 gave rise to a revolution, as a result of which Boyer was driven
from the country and Charles Hérard installed as dictator-president.
Duarte redoubled his activities for independence, struggling against
the opinion of many who thought such an aspiration hopeless, but his
plans were discovered and he and others obliged to flee. His work had
been well done, however; his ideas continued to spread, and it was
determined to proclaim the independence of Santo Domingo on February
27, 1844. Late that night a large group of Dominicans under Francisco
del Rosario Sanchez appeared at the principal gateway of Santo Domingo
City, "Puerta del Conde," and received the surrender of the guard, and
on the following morning the Dominican flag, as designed by Duarte,
was waving over the gate.
Dessalines, the emperor of Haiti, had adopted red and blue, two of the
colors of the French Republic's flag, for the flag of Haiti, leaving
out white, because to this hated color he attributed all the
misfortunes of his country and his race. Duarte took the Haitian
colors, arranged them in four alternate squares and placed a white
cross in the center to signify the union of the races through
Christianity and civilization.
The other points of vantage were quickly occupied and the Haitian
general, finding himself shut up in the fort "La Fuerza" without hope
of successful resistance, surrendered and was permitted to withdraw
with his officers. On the same day or within a few days afterward the
flag of the new republic was raised in every town of the old Spanish
colony of Santo Domingo, except certain towns in the west which are
still in possession of the Haitians, and the country entered upon the
period of independence.
CHAPTER IV
HISTORICAL SKETCH.--FIRST REPUBLIC AND SPANISH ANNEXATION.--1844 TO
1865.
Constitution of the government.--Santana's first administration.--Wars
with the Haitians.--Administration of Jimenez.--Victory of Las
Carreras.--Baez' first administration.--Santana's second
administration.--Repulse of Soulouque.--Baez' second administration.
--Period of the two governments.--Santana's third administration.
--Annexation negotiations.--Annexation to Spain.--War of the
Restoration.
Immediately upon the declaration of independence a central council of
government was formed for the provisional administration of the
country's affairs. The new republic assumed the name of Dominican
Republic and the people were thenceforth known as Dominicans. The
first business before the central council of government was to prepare
for the defense of the territory against the Haitian president,
Hérard, who was advancing with an army to reestablish his authority.
An encounter took place near Azua, in which the Dominican forces,
under General Pedro Santana, were victorious, but instead of following
up his victory, Santana fell back on Bani and permitted the enemy to
occupy Azua. In the meantime another Haitian army was advancing in the
north. In the midst of his operations Hérard was interrupted by the
news of a revolutionary movement against him in Haitian territory, and
hastily recalling his troops, retired to combat it, burning Azua and
devastating the country through which he passed.
Many prominent Dominicans were in doubt as to whether the republic
would be able to maintain a stable government and resist the
incursions of the Haitians, and believed that the best course for the
safety and prosperity of the country would be to seek the protection
of a foreign power. These men, who came to be known as conservatives
and who counted Santana among their number, began to spread their
doctrines and were bitterly opposed by a different element, calling
themselves liberals, among whom were Duarte, returned from exile, and
the members of the central council of government. A number of
prominent conservatives were obliged to go into hiding in order to
escape imprisonment, and the central council of government appointed
Duarte its representative in the north and ordered that General
Francisco del Rosario Sanchez supersede Santana in command of the
troops in the south. Duarte was proclaimed president of the republic
by the people of the north, but Santana's soldiers refusing to
recognize any other leader, marched on the capital, which they entered
on July 12, 1844, and deposed the central council of government,
declaring Santana chief of state with dictatorial powers. Thus the
unhappy series of revolutions which have done such harm to the
Dominican Republic was inaugurated within five months after the
declaration of independence.
Santana organized a new central council of government and sent
emissaries to the Cibao, or northern part of the republic, where he
won over the army and the principal leaders. Duarte, Sanchez and
others who had risked their lives and spent their fortunes in behalf
of Dominican independence were arrested, imprisoned in irons in the
ancient "Tower of Homage" of Santo Domingo and exiled as traitors to
their country!
A constitutional convention was called, which met at San Cristobal
and drafted the first constitution of the Republic, taking the
constitution of the United States as a model. It was promulgated on
November 6, 1844. In accordance with a provision of the constitution
that the convention elect the president for the first two terms,
General Santana was chosen, as was to be expected. General Pedro
Santana, who thus became the first constitutional president, was a
rough, uncouth and uneducated man, but possessed of keen perception
and great personal bravery. He had a strong strain of negro and
probably also of Indian blood. Born in Hincha, he had left his native
town during the troubles of the early part of the century and settled
in the province of Seibo, where he acquired an ascendency over the
population that made him a kind of local demigod.
Conspiracies against Santana's government were immediately set on foot
by the liberals, but were discovered and three ringleaders were
executed on the first anniversary of the Republic's independence. In
the spring of 1845 the first Congress met and proceeded to organize
the government.
In the meantime a guerilla warfare had been going on with the Haitians
along the border, and President Pierrot, who had overthrown Hérard,
was preparing to invade the Dominican Republic. His two armies were at
first successful and captured several border towns, but that which
entered in the south was repulsed at Estrelleta, while that which
invaded the north was defeated at Beler. A small Haitian fleet which
set out to attack Puerto Plata blundered on a shoal where it was left
high and dry and captured by the Dominicans.
Steps were now taken to secure the recognition of the republic by
foreign powers. The government soon found itself in financial
difficulties, as it was expensive to maintain the country in a state
of defense against the Haitians, and an issue of paper money without
sufficient guarantees made matters worse. Revolutionary mutterings
were heard, and though a number of leaders were shot, the public
discontent grew greater and more apparent. Santana comprehended the
situation and determined to resign the presidency, which he did on
August 4, 1848. The cabinet officers temporarily carried on the
government and called an election, as a result of which General Manuel
Jimenez, who had fought the Haitians and had been secretary of war
under Santana, was declared president, entering upon office on
September 8, 1848.
In his efforts to face the economic troubles of the government Jimenez
disbanded part of the army and reduced military expenses. The moment
was inopportune, for the implacable Haitians, who continued to
consider Santo Domingo as Haitian territory in revolt, were preparing
for another invasion. Soulouque, who had attained the presidency of
the black republic, made a sudden incursion and marched victoriously
as far as Azua. The Dominican government observed a vacillating policy
which provoked general distrust and protests from the friends of
Santana, whose partisans in the Congress called on him to take command
of the army. Jimenez at first demurred but finally consented, and
Santana, emerging from retirement, collected a few hundred ragged
troops at Sabana Buey, near Azua. Soulouque attempted to move eastward
by way of the canon of El Número, but was prevented by a Dominican
force under General Duvergé; he then tried the pass of Las Carreras
and was met and utterly defeated on April 21, 1849, by General
Santana. The Haitians retreated to their own territory, burning Azua
and other towns on the way. Quarrels between President Jimenez and
Congress continued meanwhile, and his opponents induced the army to
declare itself against the president and request General Santana "not
to lay down his arms until a government was established which would
respect the constitution and the laws and forever banish discord from
Dominican soil." The Congress called the president to appear before
it, and some of the officers of his staff, hearing him harshly
criticised, drew swords and pistols to punish the offending
congressman, and only the energy of the speaker, Buenaventura Baez,
averted a bloody conflict. Congress adjourned to San Cristobal, the
most important towns of the country rose against the administration,
and Santana laid siege to the capital. After the siege had lasted a
week, and the suburban town of San Carlos had been destroyed by fire,
President Jimenez yielded to the arguments of the British, French and
American consuls and agreed to resign the presidency and leave the
country on a British warship. Santana entered the city at the head of
his army on May 30, 1849, and assumed the reins of government, one of
his first measures being a wholesale expulsion of Jimenez followers.
He was crowned with honors by Congress and given the title of
"Libertador."
The electoral college having been convened, Santiago Espaillat was
chosen president, but refused to accept, realizing that Santana would
expect to manage him as a puppet. Colonel Buenaventura Baez was then
chosen and on December 24,1849, entered upon his first term as
president of the Dominican Republic.
Baez, who was to play a leading part in the history of his country
during the next thirty years, was the antithesis of Santana in manners
and education. Born in Azua in 1812, the oldest of a family of seven
children, his father had sent him to Europe to study and he returned
one of the most polished and best educated Dominicans of his day.
Under Haitian rule he was a member of the Haitian congress and of one
of the Haitian constitutional assemblies. Almost white himself, he
here distinguished himself by his boldness in opposing measures
restricting the rights of whites in Haiti. After the declaration of
independence of Santo Domingo he was a member of the first
constitutional assembly and speaker of the first congress, being
elected from the province of Azua, where his influence was similar to
that enjoyed by Santana in Seibo. Until he became president he was a
close friend of Santana.
Baez determined to take the offensive against Haiti, and a small naval
campaign was undertaken in which Dominican government schooners
captured Anse-à-Pitre and one or two other villages on the southern
coast of Haiti, which were sacked and burned by the Dominicans. At the
same time Baez requested the mediation of the United States, France
and England to put an end to the struggle between Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. Soulouque, who had meanwhile proclaimed himself
Emperor of Haiti, offered to agree to peace and recognize Baez, but on
condition that the Haitian flag be raised in Santo Domingo and the
sovereignty of Haiti be admitted. His conditions were naturally
rejected by the Dominicans, and the mediating powers informed the
negro emperor that if he persisted in his plans of invading Santo
Domingo they would be obliged to impose a suspension of hostilities
for ten years. Nevertheless his forces continued to mass on the
frontiers and small bodies actually entered Dominican territory, but
were driven back. Upon the protests of the three powers Soulouque
explained the incursions as having been due to disobedience to orders,
and under pressure agreed to a truce for one year, during which
negotiations were to continue for a definite treaty of peace or an
armistice of ten years. In December, 1852, the minister of foreign
affairs of France notified Haiti that the maritime nations of Europe
were disposed to maintain the independence of Santo Domingo.
A period of peace now began which afforded a breathing-spell to the
country. Upon the expiration of Baez' four year term, Santana was
again elected president and entered upon the office on February 15,
1853. It was one of the occasions, only too rare in Dominican history,
on which a president served out his term and personally delivered up
the office to his successor.
The domineering spirit of Santana gave rise to serious dissensions. He
quarrelled with the clergy, which had been taking an active part in
politics since the declaration of independence, forced the archbishop,
under penalty of expulsion, to take the oath of allegiance to the
constitution, and banished several priests. One of the reasons for his
stand was perhaps the circumstance that Baez had sought to attract the
church. For several years Santana had become jealous of the extension
of Baez' influence and wrathful at the independent spirit displayed by
his former protegé. It soon became apparent that the retirement of
Baez was equivalent to a fall from power. In July, 1853, Santana
issued a proclamation in which he accused Baez of treason and of
playing into the hands of the Haitians, and ordered his banishment.
Baez fled from the country and answered with a fiery counter-appeal,
justifying himself and accusing Santana of despotism, whereupon the
breach between the two strong men was complete. Santana also quarrelled
with Congress and banished or shot his principal adversaries. In
1854 a constitutional convention assembled to draft a constitution
more to Santana's taste than the existing one. The presidential term
was extended to six years and the office of vice-president was
introduced, General Manuel de Regla Mota being elected to this office
when General Felipe Alfau declined it. This constitution did not last
six months, for before the end of the year Santana had it further
restricted.
