Before the arrival of the European Settlers, there were two native people who inhabited the island and there were the Arawaks and the Taínos. The Native People and the European Settlers were able to live together and work together for a number of years before things took a turn for the worst. More than 100 years after Christopher Columbus founded and renamed the island of Hispaniola, many of the Native people had died from disease, famine, and war. The Spanish calmed ownership of the island and in 1503, the Spaniards beginning bring slaves into the island who were forced to work long hours on the sugar plantations. Due to the intensive slave trade on the island of Hispaniola, this created a strong Afro-Latino presence that can still be seen in both countries on the island. While the Spanish and European Settlers had largely inhabited the eastern part of the island, or what we now know as the Dominican Republic, the western part of the island was left empty for a number of years. That all changed in the 17th century when the French Settlers arrived in what we know as Haiti. The French would remain in control of Haiti until 1801 where Toussaint L’Ouverture and other blacks led a revolt against the French. Just 7 short years later, the same people led another revolt against the Spaniards and took control of the Dominican Republic. While the Spaniards would take back the island of Hispaniola, it was short lived as the Haitians overthrew the Spanish a short time later. However, that all changed in 1844, when the Dominican people fought back, thus establishing what we now know as the Dominican
Before the arrival of the European Settlers, there were two native people who inhabited the island and there were the Arawaks and the Taínos. The Native People and the European Settlers were able to live together and work together for a number of years before things took a turn for the worst. More than 100 years after Christopher Columbus founded and renamed the island of Hispaniola, many of the Native people had died from disease, famine, and war. The Spanish calmed ownership of the island and in 1503, the Spaniards beginning bring slaves into the island who were forced to work long hours on the sugar plantations. Due to the intensive slave trade on the island of Hispaniola, this created a strong Afro-Latino presence that can still be seen in both countries on the island. While the Spanish and European Settlers had largely inhabited the eastern part of the island, or what we now know as the Dominican Republic, the western part of the island was left empty for a number of years. That all changed in the 17th century when the French Settlers arrived in what we know as Haiti. The French would remain in control of Haiti until 1801 where Toussaint L’Ouverture and other blacks led a revolt against the French. Just 7 short years later, the same people led another revolt against the Spaniards and took control of the Dominican Republic. While the Spaniards would take back the island of Hispaniola, it was short lived as the Haitians overthrew the Spanish a short time later. However, that all changed in 1844, when the Dominican people fought back, thus establishing what we now know as the Dominican