The Dominican Republic: A National History

by Frank Moya-Pons

Frank Moya Pons is the best-known contemporary Dominican historian. The author of many books and articles, he is a recognized scholar both at home and abroad. This book is based on his well-known Manual de historia dominicana (1992), now in its tenth edition and considered a basic text in Dominican historiography. But his new book is more than a simple translation of the old classic; it is a revised and expanded edition, with new sections, detailed historical maps, and a comprehensive bibliographic essay. The history of the Island and the Dominican Republic from 1492 to 1990 by " the best-known contemporary Dominican historian.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Latin American History

543 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Leading contemporary historian of the Dominican Republic. He has published many important books in the history and cultural heritage of the country. One of his best known works is Manual de historia dominicana (1992), now in its tenth edition which is a staple work of Dominican historiography. In 1985 he authored the book Between Slavery and Free Labor: The Spanish, in 1998 The Dominican Republic: A National History and in 2007 History of the Caribbean: plantations, trade, and war in the Atlantic world. He has also conducted much work into slavery in the Dominican Republic and Caribbean.

Reviews

[Albert Sergio]

Tainos, Spaniards, French, British, Spaniards, French Again, Haitian Revolution, Hatian Occupation, Juan Pablo Duarte and Co., Dominican Independence, Caudillos, US Intervention, TRUJILLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOO, US intervention, No more Trujillo, Balaguer, Dominican Diaspora, Washington Heights, and Mofongo at Pikalonga Restaurant in Perth Amboy. The End.

[Alexander Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as a Christmas gift about eight years ago, being a midwestern born and bred Dominican-American who knew very little of of the history of country of my ancestors. A thorough and concise read of the history of the island of Quisqueya (the original Taino name of the island), from Columbus' Spanish funded expedition and "discovery" of the island, to Spanish colonization of the island and its empire (and influence) in the New World, the destruction of the natives and important of African Slaves, the conmingling of the three cultures from three continents that has left a lasting legacy on the music, food, and culture of the island, and to its tumultous history of politics and and Dominican pioneers who have shaped the country to what it is today. A great read!

[Rafael Morillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history about the Dominican Republic. Dominican history is complex and the Dominican people are currently a mixture of the various people who populated the island in the past. Every Dominican should read this book and everyone who is interested in Dominican and Latin American history.

[John]

The book recounts the story on abuse that has been going on for more than five centuries. The Caribs abused the Tainos. The Spanish abused the Indians and the Africans. The Haitians abused the Dominicans. The Dominican dictators abused the Dominican populace. The abuse never seems to stop. It's tragic.

[Joseph Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moya Pons does an excellent job of summarizing 500 years of history of the Dominican Republic. As someone who had little prior knowledge of the history of the island of Hispaniola, Moya Pons is able to detail the long and complicated history of the Dominican Republic, from Columbus’ arrival in 1492 through the early 2000s. He covers the age of Spanish rule, the age of Haitian domination, the rise of the Caudillos, Spanish re-annexation, the War of Restoration, the age of Ulises Heureaux, civil war, the US protectorate phase, the age of Trujillo, more civil war after Trujillos’ assassination, and the corruption and reintroduction of modern day Caudillos. As possibly the only English language history of the Dominican Republic, Moya Pons has certainly sparked my interest to find other books to dive deeper into this subject.

[Bay Gross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I’ve been to the Dominican Republic four times now in the last two years for tourism, and I wanted to learn more. This particular book then was the easy choice, as effectively the only full history published in english. Unfortunately that speaks more to the lack of published study, and not to the quality of the text :(


I was hoping it might be comparable to “In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India” which is a phenomenal introduction to the history, culture, politics, and economic environment of India over the last century and my go-to standard for what a 101 can be. In this case however the book was dry, drawn out, inconsistent in tone, and poorly structured beyond a general chronology. Way too much drip-by-drip detail on border debates, tiny skirmishes, various debt and foreign loan cycles… without analysis or summary trend discussion. You are better off sticking to the wikipedia summary.

Small take-aways:
- Caribbean first settled by south americans around 3,000 BC
- Hispaniola (Haiti + DR) is in a uniquely terrible position relative to earthquake fault lines. Many events.
- One of the local Caribbean tribes may have been cannibalistic and had a nasty practice of kidnapping adult women whom they would keep to birth children for eating. This account is debated though and may be corrupted through racist oral history.