Under fear of foreign complications Haiti had remained quiet for
several years, but in 1855, when England and France were engaged in
the Crimean war, the emperor Soulouque made a last determined effort
to subjugate Santo Domingo. One army advanced by way of the south,
another through the central valley; both captured the border towns and
drove the Dominican outposts before them; and both were defeated on
the same day, December 22, 1855, the southern army at Cambronal, near
Neiba, by a Dominican force under General Sosa, and the other on the
savanna of Santomé, by a force under General José Maria Cabral. Not to
be deterred, Soulouque rallied his men within Haitian territory, shot
a few of his generals, and, believing all the Dominican forces
collected in the south, marched north to invade the Cibao. Here he was
met by another band of Dominicans at Sabana Larga and again defeated,
retreating precipitately to his dominions. It was the last Haitian
invasion, but Haiti did not formally recognize the independence of the
Dominican Republic until 1874.
The harsh measures of Santana had provoked general dissatisfaction and
the friends of Baez seized the opportunity to conspire in his favor.
Santana realized that the days of his government were numbered, and
resigned the presidency as he had done in 1849, retiring to his farm
near Seibo. Manuel de Regla Mota, the vice-president, thereupon on
March 26, 1856, became president. Baez soon after arrived in the
country and was elected vice-president; thereupon Regla Mota resigned
as president and Baez thus slid into the presidency in a perfectly
legal manner.
The second administration of Baez opened with a revolution against him
in the Neiba district, which was promptly put down. Baez then had
Santana arrested and exiled, feeling uncomfortable while his former
chief remained in the country. But he was not destined to have peace.
An ill-considered issue of more paper money, when the rate of exchange
with gold was already fifty to one, created indignation in the tobacco
region of the Cibao and on July 7, 1857, Santiago declared itself in
revolution. The movement rapidly spread, a provisional government was
set up in the Cibao, the forces of Baez were repulsed, and soon the
president held only Santo Domingo City and Samana. The revolutionists
called a constitutional convention which met at Moca and in February,
1858, promulgated another constitution, designating Santiago as the
capital. An election was held in the midst of the war and General José
Desiderio Valverde was declared elected president. For months there
were thus two governments in the country. The revolutionists began the
siege of Santo Domingo City towards the end of July, 1857, and later
Santana arrived and took charge of military operations. There were
frequent artillery duels, the fourteenth anniversary of Dominican
independence, February 27, 1858, being celebrated by a cannonade along
the Ozama River lasting all day. Fortunately the most distinctive
feature of the combats was the noise, but the Baez family suffered,
two of the president's brothers being killed in the war. Baez held out
for eleven months, but after the fall of Samana and when Santo
Domingo was reduced to starvation he at length yielded to the
entreaties of the foreign consuls and capitulated on June 12, 1858. As
soon as he had embarked for Curaçao, General Santana marched into the
city with the victorious army.
It was not compatible with Santana's character to be subordinate to
anyone else, and by the end of July he had with the government
at Santiago and set up a government of his own "in order
that the lovers of liberty be not disquieted, in order that peace
prevail, and in order that the nation be saved," as he said in his
proclamation. The Santiago government attempted to resist but was
overcome and its members banished. Santana declared the constitution
of December, 1854, in force again and called an election at which he
was, of course, chosen president, taking the oath of office on January
31, 1859. He thereupon crushed a revolution in Azua, executing the
leaders. As the large amount of paper in circulation caused
difficulties, he coolly repudiated the greater part, upon which a
number of European countries temporarily broke off diplomatic
relations because of the injury done their citizens and forced him to
retire the paper by issuing in lieu thereof certificates acceptable
for customs dues. This trouble removed, he devoted himself to securing
the annexation of Santo Domingo to Spain.
From the earliest days of the Dominican Republic the most prominent
men had believed that the happiness of the country depended upon
securing the protection of a strong power, capable of preserving
order, and the years of warfare confirmed them in their opinion. The
hope of remaining in power was also an incentive to the party which
happened to be in control. Spain and France were preferred, for
reasons of identity or similarity of language, customs and religion.
Many also favored the United States, but while the republican form of
government and the probability of commercial advantages were
attractions, the existence of slavery and of prejudice against the
colored race inspired misgivings. As early as 1843, even before the
declaration of independence, an attempt was made to secure a French
protectorate, and during the first war with Haiti, Santana continued
the negotiations. In 1846 an attempt was made to obtain a Spanish
protectorate. In 1849 President Baez in his message to Congress
referred to the advisability of "hastening a solution of the matter by
obtaining the intervention and protection of a strong nation which
would offer the most advantageous terms, for on this depends public
prosperity."
On October 18, 1849, the Dominican minister of foreign affairs in a
note to the French consul, stated that "the present situation of the
country and the barbarous wars with the Haitians, obliged him to beg,
in the name of his government, that the government of France give a
definite solution to the important matter of the protectorate; and if
the decision of France should unfortunately be in the negative, that
it at least be not deferred too long to prevent him from addressing
himself to the special representative of the United States, who had
just arrived." The United States was mentioned as a bogey, for when
France declined, the Dominican government stated that it could not
consider the negative as final and appealed to the French sentiments
of humanity. In 1854 another strong attempt was made to secure a
Spanish protectorate. Neither France nor Spain was anxious to annex a
hornet's nest, and Spain was fearful that any uprising against her
authority would find an echo in Cuba and Porto Rico. In 1855
negotiations were opened with General William L. Cazneau, special
agent of President Pierce, for the lease of the Samana peninsula to
the United States, and in the following year Captain (later
Major-General) George B. McClellan, of the United States Army, made an
examination of Samana Bay. Nothing came of this matter owing to
opposition by foreign powers and the fall of the Santana government.
Most annexation negotiations were secret, as the opponents of the
party that happened to be in power never failed to stigmatize them as
treasonable.
The fear of American influence was one of the reasons given by the
Haitian emperor Soulouque for his invasion of 1855, and for an
invitation issued by him in 1858 to the Dominican people, calling upon
them to return to the Haitian flag. It had its influence on the
Spanish government also, which began to look more kindly upon
annexation propositions and agreed to furnish arms, ammunition and
military instructors to Santo Domingo. In 1860 Santana addressed
himself directly to the Queen of Spain, and proposed a closer union.
Bases for annexation were drawn up, founded "on the free and
spontaneous wish of the Dominican people." Santana was careful to win
over the local military chiefs to his ideas. His opponents vainly
combatted the proposition from Curaçao and from Haiti, which was now a
republic again.
On March 18, 1861, the people of the capital assembled on the main
plaza pursuant to a call issued on the day before, General Santana and
the members of his government appeared on the gallery of the palace of
justice, a document was read to the public proclaiming the
reincorporation of the country as a part of the Spanish dominions, and
thereupon the red and gold flag of Spain was raised on the fort and on
the gate "Puerta del Conde" and saluted with 101 guns. On the same day
and during the week following, the Spanish flag was raised with
similar ceremonies in most of the other towns. A few days later
Spanish troops were disembarked at different points. Santana was
appointed governor and captain-general of the colony, with the rank of
lieutenant-general in the Spanish army.
The Dominican conspirators in Haiti, comprising General Sanchez and
others who had distinguished themselves in securing independence for
their country, crossed the boundary and endeavored to stir up an
insurrection, but with such misfortune that they were surrounded and
the majority captured. Santana ordered the prisoners shot and twenty
were executed on July 4, 1861, notwithstanding the protests of General
Pelaez, the Spanish officer second in command. The act provoked
bitterness against Spain and made the men so killed martyrs in the
eyes of their countrymen. It also marked the beginning of strained
relations between Santana and Pelaez, made worse by Santana's
arrogance. The friction resulted in Santana's resignation on January
7, 1862. He evidently hoped the queen would ask him to reconsider and
give him carte blanche in Dominican affairs, but the resignation was
accepted, though sweetened by the grant to him of the title of Marques
de las Carreras and a life pension of $12,000 per annum. His
successors in the governorship were high officers of the Spanish army.
Discontent was not slow in spreading among the people. Injudicious
measures enacted by the Spanish authorities, the importation of hordes
of foreign officials, the overbearing manners of several local Spanish
commanders, increases in the budget, intolerance on the part of the
Spanish priests, and the natural unrest of the Dominicans, all
combined to give rise to small revolts which were put down, until, on
August 16, 1863, a farmer named Cabrera with a small band of
followers, at Capotillo, near Guayubin in the Cibao, began an
insurrection which quickly became general and is known in Dominican
history as the War of the Restoration. The Spanish forces of the Cibao
valley were obliged to concentrate in Fort San Luis, at Santiago de
los Caballeros, where they were besieged by the insurgents. The
Dominicans also captured Puerto Plata, but the city was retaken by
Spanish troops from Cuba. Reinforcements were sent to the besieged
garrison of Santiago, and in the fight which the Dominicans made to
prevent the joining of the Spanish forces, the city of Santiago was
set on fire and reduced to ashes. The Spaniards determined to evacuate
the place, and marched down to the coast, being constantly harassed by
Dominican guerillas, so that they lost over a thousand men before
reaching Puerto Plata. The Dominicans established a provisional
government with its capital at Santiago and the country continued to
be devastated with fire and sword.
General Santana was given command of a Spanish force to put down the
insurrection in the east, but insisting on carrying out his own plan
of campaign, he disobeyed orders and so rudely answered the
governor-general's remonstrances that he was summarily removed from
his position. In high dudgeon he retired to the capital, and it is
stated that the governor intended to ship him off to Cuba; but on June
14, 1864, he suddenly died, after an illness of only a few hours.
If the Spaniards had displayed energy in opposing the revolutionists
they would probably have carried off the victory, but the whole number
of their troops on the island available for military service at any
one time rarely reached eight thousand men. A campaign in the Monte
Cristi district which might have ended the war was rendered sterile
by the lack of troops. Finally the Spaniards, unable to garrison the
towns they won, were reduced to the possession of Santo Domingo City
and a few other places near the seacoast, all practically in a state
of siege. Meanwhile the military operations were costing the home
government large sums of money, and it became evident that, owing to
the failure to strike at the right time, the subjugation of the
country would entail enormous expenditures. Political conditions in
Spain were not favorable to such a war of conquest, and the Spanish
government determined to withdraw from Santo Domingo, alleging that
Spain had taken possession only because she believed the Dominicans
were anxious for annexation but that she did not wish to remain
against their will. Possible complications with the United States,
just emerging from the Civil War, were probably also taken into
account. On May 1, 1865, the Queen of Spain sanctioned a law of the
Spanish Cortes providing for the relinquishment of the colony. The
Spanish forces were brought together at Santo Domingo City, and on
July 11, 1865, after the guns in the forts had been spiked and the
military stores on hand had been destroyed, the troops and the
authorities embarked in a fleet assembled for that purpose and the
Spanish flag was lowered, for the last time, in Santo Domingo.
CHAPTER V
HISTORICAL SKETCH.--SECOND REPUBLIC.--REVOLUTIONS AND
DICTATORSHIPS.--1863 TO 1904.
Restoration of the republic.--Military presidents.--Cabral's
administration.--Baez' fourth administration.--Annexation negotiations
with the United States.--Civil wars.--Heureaux's rule.--Administrations
of Jimenez, Vasquez and Woss y Gil.--Election of Morales.
