Dominican Republic Summary

In the extent of attempting to conjure a sense of understanding of how nationalism and ethno racial stratification manifested within the Dominican Republic Author Amelia Hintzen delves into the critical examination of the historical components regarding Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and his imposition of government campaigns against Haitian migrants in the early 20th century. Hintzen posits an unstudied dimension of analysis which includes a failed plan to massively deport Haitians which inevitably led to the 1937 border massacre which left thousands dead. Hintzen examines the degree to which the Trujillo regime enacted violence in attempts to forcefully disintegrate as a means of compelling obedience from local authorities which had resisted government attempts to supersede their jurisdiction.
An emphasis is placed on the most recent historical examples in the 20th and 21st century. However, it is critical to understand that the roots of Anti-Haitianism were prevalent in the Dominican Republic as far back as the 17th century when French colonization and the creation of sugar plantations for cane sugar became the dominating export with the usage of systematic slavery. Fast-forward beyond the Haitian revolution in 1804 and sugar plantations have consistently represented a consistent symbol of power and control where although slavery may have been abolished, the narrative of relating plantation labor with phenotypically black Haitians has evolved in shaping and continuing to drive ethnoracial stratification. From brutally forced slavery in the 16th century, to the Trujillo dictatorship, and in current day Dominican politics (which we will examine later) sugar can be attributed as one of the most prevalent historical factors responsible for discriminatory practice directed against phenotypically black