Dominican Restoration War

The Dominican Restoration War or the Dominican War of Restoration (Spanish: Guerra de la Restauración, Guerra de Santo Domingo) was a guerrilla war between 1863 and 1865 in the Dominican Republic between nationalists and Spain, the latter of which had recolonized the country 17 years after its independence. The war resulted in the restoration of Dominican sovereignty, the withdrawal of Spanish forces, the separation of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo from Spain, and the establishment of a second republic in the Dominican Republic.

During the period of the First Dominican Republic, the nation endured repeated attacks from Haiti, and annexation attempts from France, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States, all of which threatened national sovereignty. Also posing a threat to the nation was the dictatorial ways of the presidents who during those years alternated in power. Pedro Santana and Buenaventura Báez were the two prolific politicians competing during this time. At the end of his last term, Pedro Santana decided to annex the country to Spain; His idea was to end the permanent threats from Haiti, but also to remain in power, since in exchange he accepted the position of captain general of the new Spanish province of Santo Domingo.

Such a decision would unleash the Dominican Republic's second war of independence, which pitted the supporters of annexation to Spain against the independentistas or restorers (since their objective was to restore the First Republic). Leaders such as Gregorio Luperón, José María Cabral, Santiago Rodriguez Masago and Gaspar Polanco stood out as the most capable of the generals on the independence side. Other prominent figures such as Juan Pablo Duarte and Matías Ramón Mella, (two of the legendary trio response for shaking Haitian rule in 1844), also fought on the independence side.

In the aftermath, the war would not bring stability; The continuous confrontations between the conservatives (led by Buenaventura Báez) and the liberals (like Luperón himself, who aspired to modernize and democratize the republican institutions) continued to destabilize and impoverish the country in the following decades.