From the very beginning of the War of the Restoration and for several
years afterwards, the principal Dominican military chiefs were engaged
in a disgraceful squabble for leadership. As soon as the Spanish
forces retired from Santiago the revolutionists, on September 14,
1863, proclaimed the restoration of the republic and set up a
provisional government under the presidency of General José Antonio
Salcedo. The other generals accused Salcedo of lack of energy in
pushing the war and on October 10, 1864, deposed him and made General
Gaspar Polanco president in his stead. Poor Salcedo tried to resist,
but was captured, hurried by a friend from one camp to another to keep
him from being shot, and at last foully murdered. Polanco did not
enjoy his triumph long. A reaction set in, a revolution was initiated
against him, his troops deserted, he was captured and imprisoned, and
on January 24, 1865, a superior council of government was formed by
the insurgents, presided over by General Benigno Filomeno de Rojas.
The council called a constitutional convention which proclaimed the
constitution of Moca of 1858 and in March, 1865, elected General Pedro
Antonio Pimentel president. It was he who entered Santo Domingo City
after the evacuation by the Spaniards.
Hardly had the evacuation taken place when Generals Cabral and
Manzueta raised an insurrection which overthrew Pimentel's government
while he was absent on the Haitian border, and General José Maria
Cabral, an educated mulatto, was proclaimed Protector of the Republic.
Cabral had formerly been one of the most enthusiastic followers of
Baez but it soon became evident that he was working for himself. He
convoked a constitutional assembly which was convening when General
Pedro Guillermo rose in the east and proclaimed General Buenaventura
Baez president. The movement was successful and the Congress,
completely convinced by the sight of a sword unsheathed in its
presence by one of the victorious generals, elected Baez to the
presidency.
Since his overthrow in 1858 Baez had been in exile, but he had
accepted Spanish sovereignty and the rank of fieldmarshal in the
Spanish army. On the outbreak of the War of the Restoration, he sent
Cabral to join the Dominican forces as his representative. He was now
living in Curaçao and a commission journeyed there to invite him back
to Santo Domingo, a council inaugurated on October 25, 1865, meanwhile
taking charge. A new constitution was drafted and promulgated on
November 14, 1865, and on the same day Baez entered upon his office.
Neither he nor the constitution lasted long. The constitution being
too liberal, he had it abrogated on April 19, 1866, and Santana's
constitution of December 16, 1854, was adopted in its stead. This
action was the excuse for an insurrection which broke out in Santiago
on May 1, 1866, under the leadership of Pimentel in combination with
Cabral, and quickly assumed such alarming proportions that Baez found
it prudent to resign before the end of the month and retire
to Curaçao.
As usual a constitutional assembly was called, and a new constitution
was promulgated on September 26, 1866. An election was held and Cabral
chosen president by a practically unanimous vote. Nevertheless his
government had scarcely a day's peace from insurrections. It found
time, however, to resume amicable relations with Spain, to make a
commercial treaty with the United States and to found a professional
institute. Other relations with the United States were also planned;
for as Spain and France were eliminated from the annexation idea and
the United States had abolished slavery, this country was looked upon
with greater favor. The cost of the government's military activities
was such that a strong attempt was made to lease Samana Bay to the
United States for two million dollars; but as complete control was not
offered the plan fell through. Later a special commissioner was sent
to Washington to negotiate for the absolute lease of the Samana
peninsula and Samana Bay, which negotiations were the prelude to the
later annexation negotiations, but they were interrupted by a
revolution in favor of Baez which broke out in Monte Cristi on October
7, 1867. and deposed Cabral on January 31, 1868. A council of generals
administered affairs until Baez took charge for the fourth time, on
May 4, 1868.
In accordance with established usage, the existing constitution was
abrogated and Baez' pet constitution, that of December, 1854, placed
in force, but with amendments. Baez then began to rule with a firm
hand, and though occasionally bothered by small uprisings on the
Haitian border, promoted by Cabral, Luperon and other unruly spirits,
managed to sustain himself in power for almost his full term of six
years. He was able to realize what had been the golden dream of
administrations since the birth of the Republic, the contracting of a
foreign loan. Hartmont & Co., a firm of London bankers, agreed to
issue bonds of the Republic to the amount of £757,700, though at a
ruinous rate, and actually paid over £38,095. The dream turned to a
nightmare, for when the government annulled the contract on the ground
of failure to comply with conditions, the bankers continued to issue
bonds and kept the proceeds themselves; and the bonds thus
fraudulently issued constituted the nucleus of the enormous debt which
later led to American intervention.
Though Baez had, for political reasons, protested against Cabral's
negotiations with the United States, he was too sagacious a statesman
to fail to recognize the value of American protection. It was now
Cabral's turn to indulge in tirades full of patriotic indignation, for
Baez actively pursued negotiations for the annexation of the country
to the United States. On November 29, 1869, two treaties were signed
in Santo Domingo City by representatives of the American and Dominican
governments: by one the Samana peninsula and Samana Bay were leased to
the United States for fifty years at an annual rental of $150,000, and
by the other the Dominican Republic was annexed to the United States.
Baez submitted the annexation treaty to a plebiscite in his country in
February, 1870, and an overwhelming vote was cast in favor thereof.
While the adversaries of the treaty did not dare to oppose it actively
within the country, it is probable that the vote represented the true
sentiment of the Dominican people, for aside from the evident economic
advantages of annexation, the influence of Baez was such that the
people were ready to follow blindly whatever he advised. Both
treaties lapsed, but the annexation treaty was renewed and President
Grant in his messages to Congress strongly urged its passage. Powerful
opposition developed in the United States Senate, led by Senator
Sumner, and the treaty failed of ratification. By a resolution of
Congress, approved January 12, 1871, the President of the United
States was authorized to send a commission of inquiry to Santo
Domingo. President Grant appointed three eminent men, Benjamin F.
Wade, Andrew D. White and Samuel G. Howe, who were assisted by
Frederick Douglas, Major-General Franz Sigel and a number of
scientists. The commission proceeded to Santo Domingo, travelled
across the country in several directions and made an extensive report,
which is still an important source of information as to the
characteristics of the island. The commission's report was transmitted
to Congress, and President Grant made another earnest plea for the
annexation of Santo Domingo. Congress took no further action, however,
and the United States thus deliberately rejected an opportunity to
obtain control of a most important strategical position and to secure
peace and prosperity to the Dominican people.
It is interesting to speculate on what the future of Santo Domingo
would have been if annexation had been realized. The power of the
United States would have maintained peace; salutary laws would have
educated the people in self-government; liberal tariff concessions
would have stimulated agriculture and industry; the influx of a good
stock of immigrants would have developed and settled the interior;
honest administration would have provided roads and schools, and soon
the country would have attained a high degree of development and
prosperity. The failure of the United States to extend a helping hand
condemned Santo Domingo to long years of anarchy and dictatorships.
When it became apparent that nothing would come of the annexation
plans, the Baez administration, on December 28, 1872, rented the
Samana peninsula to an American corporation, the "Samana Bay Company,"
for ninety-nine years, at an annual rental of $150,000. The company,
which intended to found a large city on Samana Bay, actually paid the
sum of $147,229.91, the greater part in gold and the remainder in arms
and ammunition. This payment, with that received on account of the
Hartmont bonds, and with the higher customs receipts due to quiet
conditions, afforded relief to the treasury; while peace brought the
country a prosperity further increased by the immigration of numerous
Cubans driven from their homes by the ten years' war that had begun
in 1869.
President Baez did not lose hope in the ultimate realization of
annexation, and it was also his intention to have himself reelected
for another term of six years. These circumstances were used against
him by his ambitious enemies, and on November 25, 1873, a revolution
broke out in Puerto Plata which spread so rapidly that Baez was
obliged to capitulate on December 31 of the same year. A new
generation, grown up since the independence of the country and which
had come to look upon civil disorder as a normal condition, now came
into power, and the question of foreign annexation ceased to be
an issue.
A period of constant revolutionary ferment and frequent changes of the
constitution followed, with a wearisome succession of military
presidents. General Ignacio Maria Gonzalez became provisional
president in 1874, took advantage of the non-payment of an annuity by
the Samana Bay Company to rescind the contract with the company,
called a national assembly, which formulated the constitution of March
24, 1874, and had himself elected president, entering upon office on
April 6 of that year. As the constitution did not suit him, he called
a new national convention and had another constitution promulgated on
March 9, 1875. This was too much even for Santo Domingo, and his
enemies formed a powerful league in Santiago with a view to having him
impeached, but the Congress rejected the charges. Another civil war
was imminent when Gonzalez resigned on February 23, 1876.
The council of ministers took charge of the government and held an
election at which Ulises F. Espaillat was designated president. He
entered upon office on April 29, 1876, and as he was an excellent man
would have given a good account of himself under different conditions;
but General Gonzalez started a revolution on the Haitian frontier, and
on October 5, 1876, Espaillat was ousted. A superior council of
government was formed, which appointed General Gonzalez president in
the beginning of November, 1876. Gonzalez had been in power for just
one month when he was overthrown, in December, 1876, by a revolution
that originated in the Cibao, and General Buenaventura Baez became
president for the fifth time. The Republic thus had four presidents in
1876: Gonzalez twice, Espaillat and Baez. Baez called a constitutional
convention and the constitution of May 14, 1877, was promulgated.
Under the influence of the younger element he was less autocratic than
in his previous administrations, but perhaps for that very reason his
whole term was one prolonged struggle with insurrections, until he was
obliged to surrender on February 24, 1878. He retired to Porto Rico
and died near Mayaguez in 1884. Two governments were now
established, General Ignacio Maria Gonzalez being proclaimed president
in the Cibao, and General Cesareo Guillermo in Santo Domingo. An
agreement was reached by them on April 13, 1878, and Guillermo became
provisional president of the entire country. The constitution of 1877
was reproclaimed with amendments, an election was held and General
Gonzalez was declared constitutional president, entering upon office
on July 6, 1878. Guillermo immediately started a revolution with
General Ulises Heureaux and compelled Gonzalez to abdicate on
September 2, 1878. It was the end of Gonzalez' meteoric presidential
flights, but after a period of retirement he ventured into public life
again, and for many years was Dominican minister to Haiti.
Jacinto de Castro, the president of the supreme court, acted as
president until September 29,1878, when he was succeeded by the
council of ministers of which Guillermo was chief. The constitution of
1878 was promulgated, with amendments, on February 11, 1879, and on
February 28, Guillermo, after going through the form of an election,
became constitutional president. He did not last long. On October 6,
1879, a revolution broke out at Puerto Plata and a provisional
government was formed under the presidency of General Gregorio
Luperon, an intelligent negro, who had been imprisoned for larceny
under Spanish rule, but had redeemed himself by signal services in the
War of the Restoration. Guillermo resisted two months, but was
compelled to surrender on December 6, 1879.
Luperon did not depart from the usual custom, but called a
constitutional assembly which, in 1880, adopted with amendments the
constitution of 1879, and fixed the presidential term at two years.
Luperon then held an election and gave the presidency, for the two
years beginning September 1, 1880, to one of his supporters, Father
Fernando de Meriño, an eloquent priest who had taken an active part in
politics since his youth, and who later became archbishop of Santo
Domingo. The reverend gentleman suppressed all revolutionary uprisings
with uncompromising severity and did not hesitate to execute the
conspirators that fell into his hands.
During Meriño's administration General Ulises Heureaux served as
minister of the interior and began to wield the power which he was to
retain for twenty years. Heureaux was born in Puerto Plata about 1846.