- Columbus set up shop on hispaniola as his main anchorage in 1492
- 400k inhabitants when spaniards arrived, 90% dead within 2 decades due to disease primarily
- Spanish crown had declared the locals to be free, not slaves. But after a few years of economic hardship and too few manual laborers to build the colony, the colonial government just started enslaving locals anyways and kicked off African slave trade as well.

- French settled western island (haiti) soon after and the french vs spanish proxy wars on the island caused significant political turmoil, waste, and death over the years.
- US almost annexed DR in 1870, narrowly failed senate vote
- US occupied and controlled DR for a few decades in early 1900’s

- Most famous dictator and political legacy is Trujillo. He held power for nearly 30 years in early 20th century. Killed all his enemies. Funneled nearly all economic activity into monopolies he owned, massively rich. Committed genocide of haitians on the border. Bankrupt the national bank.


Big take-aways:

[1] Studying small states is a funny academic exercise because you get a microcosm of all the big topics any nation faces, just on a super small and legible scale. War, Economy, Politics, all tied together and linked to just 1-2 cities and a few dozen individuals with significant leverage any given decade.

[2] Caribbean states have been pawns in proxy wars for centuries, first between European powers during the Atlantic trade era, then the US during Monroe Doctrine particularly around the panama canal routes, and finally more recently between US and Soviet during the 20th century. Results in whiplash and political turmoil. A case-study in the need for self-governance and isolationism.

[3] When european powers went to war with each other (all the time) they declared each other’s merchant vessels to be fair game for piracy. There was a funny venture capital industry in the mainland, then, with formal European capitalists and bankers backing private schooners to go attack merchant ships of other nations and steal their loot.

[4] The US Army are, among many other responsibilities, nation builders and proxy governments. (For better or worse). In the 1910’s the US military took over DR and ran nearly all aspects of trade, economic policy, public works, and domestic security. This period helped stabilize the DR economy for the first time, grow the bank with regular taxes and tariffs, and modernize the territory with highways and water treatment.

[5] On several occasions slavery was outlawed, but then locals just enjoyed subsistence farming and the large corporate agriculture and mining businesses couldn’t get enough labor. So they would reinstate slavery in order to drive capitalism and investment returns.

[Emmanuel Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I learned much more about my roots as a Dominican American.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating history covering the past 500 years of the Dominican Republic. A few parts were difficult to follow but overall the book was well-researched and well-written. The book roughly covers the years 1500-2004 and I'm curious to learn more about the past 16 years, too.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that Caribs kept Taino women as cows and ate their babies like veal? No one mentioned that in Latin America and Caribbean Studies class. It’s always, “Taino this” and “Taino that.” No wonder.

[Gordon Kwok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book in English (one of the few out there) with a comprehensive history of the Dominican Republic and events were portrayed in a very even-handed manner.

[Raudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente material para profundizar sobre los cimientos de las raíces de la historia dominicana. Explica con mucha claridad los eventos más importantes pero sin abundar mucho sobre los detalles de la idiosincrasia dominicana en estos eventos puntuales.

[Moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good general and comprehensive history. Good starting point for more detailed research or as an overview to familiarize yourself with Dominican History.

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book

[Daniel]

It was an excellent history. I learned a great deal about a country that I did not know too much about. Sometimes the English is a bit strange, it was written originally in Spanish. Moya-Pons explains how the Spanish colonized Hispaniola relatively quickly wiping out most of the natives via disease and enslavement. From there the Island became a battle between the French, Spanish, English and the Dutch. The Americans do not appear for many years. The history is one of a consistent pattern. Strong men arise seeking power to enrich themselves, their families and followers. The losers went into exile whether in Haiti, Puerto Rico or Cuba and waited amass their forces to oust the winner. The only change of pattern came when the United States took over running the Island for five years in the early part of the Twentieth Century. Even today in a much more prosperous Dominican Republican with more normalized elections it seems the appeal to the less prosperous, less educated rural voters are pitted against the urban and educated voters.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent reading for those who want to have an overview on the DR.