Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

abolished slavery; later, however, the French reinstituted slavery
in the area under their control in the east. The return of
Spanish landowners to Santo Domingo in the early 1800s and
the blockade by the British of the port of Santo Domingo led to
the final departure of the French in 1809 and the return of
Spanish rule. This rule was short-lived, however, because Jean-
Pierre Boyer, as president of now independent Haiti, invaded
Santo Domingo in 1822, and Haiti occupied the country for
twenty-two years.
Subsequent Dominican leaders have revived memories of
Haiti's harsh treatment of the inhabitants during its occupation
of Santo Domingo, fueling Dominican dislike of Haitians.
Moreover, during the occupation, Haitians, who associated the
Roman Catholic Church with their colonial oppressors, confiscated
Dominican Roman Catholic churches and property and
severed the church's connection to the Vatican. Such historical
experience caused Dominicans to see themselves as culturally
and religiously different from Haitians and promoted a desire
for independence. Building on this sentiment, Juan Pablo
Duarte founded in 1838 a secret movement whose motto was
"God, Country, and Liberty," defining Dominican nationality in
religious and Hispanic terms. The overthrow of Boyer in the
Haitian Revolution of 1843 further helped activate the Dominican
struggle for independence, which occurred in February
1844.
Independence, however, did not bring either the Dominican
Republic or Haiti a democratic central government organization
but rather the rule of a series of strong men, or caudillos.
Independence was also accompanied by political instability and
interspersed with interference and sometimes occupation by
one or another of the major powers, including the United
States. In addition to taking charge of the finances of both
countries on different occasions to ensure that the United
States sphere of influence was not invaded by European powers
seeking to recover debts that had not been paid, the United
States occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934 and the Dominican
Republic from 1916 to 1924. Although strongman rule was
accompanied frequently by liberal-sounding constitutions
(since 1844 the Dominican Republic has had thirty-two constitutions,
while Haiti has had twenty-four constitutions since
1804) , such documents were ignored when it was convenient to
do so, altered unilaterally, or negated by sham plebiscites.
Major instances of such strongman regimes were those of
xx