Both of his parents were negroes, his father being a Haitian who
followed the sea and afterwards became a merchant, and his mother a
St. Thomas woman. He received a mercantile education and took part as
a subordinate in the War of the Restoration against the Spaniards. On
the withdrawal of the Spaniards, in 1865, he became a bandit on the
Haitian border and practised horse stealing on a large scale. Later he
obtained a position in the Puerto Plata custom-house and took a more
and more prominent part in the civil disturbances of his country,
until he became well known as a politician and a revolutionist. He
distinguished himself by his bravery and was many times wounded.
Throughout these civil wars he remained a sturdy follower of General
Luperon, the successor of Santana as leader of the "Blue" party and an
implacable opponent of General Buenaventura Baez, the chief of the
"Reds" and of General Ignacio Maria Gonzalez, the leader of the
"Greens." When General Luperon overthrew President Cesareo Guillermo,
in 1879, Heureaux was closely associated with the revolutionary movement.
Heureaux was able to strengthen himself to such an extent that when,
in 1882, Luperon determined to become president himself he found that
his former follower had outgrown him in power. The result was that
Heureaux became president and served from September 1, 1882, to
September 1, 1884. When his term expired a bitter struggle ensued with
Luperon, who still retained considerable influence. Luperon's
candidate was Segundo Imbert, while Heureaux supported General
Francisco Gregorio Billini, who was ultimately victorious. Luperon
went into exile, but later became reconciled with Heureaux and
returned to die in Santo Domingo.
Billini entered upon the presidency on September 1, 1884, but became
restive under the demands of Heureaux and his friends and resigned on
May 15, 1885. The vice-president, Alejandro Woss y Gil, succeeded to
the chief office. His term was to have expired in September of the
following year, but a formidable insurrection broke out in July, 1886,
under General Casimiro N. de Moya, with the object of preventing
Heureaux from carrying out his design of succeeding Gil. After six
months of fighting, during which the number of fatalities was happily
remarkably small, Heureaux was victorious, and having had himself
re-elected, resumed the presidency on January 6, 1887, until which
time Woss y Gil remained in office.
The biennial elections were a source of annoyance even to one who was
sure of victory, and Heureaux therefore called a constitutional
convention which amended the constitution then in force and lengthened
the presidential term to four years, beginning in 1889. As General
Cesareo Guillermo, Heureaux's former companion in arms and later
opponent, was understood to be nursing aspirations for the presidency,
Heureaux sought to apprehend him. Guillermo fled, but finding himself
pressed, committed suicide. No further obstacle opposed Heureaux's
election, and he was again inaugurated on February 27, 1889.
In the meantime negotiations had been undertaken for the contracting
of new foreign loans, and one was floated in 1888 and another in 1892.
The government's fiscal agent who secured these loans in Europe was
General Eugenio Generoso Marchena, a man of much influence. In 1892
General Marchena announced himself as a candidate for the presidency.
Heureaux won without difficulty, but still uneasy, he arrested
Marchena in Santo Domingo, imprisoned him for a year and sent him to
Azua to be shot.
During Heureaux's new term, beginning in 1893, the country by
improvident bond issues and debt contraction, made rapid strides in
the direction of bankruptcy. In 1893, the San Domingo Improvement
Company, an American corporation, under contract with the government
took charge of the customs collections for the purpose of providing
for the services of the loans. The illegal imprisonment of several
Frenchmen gave rise to friction with the French government and in 1894
a French fleet appeared before Santo Domingo City, but the matter was
adjusted by the payment of an indemnity. As the 1889 constitution
forbade a president from holding office for more than two terms in
succession, Heureaux, wishing to continue in the presidency, obviated
the difficulty by the simple expedient of promulgating a new
constitution in 1896, in which the limitation was removed. He was
declared unanimously elected in 1896 and began his final term on
February 27, 1897.
The long period of comparative peace enjoyed by the country under the
rule of President Ulises Heureaux, or "Lilis," as the dictator was
popularly known, brought seeming progress and prosperity, though at a
heavy price. Many of his opponents Heureaux was able to buy, and in
this way he retained the loyalty of hundreds of little military chiefs
scattered through the country. Those whom he could not buy he
persecuted, imprisoned, exiled, or executed. While possessing pleasant
and affable manners, he was unrelenting in his persecution of
conspirators and many stories are told of his harshness in this
respect. It is related that when he was minister of the interior under
Meriño he discovered that his brother-in-law was implicated in a plot;
he therefore invited him to dinner and after they had dined, asked how
his guest had enjoyed the meal. "Very well," was the answer. "I am
glad of that," said Heureaux, "for I am about to have you shot. Take a
cigar," he added pleasantly, "it will be your last." And it was, for
the execution followed at once. On another occasion, so the story
goes, after he had become president, a prominent general was his guest
and after dinner they took a stroll. Coming to a place in the suburbs
where workmen were digging a peculiar trench, the general inquired,
"What are they digging here?" "They are digging your grave," answered
Heureaux, and before the general could recover from his consternation
a squad of soldiers appeared. He was shot and buried then and there.
The governor of Macoris and the minister of war were both powerful men
whose influence was feared by Heureaux. He therefore cunningly wrought
up the latter against the former to such an extent that one fine
morning the minister suddenly appeared in Macoris and had the governor
summarily shot. An outcry was made by the governor's friends, and
Heureaux, affecting indignation at the act, had the minister of war
executed. Many of his prisoners mysteriously disappeared, and popular
rumor points out one of the lower platforms of the fort "La Fuerza,"
where an aguacate tree formerly grew, as the place where prisoners
were shot at night, their bodies being thrown to the sharks at the
base of the cliff. Some of the dictator's suspects were assassinated
in the public streets. Even exiles were not secure from his wrath and
in one instance a Dominican writer named Eugenio Deschamps, who had
been publishing articles against him in Porto Rico, was seriously
wounded in the streets of Ponce by an assassin's bullet.
Ability and unscrupulousness, courage and cruelty, resolution and
cunning were mingled in the character of Heureaux. Over the country he
exercised the powers of an absolute monarch. He was the fountain head
of all government and the real chief of every department. The accounts
of the government and his private accounts were treated by him as one
and the same thing. His ambition to remain in power necessitated the
expenditure of large sums which he obtained through improvident
foreign loans and usurious contracts with local merchants. Those whom
he favored grew rich; his enemies he ruined. In other ways also his
morals swerved from the straight and narrow path, and an isolated town
gloried in the distinction of being the only place in the Republic
where the president did not have a mistress. He himself stated that he
had no concern as to what history would say of him, since he would not
be there to read it.
During the latter part of Heureaux's administration the leaders of the
opposition were recognized as Juan Isidro Jimenez and Horacio Vasquez,
Vasquez was the chief of a large landholding family of the Cibao.
Jimenez had been a prominent merchant, at one time carrying on
mercantile houses in Monte Cristi, New York, Paris and Hamburg; his
family had formerly been prominent in Dominican affairs, his father
having been president of the Republic in 1848 and his grandfather one
of the leading spirits of the revolution by which the Haitian yoke was
thrown off. Jimenez was born in Santo Domingo City in 1846 and as a
boy went to Haiti with his father, growing up in Port-au-Prince. As a
youth he removed to Monte Cristi, where he established himself in
business and took part in the War of the Restoration against the
Spaniards. Having with Heureaux, he resided for a number of
years in Cape Haitien, Haiti, and from there directed conspiracies
against the dictator.
In May, 1898, Jimenez made a bold attempt to overthrow the Heureaux
government. He fitted out a small steamer, the "Fanita," in the United
States and left ostensibly to aid the Cuban insurgents; and as the
United States was then at war with Spain the expedition was not
opposed by the American government. A landing was made at Monte Cristi
with only twenty-five men, a general uprising being expected as soon
as his arrival became known. Jimenez' followers took the town, but the
governor of the district was able to escape to the country and
returned with a large force, driving Jimenez back to his vessel with a
loss of one-half of his companions. The "Fanita" had touched in the
Bahamas on the way down and on returning to Inagua Island, Jimenez was
arrested by the British authorities as a filibuster. Heureaux sent a
man-of-war to Nassau and did all he could to have the case pressed.
Jimenez was tried twice; at the first trial the jury did not agree,
and the second time he was acquitted.
Though popular hatred against Heureaux was strong on account of his
tyrannical conduct and his attempts to compel the circulation of a
large issue of inconvertible bank notes with which he flooded the
country, the fear in which he was held prevented any general uprising.
There were many, however, among them Horacio Vasquez, who never ceased
conspiring against the dictator. When it became known that Heureaux
was resolved to bring about Vasquez' death, Ramon Caceres, a cousin of
Vasquez, and other members of the Vasquez clan, were drawn into the
conspiracies. The father of Caceres, once vice-president under Baez,
had been killed, it is said, by order of Heureaux. In July, 1899, when
Heureaux prepared for a trip through the Cibao, he was informed of a
plot to kill him on the way. When he arrived in Moca he thought that
no danger awaited him there, as he expected that if any attack were to
be made on him it would be at some solitary portion of the road and
not in a town in broad daylight. When about to leave Moca on July 26,
1899, he ordered the governor of the province to arrest Caceres and
his companions. Caceres was informed of the order by the secretary of
the governor, who was his friend, and knowing that the arrest would
probably be followed by an execution, with several companions he
repaired to a store where Heureaux was talking with the proprietor,
the provincial treasurer. As soon as Heureaux appeared in the doorway
Caceres began to shoot, and the other conspirators continued firing,
although the first shot had been fatal. Heureaux before falling drew
his revolver and returned the fire, but the darkness of death clouded
his vision and the shots went wild, one of them, however, killing a
beggar to whom he had a few moments before given alms. Caceres and his
companions fled to the mountains, and the body of Heureaux was taken
to Santiago, where it was afterwards interred in the cathedral. Juan
Wenceslao Figuereo, vice-president of the Republic, an aged negro,
succeeded to the presidency.
The death of Heureaux precipitated a revolution headed by General
Horacio Vasquez. President Figuereo made no resistance, but at the end
of August resigned, together with his cabinet, first designating a
committee of citizens to administer affairs until the arrival of
Vasquez, who entered the capital on September 5, 1899, and became the
head of the provisional government. Jimenez in the meantime hastened
to the country and was everywhere received with rejoicing. The two
leaders arranged that Jimenez should become president and Vasquez
vice-president, and an election was held on October 20, by which this
result was attained, the inauguration taking place November 20, 1899.
Ramon Caceres, the slayer of Heureaux, was made governor of Santiago
and delegate of the government in the Cibao.
The Jimenez administration was the reaction of that of Heureaux. It
deserved, more than any the Republic had had up to that time, the name
of civil and constitutional government. The executive was not
absolute, as in the time of Heureaux, nor were there sanguinary
executions. Almost too little restraint was exercised, and the press,
so long muzzled, began to convert its liberty into license. Jimenez,
too, was so good-hearted that at times he yielded to importunities
which had better been resisted. The financial problems left by the
Heureaux administration caused considerable trouble and though the
waste of the public revenues was curtailed, large sums were still
absorbed in the payment of revolutionary claims and of pensions for
local military chiefs.
