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Dominican War of Independence

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Dominican War of Independence
Goletaseparacion.jpg
Schooner "Separación Dominicana" during the Battle of Tortuguero, by Adolfo García Obregón
Date1844–1856
Location
Hispaniola
Result

Dominican victory

  • Expulsion of Haitian government
  • Dominican independence
Belligerents
Dominican Republic  Haiti
Commanders and leaders
Juan Pablo Duarte
Pedro Santana
Antonio Duvergé
Felipe Alfau
Juan B. Cambiaso
Juan B. Maggiolo
Juan Acosta
Manuel Mota
José Mª. Cabral
José Mª. Imbert
J. J. Puello
Pedro E. Pelletier		 Haiti Charles Hérard
Haiti Jean-Louis Pierrot
Haiti Faustin Soulouque
Haiti Pierre Paul
Haiti Auguste Brouard
Haiti Gen. Souffrand
Haiti Gen. St.-Louis
Haiti Jean Francois
Strength
  • Volunteers: 15,000
  • Regular army: 40,000+
Casualties and losses
  • Less than 20 dead (1844–1845)
 3,000 dead (1844–1845)
The exact number of casualties is unknown;
however, Haiti is estimated to have lost three times more troops than Dominican Republic[1]

The Dominican Independence War gave the Dominican Republic autonomy from Haiti on February 27, 1844. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united under the Haitian government for a period of 22 years when the newly independent nation, previously known as the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, was unified with Haiti in 1822. The criollo class within the country overthrew the Spanish crown in 1821 before unifying with Haiti a year later.

At the time Haiti had been more economically and militarily powerful and had a population 8 to 10 times larger than the former Spanish colony, having been the richest colony in the western hemisphere before the Haitian Revolution. Dominican military officers agreed to merge the newly independent nation with Haiti, as they sought for political stability under the Haitian president Jean-Pierre Boyer, and were attracted to Haiti's perceived wealth and power at the time. However, due to the Haitian government's mismanagement, heavy military disputes, and an economic crisis the Haitian government became increasingly unpopular, thus the Dominican people decided to forcefully overthrow the Haitian government with no compromises.

After ousting the Haitian occupying force from the country, Dominican nationalists fought against a series of attempted Haitian invasions that served to consolidate their independence from 1844 to 1856. Haitian soldiers would make incessant attacks to try to gain back control of the territory, but these efforts were to no avail as the Dominicans would go on to decisively win every battle henceforth. Since then, Dominican-Haitian relations have been unstable.[2]

Background

At the beginning of the 1800s, the colony of Santo Domingo, which had once been the headquarters of Spanish power in the New World, was in its worst decline. Spain during this time was embroiled in the Peninsular War in Europe, and other various wars to maintain control of the Americas. With Spain's resources spread among its global interest, Santo Domingo became neglected. This period is referred to as the España Boba era.

The population of the Spanish colony stood at approximately 80,000 with the vast majority being European descendants and free people of color. For most of its history, Santo Domingo had an economy based on mining and cattle ranching. The Spanish colony's plantation economy never truly flourished because slaves couldn't be brutally exploited,[clarification needed] and the enslaved population had been historically significantly lower than that of the neighboring Saint-Domingue, which was nearing a million slaves before the Haitian Revolution.

Ephemeral independence

José Núñez de Cáceres

During this period in time the Spanish crown wielded little to no influence in the colony of Santo Domingo. Some wealthy cattle ranchers had become leaders, and sought to bring control and order in the southeast of the colony where the "law of machete" ruled the land. On November 9, 1821 the former Captain general in charge of the colony, José Núñez de Cáceres, influenced by all the Revolutions that were going on around him, finally decided to overthrow the Spanish government and declared independence from Spanish rule, this would usher in an Ephemeral Independence, as the nation would be united with Haiti shortly after.

Unification of Hispaniola (1822-1844)

Main article: Unification of Hispaniola
Jean-Pierre Boyer, the mulatto ruler of Haiti

A group of Dominican politicians and military officers[who?] had expressed interest in uniting the entire island, while they sought for political stability and support under Haiti, which at the time was still seen as having a great deal of wealth and power.[citation needed] Haiti had been by far the richest colony in the western hemisphere and was known as the Pearl of the Antilles.

Haiti's president, Jean-Pierre Boyer, promised his full protection and support to the frontier governors, and thus he ceremoniously entered the country with around 10,000 soldiers in February 1822, after most of the cities and towns proclaimed their allegiance to the Republic of Haiti between November 1821 and January 1822, including Puerto Plata (December 13, 1821) and Santiago (December 29, 1821). On February 9, 1822, Boyer formally entered the capital city, Santo Domingo, where he was met with enthusiasm and received by Núñez who offered to him the keys of the Palace. Boyer rejected the offer, while saying: "I have not come into this city as a conqueror but by the will of its inhabitants". The island was thus united from "Cape Tiburon to Cape Samana in possession of one government."

Eventually, the Haitian government became extremely unpopular throughout the country. The Dominican population grew increasingly impatient with Haiti's poor management and perceived incompetence, and the heavy taxation that was imposed on their side. The country was hit with a severe economic crisis after having been forced to pay a huge indemnity to France. A debt was accrued by Haiti in order to pay for their own independence from the European nation; this would give rise to many anti-Haitian plots.

