Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic Independent nation occupying the e two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies; the capital is Santo Domingo. Dominican Republic is mountainous: the Cordillera Central range, running nw to se, includes the highest point in the Caribbean, Duarte Peak, at 3175m (10,417ft). Christopher Columbus visited Hispaniola in 1492, and the Spanish eventually established a settlement at Santo Domingo. In 1697, France received the w third of the island (now Haiti). In 1795, the whole island came under French rule but the e part returned to Spain in 1809. In 1821, the colony declared independence as the Dominican Republic, but was quickly annexed by Haiti. It won independence a second time in 1844. Its subsequent history was one of anarchy and civil war, punctuated by dictatorships and US military interventions. The most notorious dictator (1930–61) was Rafael Trujillo. In 1966, a new constitution was adopted and Joaquín Balaguer was elected president (1966–78, 1986–96). Hipóliti Mejía became president in 2000 elections. Mineral deposits are an increasingly important export, although agriculture is still the economic mainstay (2000 GDP per capita US$5700). Area: 48,734sq km (18,816sq mi). Pop. (2000) 8,621,000.

Political map

Physical map

Websites

http://www.dominicanrepublic.com/Tourism