Jealousies soon ripened between Jimenez and Vasquez, who was known to
long for the presidency and had only temporarily laid aside his
aspirations on account of the overwhelming popularity of Jimenez. Each
of the chiefs collected a group of friends about him and in this way
originated the still existing political parties, Jimenistas and
Horacistas, the respective followers of Jimenez and Horacio Vasquez.
Several minor uprisings occurred but were suppressed by the
government. In the beginning of 1902 the Dominican Congress, which was
composed largely of Vasquez' friends, considered the advisability of
impeaching President Jimenez on account of the financial transactions
of the administration, and a vote of censure was finally passed.
Jimenez believed Vasquez at the bottom of the agitation and endeavored
to have the municipalities protest against the action of Congress.
Rumors became current that Jimenez intended to imprison his
vice-president and thus insure his own reelection. Vasquez, urged on
by his friends, therefore started a revolution in the Cibao, and after
a fight in San Carlos and a four days' siege of the capital entered
Santo Domingo City on May 2, 1902, and became president of a
provisional government. Jimenez sought refuge in the French consulate
and embarked for Porto Rico a few days later.
General Horacio Vasquez was born in Moca and was a ranchman, merchant
and planter. He possessed military capacity and took a minor part in
several revolutions. At first a friend of Heureaux, he afterwards
became one of his bitterest enemies, and for a number of years lived
as an exile in Cuba and Porto Rico, returning to Moca shortly before
the death of Heureaux to remain in retirement on his plantation. The
Vasquez administration had as much difficulty with financial matters
as that of his predecessor, but the president had little opportunity
to show what he could do. Local outbreaks began in Monte Cristi and
became general in October, 1902. Disturbances continued until March
24, 1903, when, during the absence of President Vasquez in the Cibao,
the political prisoners in the fort of Santo Domingo City, through
connivance with the general in charge, broke out, took the fort,
liberated the convicts, threw the city into a panic with a continued
fusillade, and proclaimed a revolution. They were for the most part
Jimenistas and "Lilicistas," or members of the old Heureaux party, and
their candidate for the presidency would probably have been Jimenez;
but in Jimenez' absence the presidency was offered to Figuereo and
others, who declined, and was finally accepted by Alejandro Woss y
Gil, who had only the week before been liberated from the same
political prison.
General Vasquez returned with an army, arriving before Santo Domingo
City at the end of March. The ensuing siege was one long battle,
during which a portion of the suburban town of San Carlos was
destroyed by fire. On April 18, 1903, Generals Alvarez and Cordero,
the best generals of the besiegers, made a violent attack on the city
and effected an entrance, but fighting continued in the streets and
these leaders and most of the storming party were killed. Vasquez
thereupon fled to Santiago, resigned his post, and left the country
for Cuba. On the triumph of his party a year later, he returned to
Santo Domingo and retired to his plantation in Moca.
Woss y Gil, who thus became president of the provisional government,
called a session of Congress and by appointments favorable to his
interests so intrenched himself that his continuance as president
became assured. Jimenez, who arrived shortly after, advanced the claim
that he was still president de jure, since the constitutional term of
four years for which he had been elected had not expired, and he
denominated the Vasquez government a temporary and illegal usurpation
of power. In his efforts to regain office he sent his friend Eugenio
Deschamps to treat with Gil, but Deschamps, seeing Gil obdurate, made
an agreement by which Woss y Gil was to become president and Deschamps
vice-president, Jimenez was obliged to yield to the inevitable and
returned to Porto Rico in the hope of eventually succeeding Woss y
Gil. An election was held in which Woss y Gil and Deschamps were the
only candidates and on June 20, 1903, they were inaugurated.
In General Alejandro Woss y Gil the Republic had a very talented man
as president. Born in Seibo, he had entered politics in his youth, and
became a friend and follower of Heureaux. At times he was governor of
a province, later for a long period Dominican consul at New York, and
from 1885 to 1887 president of the Republic. He had received a good
education and traveled extensively, spoke several modern languages,
had some knowledge of the classic languages, and was a poet, musician
and writer.
Unfortunately the talents of Woss y Gil did not extend to the securing
of an honest and efficient administration. The ministers appointed by
him were exceedingly injudicious selections, and a carnival of fraud
and dishonesty was soon in progress. Discontent grew general, and by
the end of October, 1903, General Carlos F. Morales, governor of
Puerto Plata, raised the standard of revolt and his troops marched on
the capital. The revolution was supported by both parties, the
Jimenistas and Horacistas, and was known as the "war of the union."
Morales, the leader of the insurrection, had been a follower of
Jimenez and favored the aspirations of the latter to the extent even
of sending requests to Jimenez to come to Santo Domingo at once. The
siege of Santo Domingo City lasted for about three weeks. On November
24, 1903, Woss y Gil, finding himself vanquished, permitted Morales'
troops to enter the city and sought refuge in the British consulate.
Three days later a German man-of-war carried him to Porto Rico, and he
later continued to Cuba, where he long resided in the city
of Santiago.
For a short time a tripartite revolution was in progress, the
supporters of Woss y Gil, Horacio Vasquez and Jimenez fighting in
different parts of the country. Morales, on entering Santo Domingo,
became president of the provisional government. The new governors of
the Cibao were Jimenistas, but most of the appointments Morales made
in the south were Horacistas, and it began to be suspected among the
Jimenez followers that he had designs on the presidency. When Jimenez
arrived in Santiago he realized that his ambitions were again
endangered and he and his friends grew restless. On December 6, 1903,
Jimenez fled from Santiago to Monte Cristi, claiming that Morales had
sent a troop of fifty men to assassinate him.
A counter revolution followed at once and swiftly attained large
proportions. It became the most serious unsuccessful revolution the
Republic had seen. At one time the whole country was in the hands of
Jimenez except Santo Domingo City and the small port of Sosua, near
Puerto Plata. The government forces were able to retake Puerto Plata,
but the siege of the capital continued uninterruptedly from December
to February. Attacks and sallies were frequent, every house along the
walls and in the suburbs soon showed bullet marks and the town of San
Carlos was again partially destroyed by fire. Finally Morales defeated
the besiegers, and in March, Macoris was taken by the government
forces and the backbone of the revolution was broken. The insurrection
had spent itself on account of lack of supplies and efficient leaders.
Jimenez, financially ruined by his attempts to reestablish himself in
power, again withdrew to Porto Rico. The government forces were unable
to retake the Monte Cristi district, but an agreement was reached by
which the Jimenista authorities remained in full control and the
district became practically independent.
An election was held, as a result of which Carlos F. Morales became
president and Ramon Caceres vice-president, and they were inaugurated
on June 19, 1904. The new president, Morales, was an unusually clever
man, although his conduct sometimes betrayed that he came from a
family in which there had been mental derangement. He was born in
Puerto Plata, studied for the priesthood, took orders, and held the
office of parish priest in various places in the Cibao. After the
death of a brother who participated in Jimenez' ill-fated "Fanita"
expedition and was killed in the attack on Monte Cristi, Morales took
an interest in public affairs and during the administration of Jimenez
became a member of Congress. At this time he laid aside his religious
habit, married, and devoted himself exclusively to politics. During
the Vasquez administration he was an exile in Cuba, but on the
ascendancy of Woss y Gil he was made governor of Puerto Plata, and in
this capacity initiated the revolt against the Gil government.
CHAPTER VI
HISTORICAL SKETCH.--AMERICAN INFLUENCE.--1904 TO DATE (1918)
Financial difficulties.--Fiscal convention with the United
States.--Caceres' administration.-Provisional presidents.--Civil
disturbances.--Jimenez' second administration.--American intervention.
The enormous foreign and internal debt left by the Heureaux
administration had been constantly increased by ruinous loans to which
the succeeding governments were obliged to resort during the years of
civil warfare, until the country was in a condition of hopeless
bankruptcy. In the beginning of 1904 every item of the debt had been
in default for months.
Under pressure from foreign governments, the principal debt items due
foreign citizens had been recognized in international protocols and
the income from each of the more important custom-houses was
specifically pledged for their payment, but in no case was payment
made. One of these protocols, signed with the American chargé
d'affaires, liquidated the government's accounts with the San Domingo
Improvement Company, which had been turned out from the administration
of custom-houses by President Jimenez, and provided for a board of
arbitration to settle the manner of payment. The arbitrators
determined the instalments payable and specified the custom-house of
Puerto Plata and certain others as security, which were to be turned
over to an American agent in case of failure to pay. No payment being
made, the American agent demanded compliance with the arbitral award
and on October 20, 1904, was placed in possession of the custom-house
at Puerto Plata.
The other foreign creditors, principally French, Belgian, and Italian,
naturally began to clamor for the payment of their credits and for the
delivery of the custom-houses pledged to them. To have done so would
have meant absolute ruin, as the government would have been entirely
deprived of means of subsistence. In face of the imminent likelihood
of foreign intervention the Dominican government applied to the United
States for assistance, and in February, 1905, the protocol of an
agreement between the Dominican Republic and the United States was
approved, providing for the collection of Dominican customs revenues
under the direction of the United States, and the segregation of a
specified portion toward the ultimate payment of the debt. The treaty
was submitted to the United States Senate, but that body adjourned in
March, 1905, without final action. The creditors again became
importunate and an interim modus vivendi was therefore arranged, under
which the Dominican customs were to be collected by a receiver
designated by the President of the United States, and the proportion
mentioned in the pending treaty was reserved as a creditors' fund. The
temporary arrangement went into effect on April 1, 1905, and the
effect was immediately apparent. Confidence was restored, the customs
receipts rose to higher figures than ever before, and the prospects of
peace became brighter as revolutionists could no longer count on
captured customhouses to replenish their exchequer.
The position of President Morales was a difficult one. He was an
ex-Jimenista at the head of an Horacista government, and there was no
sympathy between him and his council. The Horacistas distrusted him
and forced him to dismiss his friends from the cabinet and to make
distasteful appointments. Seeing that he was being reduced to a
figurehead, Morales secretly tried to form a party for himself or make
arrangements with the Jimenistas who for months had been conspiring
and threatening to rise. The friction became more severe until
Morales, fearing that both his office and his life were in danger, on
the day before Christmas, 1905, fled from the capital, while the
Jimenistas rose in Monte Cristi and marched down to attack Santiago
and Puerto Plata.
It was the anomalous spectacle of a president leading an insurrection
against his own government. Fortune was against the insurgents from
the beginning. Morales, while trying to scale a rocky wall near the
Jaina River, in the neighborhood of the capital, fell and sprained his
leg, so that he was unable to proceed further but was obliged to
remain in hiding in the woods, suffering much pain. In the Cibao,
important dispatches of the revolutionists were captured by the
government forces, which were thus enabled to make surprise attacks.
The insurgents attacked Puerto Plata under their best general,
Demetrio Rodriguez, an intelligent mulatto, and would probably have
taken the town, had not Rodriguez received a bullet in the temple,
whereupon his men became panic-stricken and dispersed. Morales saw
that all was lost and returned to the capital, where he went to the
American legation for protection. On the following morning, January
12, 1906, with his foot bandaged and tears rolling down his cheeks, he
wrote out his resignation. He was immediately conveyed to Porto Rico
on an American cruiser. The triumph of the government was complete,
its troops overran Monte Cristi, and an Horacista was made governor of
the district. Morales fixed his residence in the island of St. Thomas
and later in France. He continually conspired for a return to the
presidency, and was once tried for filibustering in Porto Rico, but
acquitted. A friendly administration made him Dominican minister in
Paris, where he died in 1914.
