AfghAnistAn rePuBliC of georgiA PAKistAn ArgentinA gerMAny PAnAMA AustrAliA ghAnA Peru AustriA greeCe BAhrAin guAteMAlA the PhiliPPines BAnglAdesh hondurAs BelgiuM iCelAnd BerMudA indiA BoliviA indonesiA BosniA And herzegovinA irAn BrAzil CAnAdA Chile ChinA ColoMBiA CostA riCA CroAtiA CuBA deMoCrAtiC rePuBliC of the Congo the doMiniCAn rePuBliC PolAnd PortugAl Puerto riCo russiA rwAndA irAq sAudi ArABiA irelAnd sCotlAnd isrAel senegAl itAly south AfriCA JAMAiCA south KoreA JAPAn sPAin KAzAKhstAn sweden KenyA KuwAit MexiCo nePAl the netherlAnds syriA tAiwAn thAilAnd turKey uKrAine egyPt new zeAlAnd englAnd niCArAguA the united stAtes ethioPiA nigeriA uzBeKistAn finlAnd north KoreA venezuelA frAnCe norwAy vietnAM The Dominican Republic Douglas A Phillips Series Editor Charles F Gritzner South Dakota State University Frontispiece: Flag of the Dominican Republic Cover: Guards in front of the National Palace, Santo Domingo, Domican Republic The Dominican Republic Copyright © 2010 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher For information, contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Phillips, Douglas A The Dominican Republic / Douglas A Phillips and Charles F Gritzner p cm — (Modern world nations) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-60413-618-0 (hardcover : alk paper) ISBN 978-1-4381-3308-9 (e-book) Dominican Republic— Juvenile literature I Gritzner, Charles F II Title III Series F1934.2.P47 2010 972.93—dc22 2009046536 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755 You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by Takeshi Takahashi Cover design by Alicia Post Composition by EJB Publishing Services Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd MN Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd MN Date printed: April 2010 Printed in the United States of America 10 This book is printed on acid-free paper All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid Table of Contents Introduction to the Dominican Republic Physical Landscapes 15 The Dominican Republic Through Time 28 People and Culture 44 Government and Politics 57 The Dominican Republic’s Economy 71 Living in the Dominican Republic Today 82 The Dominican Republic Looks Ahead 98 Facts at a Glance History at a Glance Bibliography Further Reading Index 105 108 110 111 114 The Dominican Republic Introduction to the Dominican Republic F or many readers, the Dominican Republic means but one thing—baseball players! It is true that on a per capita basis, no place in the world produces more highly skilled professional baseball players than does this small Caribbean country But the Dominican Republic offers so much more In this book, you will learn why the “D.R.” is a hotbed of baseball But you will also learn many other things that make the island nation such a fascinating and unique land Location The Dominican Republic, located on the island of Hispaniola, is one of nearly 20 countries within the Caribbean Basin The island and country are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and Caribbean Sea to the south Relative to the United States, the Dominican Republic is located about 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) southeast Introduction to the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti It is the second-largest Caribbean nation, with an area of 30,242 square miles (48,670 square kilometers), which is slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire MWN DomRep CN01 P2.indd 3/22/10 1:39:45 PM ... Enriquillo, which 19 20 The Dominican Republic occupies the bottom of the depression, is the largest lake within the West Indies The largest plains area of the Dominican Republic, the Llano Costero... Range) These mountains form the backbone of Haiti and extend eastward into the Dominican Republic Not only is the Cordillera Central the highest range in the Dominican Republic, but it is 17 18 The. .. terms of history that the Dominican Republic really stands out among countries within the New World (The “New World is composed of the Americas, Australia, and Oceania These are the places that were