Resistance

An assembly of the Trinitarios

In 1838 Juan Pablo Duarte, an educated nationalist, founded a resistance movement called La Trinitaria ("The Trinity") along with Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez. It was so named because its original nine members had organized themselves into cells of three. The cells went on to recruit as separate organizations, maintaining strict secrecy, with little or no direct contact among themselves, in order to minimize the possibility of detection by the Haitian authorities. Many recruits quickly came to the group, but it was discovered and forced to change its name to La Filantrópica ("The Philanthropic"). The Trinitarios won the loyalty of two Dominican-manned Haitian regiments.[3]

In 1843 the revolution made a breakthrough: they worked with a liberal Haitian party that overthrew President Jean-Pierre Boyer. However, the Trinitarios'[4] work in the overthrow gained the attention of Boyer's replacement, Charles Rivière-Hérard. Rivière-Hérard imprisoned some Trinitarios and forced Duarte to leave the island. While gone, Duarte searched for support in Colombia and Venezuela, but was unsuccessful. Upon returning to Haiti, Hérard, a mulatto, faced a rebellion by blacks in Port-au-Prince. The two regiments of Dominicans were among those used by Hérard to suppress the uprising.[3]

In December 1843 the rebels told Duarte to return since they had to act quickly because they were afraid the Haitians had learned of their insurrection plans. When Duarte had not returned by February, because of illness, the rebels decided to take action anyway with the leadership of Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, Ramón Matías Mella, and Pedro Santana, a wealthy cattle-rancher from El Seibo who commanded a private army of peons who worked on his estates.

War of Independence

Duarte, briefly a member of the governing junta, for a time commanded an armed force as well. He was temperamentally unsuited for generalship, however, and the junta eventually replaced him with General José María Imbert.
One of the three main leaders of the Trinitaria movement that ignited the war in 1844 was army General Francisco Sánchez.
Other of the three main leaders of the Trinitaria movement that ignited the war in 1844 was army General Ramón Mella, but he and the other Trinitarians soon lost political control to General Pedro Santana, who commanded the army's victories in the field.

On February 27, 1844, some 100 Dominicans seized the fortress of Puerta del Conde in the city of Santo Domingo, and the following day the Haitian garrison surrendered.[3] As these Haitian troops withdrew to the west side of the island, they pillaged and burned.[3] Mella headed the provisional governing junta of the new Dominican Republic. On March 14, Duarte finally returned after recovering from his illness and was greeted in celebration. Haitian Commander, Charles Rivière-Hérard, sent three columns totaling 30,000 men to crush the Dominican uprising.[5] In the south, Hérard was checked by Dominican forces led by Pedro Santana at Azua on March 19. In the north, General Jean-Louis Pierrot and 15,000 Haitians were repelled in an attack on Santiago by the garrison commanded by José María Imbert.[5] As the Haitians retreated, they laid waste to land.[3]

Meanwhile, at sea, the Dominican schooners Maria Chica (3 guns), commanded by Juan Bautista Maggiolo, and the Separación Dominicana (5 guns), commanded by Juan Bautista Cambiaso, defeated a Haitian brigantine Pandora (unk guns) plus schooners Le signifie (unk guns) and La Mouche (unk guns) off Tortuguero on April 15.[3]

On June 17, 1845, the Dominicans, only a little over a year after winning independence from Haiti, invaded their former master in retaliation for Haitian border raids.[5] The invaders captured two towns on the Plateau du Centre and established a bastion at Cachimán.[5] Haitian President Jean-Louis Pierrot quickly mobilized his army and counterattacked on July 22, driving the invaders from Cachimán and back across the frontier.[1] In the first significant naval action between the Hispaniolan rivals, a Dominican squadron captured 3 small Haitian warships and 149 seamen off Puerto Plata on December 21.[1]

On March 9, 1849, President Faustin Soulouque of Haiti led 10,000 troops in an invasion of the Dominican Republic. Dominican General (and presidential contender) Santana raised 6,000 soldiers and, with the help of several gunboats, routed the Haitian invaders at El Número on April 17 and at Las Carreras[6] on April 21–22.[7] In November 1849, a small naval campaign was undertaken in which Dominican government schooners captured Anse-à-Pitres and one or two other villages on the southern coast of Haiti, which were sacked and burned by the Dominicans.[8] The Dominicans also captured Dame-Marie, which they plundered and set on fire.[9]

By late 1854 the Hispaniolan nations were at war again. On November, 2 Dominican ships captured a Haitian warship and bombarded two Haitian ports.[1] In November 1855, Soulouque, having proclaimed himself Emperor Faustin I of a Haitian empire which he hoped to expand to include the Dominican Republic, invaded his neighbor again, this time with a ravaging and looting army of 30,000 men marching in three columns.[1] But again the Dominicans proved to be superior soldiers, defeating Soulouque's army, which vastly outnumbered them.[10]

Battles

Notes

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Clodfelter 2017, p. 302.
  2. ^ Moya, Pons Frank. 1977. Historia Colonial de Santo Domingo. 3rd ed. Santiago: Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Scheina 2003.
  4. ^ The members of La Trinitaria.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Clodfelter 2017, p. 301.
  6. ^ The battle opened with a cannon barrage and devolved into a hand-to-hand bloodbath. Neither side took prisoners.
  7. ^ As the remnants of the Haitian army retreated along the southern coastal road, they were under fire from a small Dominican squadron. The Haitians hastily burned the town of Azua and the hamlets of Neiba, San Juan, and Las Matas.
  8. ^ Schoenrich 1918.
  9. ^ Léger 1907, p. 202.
  10. ^ It was the last Haitian invasion, but Haiti did not formally recognize the independence of the Dominican Republic until 1874.

References

  • Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015 (4th ed.). McFarland.
  • Schoenrich, Otto (1918). Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future. Library of Alexandria.
  • Marley, David (2005). Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
  • Scheina, Robert L. (2003). Latin America's Wars. Potomac Books.
  • Knight, Franklin W. (2014). The Modern Caribbean. UNC Press Books.
  • Léger, Jacques Nicolas (1907). Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors. The Neale Publishing Company.
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