Upon the resignation of Morales the vice-president, General Ramon
Caceres, assumed the presidency. Caceres was born in Moca on December
15, 1867, and was a prominent cacao-planter. It was he who killed
Heureaux in 1899, after which he entered public life, being governor
of Santiago and delegate of the government in the Cibao during the
administrations of Jimenez and Vasquez, an exile in Cuba during the
administration of Woss y Gil, and vice-president and governmental
delegate during the administration of Morales. He had the appearance
of an honest country squire, large of body and great of heart.
During the years 1906 and 1907 special attention was given to the
settlement of the debts of the republic. A new bond issue of
$20,000,000 was made for the purpose of converting the old debts, and
an arrangement was effected with the principal creditors, by which the
amounts due were reduced by about one-half. Instead of the still
pending convention of February, 1905, with the United States, a new
fiscal treaty was agreed upon, and approved by the United States
Senate and the Dominican Congress, taking effect on August 1, 1907. In
similarity with the provisions of the modus vivendi, the customs
income of the Republic is collected by a General Receiver of Dominican
Customs, appointed by the President of the United States, and a
portion of the income is set aside by him for the service of the loan.
For years the various governments had been planning to revise the
constitution of 1896, Vasquez even calling a constitutional
convention; but the political kaleidoscope turned before such
intentions could be realized. Conditions becoming sufficiently stable,
a new constitution was promulgated on September 9, 1907. It was found
unsatisfactory and a constitutional convention met in Santiago and on
February 22, 1908, promulgated the present constitution, by which the
presidential term was lengthened to six years and the office of
vice-president abolished. An election was held and General Ramon
Caceres was chosen president, entering upon his new term on July
1, 1908.
As a result of the Dominican-American fiscal arrangement the old debt
was practically all canceled, burdensome concessions were redeemed,
and a large portion of the surplus from the new bond issue was set
aside for public works, of which several were undertaken. A few
uprisings by dissatisfied chiefs remained local and unsuccessful. A
border clash with Haiti, which in January, 1911, caused the dispatch
of troops to the frontier, was settled by diplomacy. The hope of
continued peaceful conditions gave a new impulse to agriculture,
industry and commerce, and the exports and imports increased year
by year.
At a time when the future seemed brightest, the Republic was suddenly
startled by the news of the assassination of President Caceres on
Sunday afternoon, November 19, 1911. The president, with a single
companion, was returning from a drive along the new road to San
Geronimo. At Guibia, a suburb of the capital, a number of conspirators
rushed for the carriage, seized the reins of the horse and began to
shoot. The president's companion fled, but Caceres, a fearless man and
an excellent shot, returned the fire. Almost simultaneously a bullet
shattered his right wrist. The coachman lashed the horse in an
attempt to escape, but the horse reared and threw the carriage against
a hedge. The coachman then dragged Caceres from the carriage and
assisted him to the stable of a house on the roadside, adjoining the
American legation, but the conspirators meantime continued to fire
furiously and several shots struck the president. Seeing their object
accomplished, the assassins withdrew, and the president, mortally
wounded, was carried to the American legation, where he expired a few
minutes later.
The conspirators were a handful of malcontents led by General Luis
Tejera, a young man of prominent family, at one time governor of the
capital under Caceres, but lately estranged. Caceres had known of
Tejera's seditious sentiments but refused to take them seriously.
Immediately after the shooting, the conspirators hastened away in a
waiting automobile, carrying with them their leader Tejera, who had
been wounded in the leg during the affray. At the Jaina ferry the
automobile was accidentally precipitated into the river, and the
wounded man was fished out half drowned. The other conspirators left
him in a hut by the road and escaped. Tejera was found by the
pursuers, taken to the fort in Santo Domingo City, and summarily
executed.
The commandant of arms of the capital, General Alfredo M. Victoria,
who controlled the military forces, permitted his own ambitions to
influence him more than the welfare of his country. Being only
twenty-six years old, he was not of the constitutional age to be
president, but listening to the counsel of scheming politicians, he
dominated the situation by force of arms and brought about the
selection of his uncle, Eladio Victoria, as provisional president. The
latter was a senator from Santiago province, and had at one time been
a member of Caceres' cabinet, but he was not regarded as of
presidential calibre and his selection provoked general surprise and
indignation. General Victoria's army was a potent argument; it
withered the ambition of other aspirants to the presidency, and
Senator Victoria was elected provisional president and entered upon
office December 6, 1911. In the following February the usual form of
public election was gone through and on February 27, 1912, he took the
oath of office as constitutional president. His nephew occupied
important cabinet positions under the new administration.
The general opposition to President Victoria and to the method of
electing him found expression in revolutionary uprisings throughout
the country, especially in the Cibao and Azua. Ex-President Vasquez,
ex-President Morales and several Jimenista generals took the field
independently. Morales was captured, but the others continued the
fight. Beginning early in December, 1911, the war dragged on for
months, both sides sustaining heavy losses and extensive sections of
the country being devastated.
It became apparent that there was a deadlock, the government being
powerless to subdue the revolutionists, while the revolutionists were
unable to carry on an active campaign against the government. The
American government eventually extended its good offices with a view
to the reestablishment of peace and order. A special commission
appointed by the President of the United States and consisting of an
official of the War Department and another of the State Department
arrived in Santo Domingo in October, 1912, and initiated a series of
conferences with government and revolutionary leaders. An agreement
was concluded and in accordance therewith the Dominican Congress
assembled on November 26, 1912, accepted the resignation of President
Victoria, and elected the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor
Adolfo A. Nouel, as provisional president for a period of two years.
He was inducted into office on December 1, 1912.
Archbishop Nouel, a man of great learning, beloved and respected
throughout the country, entered upon his duties with the announced
purpose of giving an impartial administration and governing with both
parties. The difficulties of the plan were soon impressed upon him,
particularly as he relied entirely upon moral suasion to carry his
policies into effect. Pressure was applied for favors which he could
not grant, his appointments were bitterly criticised as savoring of
nepotism or as unduly favoring one side or the other, and some of the
fiercer military chiefs assumed a menacing attitude. Sick and
disgusted, Monsignor Nouel resigned the presidential office on March
31, 1913, and embarked for Europe.
The Dominican Congress immediately considered the choice of a
temporary successor and after many ballots elected a compromise
candidate, General José Bordas Valdez, an Horacista senator from Monte
Cristi, as provisional president for a period of one year. He assumed
office April 14, 1913. His designation did not please the Jimenistas,
and the Horacistas also became hostile when it appeared that President
Bordas contemplated forming a party of his own. His opponents promptly
rose in the Cibao and took possession of the ports of Puerto Plata,
Sanchez and Samana, which were thereupon blockaded by the government
forces. In the latter part of September, 1913, the revolutionists laid
down their arms on the promise of the American minister that free
elections for presidential electors and members of a constitutional
convention would be guaranteed. A municipal election was in fact
held, but President Bordas, alleging that conditions were too
unsettled for a general presidential election, held on as president de
facto beyond the term for which he had been provisionally elected. On
the day his term ended, April 13, 1914, another revolution broke out
and rapidly spread to all parts of the Republic. Puerto Plata was
occupied by the insurgents and blockaded for several months by
government vessels, the blockade being accompanied by a siege of the
city under the direction of the president himself. On the other hand,
the insurgents laid siege to the capital. The government contracted
heavy debts to carry on the war and the commerce of the country
suffered greatly.
Again the American government lent its good offices for the
restoration of order. In August, 1914, a commission of three delegates
of the United States arrived in Santo Domingo to present a plan for
the resignation of Bordas, the selection of a provisional president by
the chiefs of the several political parties, a revision of the
election law, and the holding of general elections. The plan was
agreed to, President Bordas resigned, and Dr. Ramon Baez, a son of
former President Buenaventura Baez, was elected by the Dominican
Congress as provisional president on August 27, 1914.
Popular elections were held in October, at which there were four
candidates: ex-President Juan Isidro Jimenez, ex-President Horacio
Vasquez, ex-Minister of Finance Federico Velazquez, and a fourth of
little consequence. The Jimenez and Velazquez forces effected a
combination, as a result of which Juan Isidro Jimenez was elected
president a second time, and took the oath of office on December
5, 1914.
For a moment it seemed as though the country was at last entering upon
an era of peace and prosperity. The government made efforts to solve
the financial problems left by the recent civil wars and to resume
public improvements. Investments of foreign capital increased, and
agriculture and commerce expanded.
The elements of disorganization were present, however, in as strong a
degree as ever. Corruption was general in the administration of the
public funds, but attempts at reform had no result further than to
stimulate violent opposition. The old leaven of sedition was at work,
and disgruntled military chiefs found a willing leader in the minister
of war, General Desiderio Arias, a chronic revolutionist from Monte
Cristi, who had for years used the popularity of Jimenez as a cloak
for his own aspirations. The president, aged and infirm, was unable to
meet the situation with energy, and disinclined to adopt
severe measures.
In the early part of 1916 Arias had his friends in Congress vote to
impeach President Jimenez for alleged frauds. The matter was still
under discussion, and the president was ill at his country place on
the San Cristobal road, near Santo Domingo City, when in April, 1916,
General Arias suddenly seized the military control of the capital and
issued a proclamation by which he practically deposed Jimenez and
assumed the executive power himself.
Another civil war was imminent when deliverance came in an unexpected
manner. For many years past in previous disturbances, one or both of
the warring factions had looked to the United States government for
help in restoring order, and diplomatic assistance had time after time
put an end to strife. The endless succession of revolts had at length
exhausted the patience of the American government. In the face of
another general war with its attendant destruction of life and
property, harm to American and other foreign interests, and danger of
international complications (a British and a French man-of-war were
already solicitously hovering off the capital), the American
government took decisive action. With the consent of President
Jimenez, it landed marines at old San Geronimo castle, on the Guibia
road, near Santo Domingo City.
Though Jimenez approved of this action and recognized that his country
could not emerge from the slough of revolution without American
assistance, he was depressed at the condition of affairs, and in view
of his physical feebleness felt himself unequal to the task of guiding
the country through impending difficulties. He therefore on May 6,
1916, resigned the presidency of the Republic, and subsequently
returned to Porto Rico to live. The council of ministers temporarily
assumed the administration.
Arias, dismayed at the action of the United States, made protest, but
the American government refused to admit the legality or sincerity of
his conduct. Its troops advanced on Santo Domingo City and
Rear-Admiral Caperton, the American commander, gave Arias twenty-four
hours to evacuate. He promptly obeyed, and on May 15 the Americans
occupied the city.
American troops continued to be landed, at Puerto Plata on June 5; at
Monte Cristi on June 19; and at other seaports as necessity demanded,
until a total of about 1800 marines had been disembarked. They
proceeded into the interior, taking over the preservation of public
order and disarming the inhabitants. They advanced on foot, in
improvised motor trucks, and as real "horse marines," in accordance
with a plan to secure thorough pacification by having them appear in
all parts of the country. The American marines met with no serious
opposition except in the Cibao, in the section between Monte Cristi,
Puerto Plata and Santiago, where the following of Arias was strongest.
