When the Spaniards arrived to the island of Hispaniola in 1492, a native tribe, the tainos, greeted them. Evidence shows tainos had been in the island since 800 A. D.
Tainos were not very civilized and they had a survival economy. They hunted, fished and grew yucca, corn, batata and peppers. Trade was made with the surplus of their various productions.
The political organization of tainos was called “cacicazgos”, when Columbus arrived there were five chiefs or caciques. These cacicazgos were based on a tributary system in which every taino paid a part of their crops to the chief or cacique.
In 1494 La Isabela was founded on the northern tip of the island. This upset the natives and resulted in a series of fierce battles. Thousands of natives died. One of the most important battles was Santo Cero from which the cult to Our Lady of Mercies was born. She is the patron saint of Dominican Republic.
The island of Hispaniola became a base of operations for the Spanish conquest of the continent. Once the colony was established, the first church, university, hospital and sugar mill of America were built in the Dominican Republic.
The “encomienda” system (feudal practice in which the crown gave the natives away as cheap labor in exchange for preaching to them) was officially established in 1503. This caused a significant decrease in the population. Such was the impact of this system in the native population, that by 1560, tainos had disappeared. It is at this point that African slaves began to be brought to the island.
Tainos, however, left a legacy that still lives in the form of hammocks and macutos (hand woven, cylindrical basket with a handle at the top, made of cane and commonly used to carry food and small objects)
Throughout the 16th Century, Hispaniola thrived socially and economically, but by the end of the century, because of the conquest of the main land, the island was neglected by the Spanish empire and started to decline into poverty. The attack of British pirates did not help matters, for they destroyed a great part of the cities and towns.
In 1697, Spain recognizes the dominion of France over the western third of the island. This would, in 1804, become Haiti. The rest of the island was known by then as Santo Domingo and did not obtain its independence until 1844, when it became the Dominican Republic. Since then the Dominican Republic has had a series of unstable governments, civil wars and dictatorships.
In 1996, democratic elections were established and, since then, the Dominican Republic has maintained a political stability given by a series of democratic governments. This has given the country the opportunity to become a well known tourist attraction.
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