Dominican Family Background
After many long talks with my grandmother's from my maternal and paternal side, they have provided me with a lot of insight to our family history and how we have ended in the United States. On my Dominican side we have not had many family members migrate to the United States until my mother and aunts decided to do so in in the 1970s. Santo Domingo, where my mother is originally from is the capital and the largest city in the Dominican Republic (DR). For a while the DR was not heavily populated until the metropolitan area was expanded, which increased the population to over 2 million. My native ancestors were the Taíno people who populated the island prior to Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492. My ancestors referred to the island as Quisqueya
(mother of all lands) and Ayiti (land of high mountains) until Christopher Columbus later named it Hispaniola. The Spanish did not settle on the island until 1496 and on August 5, 1498, Santo Domingo became the oldest European City. Santo Domingo went through many struggles after being destroyed and having to be rebuilt, facing many of attacks by Haitian rebels and France. Ironically, in 1655 Oliver Campbell attempted to attack Santo Domingo and was defeated. They withdrew their troops and took on the less secured Jamaica, which I stated earlier my father is from. Clarendon, Jamaica was one of the original seven parishes that formed Jamaica by Sir Thomas Modyford in 1664. My ancestors in Jamaica also comprised of the Taíno people with the addition of the indigenous Arawak people. This island was under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus until the English conquered the island and renamed it Jamaica. Although, both cities have gone through a lot they still seem to come out strong. My mother and father both faced many struggles upon their arrival to the states as well. The biggest being the language barrier in the United States. My mother’s first language is Spanish and my father, patois. Spanish is a Romance language and Patois is a dialect in the Jamaican region. The language barrier was extremely difficult for my parents to combat and they were often sold short of opportunities because of it but they managed to both seek higher education and provide a better life for us than they were given in their native countries.
(mother of all lands) and Ayiti (land of high mountains) until Christopher Columbus later named it Hispaniola. The Spanish did not settle on the island until 1496 and on August 5, 1498, Santo Domingo became the oldest European City. Santo Domingo went through many struggles after being destroyed and having to be rebuilt, facing many of attacks by Haitian rebels and France. Ironically, in 1655 Oliver Campbell attempted to attack Santo Domingo and was defeated. They withdrew their troops and took on the less secured Jamaica, which I stated earlier my father is from. Clarendon, Jamaica was one of the original seven parishes that formed Jamaica by Sir Thomas Modyford in 1664. My ancestors in Jamaica also comprised of the Taíno people with the addition of the indigenous Arawak people. This island was under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus until the English conquered the island and renamed it Jamaica. Although, both cities have gone through a lot they still seem to come out strong. My mother and father both faced many struggles upon their arrival to the states as well. The biggest being the language barrier in the United States. My mother’s first language is Spanish and my father, patois. Spanish is a Romance language and Patois is a dialect in the Jamaican region. The language barrier was extremely difficult for my parents to combat and they were often sold short of opportunities because of it but they managed to both seek higher education and provide a better life for us than they were given in their native countries.