To clear this section two columns were launched from the seacoast with
Santiago as the objective, the first of 800 men from Monte Cristi, the
second of about 200 men from Puerto Plata, the entire force being
under command of Brigadier-General Joseph H. Pendleton. The
expeditionary force from Monte Cristi, under Colonel Dunlop, advanced
along the highway, which was little more than a muddy trail through a
jungle of cactus and thorny brush, and several Americans were shot
from ambush. Repeatedly small detachments of rebels made a stand upon
some favorable piece of ground, until routed by the marines. The
decisive encounter took place on July 1, 1916, at Guayacanes, near
Esperanza, where a force of 400 marines after a stubborn fight carried
a strongly entrenched position defended by about 300 rebels. The
American losses were 1 enlisted man killed and 1 officer and 7
enlisted men wounded; the rebels are estimated to have lost several
score between killed and wounded, their leader, Maximito Cabral, being
killed fighting in the trenches after all his men were dead or
driven off.
The second column, from Puerto Plata, under Major Bearss, opened up
the railroad, encountering its principal resistance at the tunnel
south of Altamira. The two columns joined forces at Navarrete and then
occupied Santiago. All the insurgents eventually dispersed or
surrendered, and Arias himself submitted to the American military
control, which became absolute throughout the country. The total
American losses in occupying the country were 3 officers killed and 3
wounded and 4 enlisted men killed and 12 wounded; the losses of the
insurgents are estimated at between 100 and 300 killed and wounded.
The Dominican Congress proceeded on July 25, 1916, to elect a
temporary president, and chose Dr. Francisco Henriquez Carvajal, a
distinguished physician and highly cultured man. It was understood
that he was to hold for six months and was not to seek reelection at
the general election to be held within that time. The United States
government, however, was loath to extend recognition unless assured
that Santo Domingo would enter upon a path of order and progress. The
fiscal treaty of 1907 had not secured the peace expected of it; the
prohibition against the contracting of further indebtedness had been
frequently violated; disorder and corruption had continued; and the
American government deemed its task uncompleted if it should surrender
the country to the same chaotic conditions. It accordingly required,
as a condition of recognizing Henriquez, that a new treaty between the
two countries be adopted, similar to the recently approved treaty
between the United States and Haiti, where a series of revolutions
culminating in a massacre of prisoners had the year before obliged the
American government to intervene. The principal features of this
treaty were the collection of customs under American auspices, the
appointment of an American financial adviser, and the establishment of
a constabulary force officered by Americans.
Henriquez, jealous of his country's sovereignty and fearful that the
proposed arrangement would make the Dominican government a puppet
controlled by all-powerful and not sufficiently responsible American
officials, refused to accede to the American demands. The American
authorities thereupon declined to pay over any of the Republic's
revenues to a government which they did not recognize. Inasmuch as
they not only collected the customs and port dues, but had assumed
control of the other revenues as well, the Henriquez government was
left penniless. Nevertheless, the American demands continued to be
rejected. As a result, no salaries were paid in any part of the
Republic; the officials who continued in their duties did so with the
hope of being compensated at some future date; some services, such as
the mail service, were discontinued almost entirely; and the whole
machinery of the government was paralyzed.
This tension and anomalous condition lasted for several months. As the
term for which Henriquez had been elected drew to a close, it became
evident that he had no idea of retiring from the presidency, but, on
the contrary, intended to hold general elections, in which he expected
to be the successful candidate. The deadlock thus threatened to
continue indefinitely, and the American government thereupon
determined to cut the Gordian knot.
On November 29, 1916, Captain (later Rear-Admiral) H. S. Knapp, of the
United States navy, commander of the American cruiser force in
Dominican waters, and of the forces of occupation of the Dominican
Republic, issued a proclamation, declaring the Dominican Republic
under the military administration of the United States. The
proclamation recited that the Dominican Republic had failed to live up
to the terms of the treaty of 1907; that the American government had
patiently endeavored to aid the Dominican government, but that the
latter was not inclined or able to adopt the measures suggested,
wherefore the American government believed the time at hand to take
steps to assure the execution of said Convention and to maintain
domestic tranquillity in the Republic. He therefore declared that the
Dominican Republic was placed in a state of military occupation by the
forces under his command; that the object of the occupation was not to
destroy Dominican sovereignty, but to restore order; that Dominican
laws were to continue in effect so far as they did not conflict with
the objects of the occupation or the decrees of the military
government; that the Dominican courts were to continue in their
functions, except that offenses against the military government were
to be judged by military courts; and that all the revenues of the
Dominican government were to be paid over to the military government,
which would administer the same. He called on all inhabitants to
cooperate with the forces of the United States.
The military government so established took full possession of the
country. The chiefs of the executive departments not having appeared
in their offices, their posts were declared vacant and filled with
officers of the American navy. In the country at large, there was
little open opposition, and such as appeared was suppressed without
difficulty. The inhabitants quickly reconciled themselves to the
situation, realizing that it was to the best interests of their
country. Dr. Henriquez, the ex-president, left for Cuba in the early
part of December.
The military government thereupon proceeded to organize the finances,
to pay arrears of salaries, to subdue several bandits who refused
allegiance, and to confiscate all arms. Absolute order and security,
greater than have prevailed in Santo Domingo since colonial days, were
soon established. The military government then devoted itself to the
construction of public works, especially roads, the organization of a
police force, and in general to the improvement of the country.
After the Washington government determined to participate in the
European war, the American military governor on April 12, 1917,
connected Santo Domingo with the war by canceling the exequaturs of
the German consular representatives in the Dominican Republic; there
was no formal rupture, as no diplomatic representative of either
country was at the time residing in the other. German residents were
subjected to surveillance by the American authorities.
The Dominican Republic is still (January, 1918) being administered by
American naval officers and the work of reorganization continues.
Eventually--in all likelihood after the European war--the government
is to be turned back to the Dominican people, and it is probable that
such devolution will be under conditions that will assure a stable
government, peace and progress.
CHAPTER VII
AREA AND BOUNDARIES
Area of Republics of Haiti and Santo Domingo.--Boundary
disputes.--Harbors on north coast.--Character of shore.--Samana
Bay.--Character of east and south coast.--Harbors of Macoris and Santo
Domingo.--Ocoa Bay.--Islands.--Haitian frontier.
Of the great chain of islands which extends in a vast semi-circle from
the southern coast of Florida to the northeastern coast of Venezuela,
the second largest is the Island of Haiti or Santo Domingo, situated
midway between Cuba and Porto Rico, and lying between latitude
17°36'40" and 19°58'20" north and longitude 68°18' and 74°51' west of
Greenwich. The island is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the north,
the Mona Channel on the east, the Caribbean Sea on the south, and the
Windward Passage on the west. The nearest point of Porto Rico is 54
miles distant, of Cuba 50 miles, of Jamaica 90 miles and of Venezuela,
the nearest country on the South American continent, 480 miles. The
distance from Puerto Plata, on the north coast of the island, to New
York is 1255 miles, to Havana 710 miles, and to Southampton 3925
miles. The distance from Santo Domingo City to San Juan, Porto Rico,
is 230 miles, to La Guayra 500 miles, and to Colon 810 miles.
The island is divided between two political entities, the western one,
comprising one-third of its surface, being the Republic of Haiti,
while the eastern one is popularly known as Santo Domingo or San
Domingo, though it is officially termed the Dominican Republic. These
two republics present at once interesting resemblances and contrasts.
They are separated by no natural bounds; their soil, resources, and
political conditions are similar; but while in Haiti the language and
historical associations are French and the numerically predominant
race stock is black, in Santo Domingo, on the other hand, the language
and historical associations are Spanish, and the mulatto rather than
the black is most in evidence.
The area of the island is generally stated at 28,249 square miles, of
which Haiti is credited with 10,204 square miles and the Dominican
Republic with 18,045 square miles. Since no part of the island has
ever been carefully surveyed, such figures can be regarded as only
approximately correct. The Dominican Republic is therefore about as
large as the States of New Hampshire and Vermont together, less than
half as large as Cuba and more than five times the size of Porto Rico.
In the above estimate of the area of the two Republics no account is
taken of their reciprocal claims to further lands. Each claims about
1500 square miles occupied by the other. The Dominicans affirm they
have a right to the plain of Hinche and St. Raphael, comprising some
of the finest agricultural lands on the island. They contend that
Haiti is entitled only to the territory embraced in the confines of
the old French colony of Saint-Domingue. Under the treaty of Aranjuez,
of June 3, 1777, the boundaries of the French and Spanish colonies on
the Island of Santo Domingo were carefully defined and marked by
monuments. In 1795 the Spanish colony was ceded to France; but when in
1804 the Haitians declared the independence of the island, they were
able to control little more than the old French portion, most of the
old Spanish portion remaining in the possession of France. The
boundary line remained unchanged when the old Spanish portion again
came under the rule of Spain in 1809. In 1822 Haitian rule was
extended over the entire island, but in 1844, when the inhabitants of
the eastern portion proclaimed their independence their declaration
comprised the whole of the old Spanish part of the island. The Haitian
government made strenuous efforts to reconquer the revolting
provinces, with the final result that it was able to retain and still
retains 1500 square miles more than belonged to the former French
colony. This is the portion still claimed by Santo Domingo.
On the other hand, the Haitians, based on alleged boundary conditions
and tentative arrangements in 1856 and 1874, claim a strip of land now
occupied by Santo Domingo lying along the border and also aggregating
about 1500 square miles. Maps published in Haiti always show the
boundary line from five to forty miles further east than it is
in reality.
Arbitration has repeatedly been suggested to determine the boundary,
and efforts were made in 1895 to submit the question to the Pope and
in 1911 to resort to The Hague, but without success.
The Haitians have not only peopled and carefully guarded the territory
controlled by them, but have attempted to push the frontier further
east toward the line they claim. In 1911 and a year later, alleged
encroachments by Haiti almost led to war between the two countries.
The United States interposed its good offices and in 1912 suggested as
provisional boundary, until otherwise determined by mutual agreement
between the two countries, the line which was observed as boundary in
1905 when the American receiver general of customs took charge of the
frontier custom-houses. Both countries agreeing, the line as suggested
has since been regarded as the boundary and bids fair to become, with
perhaps a few unimportant modifications, the permanent boundary
between Haiti and Santo Domingo. The outlook for arbitration seems to
be no better now than heretofore, nor is it probable that any court of
arbitration would divest either Haiti or Santo Domingo of any
considerable portion of the lands they have so long possessed.
The boundary disputes have not tended to improve the relations between
the two countries, which formerly regarded each other with a hatred
that has only in the past fifty years softened down to mutual distrust
and dislike. It has frequently happened that the authorities of one
country abetted insurrections in the other; and it was common practice
for insurgents in either country to retreat across the border to
recuperate in the other. In the Dominican revolutions of 1912 to 1914
several bands of revolutionists had permanent headquarters on the
Haitian side.
The greatest breadth of the Dominican Republic, from the Morro of
Monte Cristi to Cape Beata, is about 170 miles, the greatest length,
from Cape Engaño to the Haitian frontier, about 260 miles. The
Republic has a coast line of about 940 miles, on which there are
several good ports and large bays.
One of these is Manzanillo Bay, which lies at the extreme northwestern
point of the Republic. Large and well protected, affording excellent
anchorage for any class of vessels, it is one of the best harbors and
perhaps the most important point strategically, on the north coast of
the island. It receives the waters of the Dajabon or Massacre River,
which constitutes part of the boundary between Haiti and the Dominican
Republic, and of the turbulent Yaque del Norte, which here forms a
delta of considerable extent. Owing to the proximity of Monte Cristi
the various projects for the establishment of a port and custom-house
at this point have hitherto failed of realization.
