Dominican Republic
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry information - Dominican Republic
Country name - conventional long form : Dominican Republic
Country name - conventional short form : The Dominican
Country name - local long form : Republica Dominicana
Country name - local short form : La Dominicana
Country name - former :
Country code : DR
Government type : democratic republic
Capital - name : Santo Domingo
Capital - time difference : UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Population : 9,507,133 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Dominican(s)
Nationality - adjective : Dominican
Languages : Spanish
Currency (code) : Dominican peso (DOP)
Currency code : DOP
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : high
Major infectious diseases - note :
Dominican Republic is located Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti. The climate is tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall. The terrain is rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : Explored and claimed by Christopher COLUMBUS on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930-61. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term.
