First Dominican Republic
The First Dominican Republic, was a predecessor of the currently existing Dominican Republic, and began on 27 February 1844 with the proclamation of the Dominican Republic, and culminated on 18 March 1861 with the annexation of the country to Spain. During these 17 years the nation was economically and politically unstable due to prior war against Haiti and internal conflicts. There were 8 governments (3 of which corresponded to Pedro Santana and 2 to Buenaventura Báez).
Dominican Republic Spanish: República Dominicana | |||||||||||||
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| 1844–1861 | |||||||||||||
Map of Hispaniola from 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Status | Dominican territory | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Santo Domingo (1844-1857)
Santiago de los Caballeros (1857-1858) Santo Domingo (1859-1861) | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish | ||||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Dominican | ||||||||||||
| Government | Unitary presidential republic | ||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||
• 1844–1848 (first) | Pedro Santana | ||||||||||||
• 1849–1848 (second) | Manuel Jiménes | ||||||||||||
• 1853–1849 (third) | Buenaventura Báez | ||||||||||||
• 1856–1853 (fourth) | Pedro Santana | ||||||||||||
• 1856–1856 (fifth) | Manuel de Regla Mota | ||||||||||||
• 1858–1856 (sixth) | Buenaventura Báez | ||||||||||||
• 1858–1858 (seventh) | José Desiderio Valverde | ||||||||||||
• 1861–1858 (last) | Pedro Santana | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• proclamation of the Dominican Republic | 27 February 1844 | ||||||||||||
• annexation of the country to Spain | 18 March 1861 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Dominican peso | ||||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | DO | ||||||||||||
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The era of the First Republic was a period of great importance in Dominican history, as it marked the beginning of its independent life. This stage spanned from 1844 to 1861. The independence of the Dominican Republic was proclaimed on February 27, 1844, when a group of young patriots led by Juan Pablo Duarte and other prominent Dominican leaders rebelled against Haitian rule. This proclamation marked the end of the Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo, leading to the establishment of the new nation. After this, the Dominican Republic would have to fend off against external interests from Haiti, Spain, France, Great Britain, and the United States to maintain its sovereignty.
Internally, the new nation faced a series of challenges, including the construction of a stable political system and the organization of the state structure. During this stage, the country's first Constitution was promulgated in November 1844, which established a republican and democratic system. However, the nation for much of the period operated under the rule of conservative cuadillos, who sought out to disburse the liberal principles that laid the foundation of the patriotic sentiment.