Fifteen miles to the northeast of Manzanillo Bay is the ancient port
of Monte Cristi, discovered by Columbus, in his vessel the Niña, on
his first voyage. The great explorer landed here to examine the plain
near the shore, and departed at dawn on January 6, 1493. The port of
Monte Cristi is a large open bay with a fine roadstead, but the
shallow water near the shore obliges vessels to anchor over a mile
from land. On the eastern side the harbor is sheltered by a high
promontory now known as El Morro, to which Columbus gave the name of
Monte Cristi, after a remarkable profile, recalling the pictures of
Christ, which is visible in the outlines of the mount to vessels
entering the harbor. The isolated, treeless mountain under the usually
cloudless sky of beautiful blue strongly recalls the buttes of our
Western plains.
The range of mountains known as the Monte Cristi Range, forms a
background for the entire northern coast of the Republic. From Monte
Cristi for fifty miles east, to the bay of Isabela, the shore is bleak
and barren, formed of rocks and cliffs with short intervals of sandy
beach. Isabela Bay is where the first Spanish settlement in America
was laid out by Columbus in 1493. Little remains to mark the site, but
the white palm-fringed strand gleams in the sunlight and is caressed
by the blue waters just as in Columbus' day. The harbor at the mouth
of a stream flowing down from the mountains is small and shallow, but
it is occasionally visited by coastwise vessels in search of cargoes
of mahogany and other woods from the nearby hills.
Thirty miles east of Isabela lies Puerto Plata. The intervening coast
possesses a few small ports of little importance, but sometimes
visited by coasting schooners. The most important one is Blanco,
which during the War of the Restoration with the Spaniards was the
insurgents' port of entry and the base of considerable illicit trade
with Turks Island. The harbor of Puerto Plata, the most important city
on the north coast, is formed by a small bay, enclosed on the sea side
by a reef of coral rock. There is plenty of depth within, but little
room, and only three or four large steamers can with safety anchor
here at the same time. The harbor is well protected except on the
north. During gales from that direction it becomes exceedingly
uncomfortable, and the narrow entrance channel quite dangerous.
Portions of wrecks rising above the foaming water of the reef--the
broken bow of one vessel and ship's engine of another--bear witness to
the perils lurking there at such times. Near the shore the harbor is
shallow, and though there is little tide, the water recedes some
distance. To avoid the difficulty there is a long pier for the use of
small boats and it is no longer necessary, as of yore, for passengers
to be carried ashore from boats in the arms of the boatmen. A fine
public dock for large vessels is also nearing completion.
A broad and fertile coast plain extends from Puerto Plata some
twenty-five miles to the small port of La Goleta. On this plain about
twelve miles from Puerto Plata, lies the port of Sosua. La Goleta is a
distributing point for the lumber cut in this district. A considerable
portion thereof proceeds from the headwaters of the nearby river
Yásica, being floated down the river and then along the ocean shore.
From the Yásica River, the mouth of which is about 100 feet wide, an
uneven rocky stretch of coast extends in a southeasterly direction to
Cape Frances Viejo, where there is a new lighthouse. Numerous brooks
traverse this region and leap down to the sea from the rocks, in
beautiful cascades often twenty and thirty feet in height. Near Cape
Frances lies the small town formerly called Tres Amarras and now
Cabrera. The Monte Cristi Range terminates here, its foothills forming
the promontories of Cape Frances and Point Sabaneta. Travel along this
rugged part of the coast is difficult; in order to avoid the
troublesome gullies of the shore, the trail often runs far inland
through dense jungle. The rocks are of a conglomerate formation, and
are worn by the waves into the most fantastic shapes. From the
appearance of the cliffs it seems that at remote periods two distinct
upheavals of the land took place, the first of which formed the peaks
which rise about twelve miles in the interior, the second and more
recent one giving origin to the great rocks along the coast. The
precipices in the interior, which in ages past were washed by the sea,
rise to a sheer height of from two hundred to four hundred feet and
are crowned with trees. The rocky masses in the coast forests are full
of clefts and caverns which furnish habitation to millions of bees.
The shore now curves southward and becomes low and sandy. There are
low coast plains covered with trees, especially groves of palm trees,
which extend far into the interior. Four rivers are crossed, which
carry comparatively little water, and the mouths of which are
obstructed by sand bars caused by the prevailing north and east winds.
As a result of these bars the streams flood the country and form large
stagnant lakes, that have effectively prevented a settlement of the
region. Some seven miles before reaching the mouth of the Gran Estero
there is a little town called Matanzas, a kind of headquarters for
turtle fishermen and which, though the entrance to its bay is almost
closed by a sand bank, is often visited by coasting schooners that
call for cacao from nearby plantations. What is called the Gran
Estero is a network of bayous and channels, some upon the surface,
others subterranean, which extends from the Yuna River to the ocean
and traverses the marshy plain forming the neck of the Samana
peninsula. It is apparent that the Yuna River centuries ago emptied
into the ocean and that what is to-day the Samana peninsula was once
an island separated by a broad channel from the mainland, to which it
became united by the gradual rise of the land and by the alluvium
deposited by the river. The great swamp so formed is in one place as
much as 18 miles wide, and is covered with stunted mangrove trees and
rank weeds and bushes. The decaying vegetation gives the water of the
bayous and stagnant ponds a dirty coffee color and taints the air with
malarial miasma. The opening of channels and draining of the swamp
would remedy the defects, at the same time providing important means
of communication and reclaiming large tracts of the richest
agricultural land.
From Matanzas the coast extends due east, closely following the
mountain range which beginning near Port Jackson forms the backbone of
the Samana peninsula. Spurs of the mountains rise precipitously from
the sea which foams at their rocky base, and from the summits to the
water's edge the country is covered with luxuriant vegetation. The few
rocky coves along the shore were a favorite resort for buccaneers in
days gone by. One of them is Port Jackson; the entrance is rendered
dangerous by a coral reef, but once within, the deep waters are always
tranquil and offer good shelter to the little craft of the turtle
fishermen. Though the waters of this region are said to teem with the
finest fish but little attention is paid to fishing. Another cove,
difficult of access because of the jagged rocks near the entrance, is
Port Escondido, or Hidden Port, near the most conspicuous feature of
this coast, the lofty promontory of Cape Cabron, or Cabo del
Enamorado, Lover's Cape. The easternmost point of the peninsula is the
rugged double-terraced headland of Cape Samana, reckoned as the
beginning of Samana Bay, though strictly speaking the Bay begins at
the majestic cliff known as Balandra Point.
This magnificent bay, one of the great harbors of the world and the
finest by far of the West Indies, has ever excited the admiration of
travelers. Securely sheltered against storms, of an extent sufficient
to accommodate the navies of the world, easily fortified and defended,
occupying a highly important strategical position, its advantages
cannot be overestimated. Samana Bay, a submerged extension of the
great valley of the Yuna River, is thirty-five miles in length and
from ten to fifteen miles in width. Looking up the Bay from the
entrance no land is descried on the horizon. Columbus, when he first
entered, believed he was on an ocean channel dividing two islands. The
north coast is protected by the low mountain-range of the Samana
peninsula, in places resembling the Palisades on the Hudson, and the
southern shore is fringed by a chain of hills, so that the emerald
green waters of the Bay are perfectly sheltered against all winds
except those from the east. Even here the effect of the wind is
modified and it is only during eastern gales that choppy waves oblige
small boats to seek the coves along the shore. About four miles from
Point Balandra, is a group of five islets, known as the Cayos
Levantados. The channel between these Keys and the northern shore of
the Bay, 2000 yards in width with a maximum depth of 140 and a minimum
depth of 50 feet, constitutes the principal entrance to the Bay, the
only one which is available for large vessels. The other channel,
known as the Half Moon Channel, lies immediately south of the Keys;
but being narrow and shallow, is navigable only by vessels of light
draft. The great expanse of water, fifteen miles in width, between
this channel and the south shore of the Bay is so dotted with shoals
as to be absolutely impassable. It will thus be seen that the actual
entrance to the great Bay is quite narrow and could easily be defended
by mines or by fortifications on the Cayos and the peninsula. The Bay
is like a great bottle with a very narrow neck. The Spaniards, in
fact, established a small fort on the headland, its ruins being now
hidden by dense underbrush.
It seems surprising that no large and flourishing metropolis should
have arisen on the shores of this splendid body of water. Apparently
the principal reason why it did not appeal to the Spaniards was that
owing to the prevailing easterly breezes their clumsy vessels would
have encountered difficulty in leaving. Since the days of steam, of
course, this trouble is obviated. The value of the Bay as a naval
station has been widely advertised, and France, England and the United
States have at various times entertained projects of acquiring it. The
American government in 1869 even negotiated a treaty for the lease of
Samana peninsula and Samana Bay, but the United States Senate failed
to act and the treaty was lost by expiration of time. The Bay would
constitute a military and commercial key to this part of the world for
any power possessing it.
Near Balandra point is the tiny settlement of Las Flechas, located
upon the scene of the first encounter marked by bloodshed between the
Spaniards and Indians. A number of Columbus' men having landed here in
January, 1493. were attacked by Indians and in the ensuing engagement
an Indian was wounded. The occurrence induced Columbus to name the
Bay Golfo de las Flechas, Gulf of the Arrows. At the end of the main
channel of entrance to the Bay the north shore is indented by the
large and commodious basin of Clara, and about two miles further to
the west is the harbor of the old city of Santa Barbara de Samana, a
tranquil sheet of water, separated from the Bay proper by several
small islands, but which can be entered only by vessels drawing less
than twenty feet. Beyond Samana the coast becomes a little less steep
and the verdure-covered mountains recede sufficiently to give room to
narrow coast plains, thickly grown with cocoa-nut palms. Along the
beach are landscapes of idyllic beauty. Deep water extends up to the
shore and there are half a dozen points which excel for landing
places. Some twenty miles from Samana the last offshoots from the
mountains encompass the town of Sanchez. Beyond in a large
semi-circle, the end of the Bay is skirted by the great swamp which
comprises the Gran Estero and the delta of the Yuna River.
The town of Sanchez, the terminus of the railroad from La Vega, is an
important outlet for the products of the Royal Plain, but though one
of the principal ports of the Republic its situation on Samana Bay is
unfavorable. Located where the Samana mountains slope into the Gran
Estero, the site is ill adapted for the expansion of the settlement;
the vicinity of the great marsh is not inviting, though the prevailing
eastern breezes serve to drive back its noxious emanations; and the
harbor, even now so shallow that vessels are obliged to anchor a mile
from shore, is gradually silting up with sediment from the Yuna River.
The story goes that the selection of this unpropitious spot for the
terminus of the railroad was due to the passion of a moment. A tract
of land at Point Santa Capuza, five miles down the bay, where a level
coast plain and deep water up to the very shore invited the
establishment of a port, had previously been chosen. The railroad had
been extended to this spot and the foundations of the shops were being
laid when the principal owner of the road, who was directing the
construction work, learned that several of his engineers had acquired
a controlling interest in a portion of the site of the projected town.
The choleric Scotchman immediately removed his headquarters to Las
Cañitas, where Sanchez is now located, and though a vast amount of
digging and filling was necessary the shops were erected here and the
road to Santa Capuza was abandoned. The railroad has since purchased,
for a song, almost all the land which caused t
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