A Brief History
The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and is a neighboring country to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and other Caribbean islands. Before gaining independence in 1844 and 1865, the Dominican Republic was a colony of Spain, France, and Haiti. The way you conduct your genealogical research will be shaped by your understanding of historical events. It's helpful to do research on your locality of interest (ex. city, town, province).
[Map of the Dominican Republic, year 1912 Map Division]
Timeline
There many reasons why having knowledge of historical events may affect the outcome of your genealogical research. Based on particular events in Dominican history, you may find it difficult to locate certain information. Events such as natural disasters may affect the availability of some records depending on locality (town, city, etc.). While the majority of documents are written in Spanish, there are a number of records in French depending on the time period. Nonetheless, having knowledge about the past can give you further insight into the lives of your ancestors.
Further Reading
Read more about the history of the Dominican Republic in this book available in the NYPL Research Catalog.
Or, find these titles in a library near you using WorldCat.
The Dominican Republic : A National History
Frank Moya Pons
New Rochelle, N.Y. : Hispaniola Books, 1995
Historias en Español
- Hechos relevantes de la historia Dominicana : (lo vivido y lo leído) 1916-1973 byCall Number: JX 23-3859ISBN: 9789945613506Publication Date: 2020
- Santo Domingo y Saint Domingue : un vistazo sobre su historia byCall Number: JX 23-3857ISBN: 9789945618402Publication Date: 2021A study on how the island was divided into two parts by the European colonial powers of France and Spain.