Editing Dominican Republic (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the Dominican Republic}}

===Pre-Columbian era===
{{Main|Chiefdoms of Hispaniola}}
[[File:Copia de Cacicazgos de la Hispaniola.png|thumb|upright=1.0|The five caciquedoms of Hispaniola|left]]
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| footer            = The [[Pomier Caves]] are a series of 55 caves located north of San Cristóbal. They contain the largest collection of 2,000-year-old rock art in the Caribbean.
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The islands of the Caribbean were first settled around 6,000 years ago by hunter-gatherer peoples originating from Central America or northern South America. The [[Arawakan languages|Arawakan-speaking]] ancestors of the [[Taíno]] moved into the Caribbean from South America during the 1st millennium BC, reaching Hispaniola by around 600 AD.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last1=Fernandes |first1=Daniel M. |last2=Sirak |first2=Kendra A. |last3=Ringbauer |first3=Harald |last4=Sedig |first4=Jakob |last5=Rohland |first5=Nadin |last6=Cheronet |first6=Olivia |last7=Mah |first7=Matthew |last8=Mallick |first8=Swapan |last9=Olalde |first9=Iñigo |last10=Culleton |first10=Brendan J. |last11=Adamski |first11=Nicole |last12=Bernardos |first12=Rebecca |last13=Bravo |first13=Guillermo |last14=Broomandkhoshbacht |first14=Nasreen |last15=Callan |first15=Kimberly |date=2021-02-04 |title=A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=590 |issue=7844 |pages=103–110 |bibcode=2021Natur.590..103F |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03053-2 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=7864882 |pmid=33361817}}</ref> These Arawakan peoples engaged in farming, fishing,<ref name=Encarta>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563569_7/Dominican_Republic.html |title=Dominican Republic |encyclopedia=Encarta |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |access-date=June 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114170306/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563569_7/Dominican_Republic.html |archive-date=November 14, 2007 }}</ref> hunting and gathering,<ref name=LunaC/> and the widespread production of [[ceramic]] goods.<ref name=":13" /> The estimates of Hispaniola's population in 1492 vary widely, ranging from tens of thousands<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawler |first1=Andrew |title=Invaders nearly wiped out Caribbean's first people long before Spanish came, DNA reveals |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/12/invaders-nearly-wiped-out-caribbeans-first-people-long-before-spanish-came-dna-reveals/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223160603/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/12/invaders-nearly-wiped-out-caribbeans-first-people-long-before-spanish-came-dna-reveals/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 23, 2020 |work=National Geographic |date=December 23, 2020}}</ref> to 2 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/ant/KEEGAN08.ANT |title=Death Toll |last=Keegan |first=William |access-date=June 19, 2008 |publisher=[[Millersville University]], from [[Archaeology (magazine)|Archaeology]] (January/February 1992, p. 55)| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080321191857/http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/ant/KEEGAN08.ANT| archive-date = March 21, 2008}}</ref> By 1492, the island was divided into five Taíno chiefdoms.<ref>{{cite book|author=Roberto Cassá|title=Los Indios de Las Antillas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJ-wJ49cNwAC&pg=PA126|access-date=August 15, 2012|year=1992|publisher=Editorial Abya Yala|isbn=978-84-7100-375-1|pages=126–|archive-date=January 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111004223/https://books.google.com/books?id=oJ-wJ49cNwAC&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Samuel M.|last=Wilson|year=1990|title=Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus|publisher=Univ. of Alabama Press|page=110|isbn=978-0-8173-0462-1}}</ref> The Taíno name for the entire island was either ''Ayiti'' or ''Quisqueya''.<ref name="anghiera">{{cite book| last = Anglería| first   =Pedro Mártir de| title = Décadas del Nuevo Mundo, Tercera Década, Libro&nbsp;VII| publisher = Editorial Bajel| year = 1949| location = Buenos Aires| language = es }}</ref>

===European colonization===
[[Christopher Columbus]] arrived on the island on December 5, 1492, during the first of his [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|four voyages]] to the Americas. He claimed the land for Spain and named it ''La Española'', due to its diverse climate and terrain, which reminded him of the [[Spain|Spanish]] landscape.<ref>[http://www.catholictradition.org/Tradition/christopher-columbus.htm Christopher Columbus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016024039/http://www.catholictradition.org/Tradition/christopher-columbus.htm |date=October 16, 2014 }}. Catholictradition.org. Retrieved on April 2, 2014.</ref> In 1496, [[Bartholomew Columbus]], Christopher's brother, built the city of [[Ciudad Colonial (Santo Domingo)|Santo Domingo]], Western Europe's first permanent settlement in the "[[New World]]". The Spaniards created a [[plantation economy]].<ref name=transat>{{cite book |last=Rawley |first=James A. |author2=Behrendt, Stephen D. |author2-link=Stephen D. Behrendt |title=The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2005 |page=49 |isbn=978-0-8032-3961-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn5pK8rbR5MC&pg=PA49 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111005716/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn5pK8rbR5MC&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

Initially, after friendly relationships, the Taínos resisted the conquest, led by female Chief [[Anacaona]] of Xaragua and her ex-husband Chief [[Caonabo]] of Maguana, as well as Chiefs [[Guacanagaríx]], [[Guamá]], [[Hatuey]], and [[Enriquillo]]. The latter's successes gained his people an autonomous enclave on the island. Within a few years after 1492, the population of Taínos had declined drastically due to [[smallpox]],<ref>"[http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/what-became-of-the-taino-73824867/ What Became of the Taíno?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011062036/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/what-became-of-the-taino-73824867/|date=October 11, 2016}}". ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' October 2011</ref> measles, and other diseases that arrived with the Europeans.<ref name="history">[http://www.dshs.texas.gov/preparedness/bt_public_history_smallpox.shtm "History of Smallpox&nbsp;– Smallpox Through the Ages"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106211915/http://www.dshs.texas.gov/preparedness/bt_public_history_smallpox.shtm|date=November 6, 2016}}. ''Texas Department of State Health Services.''</ref> African slaves were imported to replace the dwindling Taínos.

The last record of pure Taínos in the country was from 1864. Still, Taíno biological heritage survived due to intermixing. Census records from 1514 reveal that 40% of Spanish men in Santo Domingo were married to Taíno women,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ferbel Azcarate |first=Pedro J. |date=December 2002 |title=Not Everyone Who Speaks Spanish is from Spain: Taíno Survival in the 21st Century Dominican Republic |url=http://www.kacike.org/FerbelEnglish.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=KACIKE: The Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology |issue=Special |issn=1562-5028 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617195321/http://www.kacike.org/FerbelEnglish.pdf |archive-date=June 17, 2004 |access-date=September 24, 2009}}</ref> and some present-day Dominicans have Taíno ancestry.<ref name="Guitar" /><ref name="Martinez" />

[[File:Treaty of Aranjuez English.svg|thumb|Map showing the border situation on Hispaniola following the [[Treaty of Aranjuez (1777)]]]]
By the time of the [[Treaty of Ryswick]] in 1697, which ceded the western one-third of the island to France, the population of Santo Domingo consisted of a few thousand whites, approximately 30,000 black slaves, and a few Taínos.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=341}} By 1789, the population had grown to 125,000, but Santo Domingo remained one of Spain's less wealthy and strategically important colonies in the New World.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=341}} The population composition of Santo Domingo sharply contrasted with that of the neighboring French colony of [[Saint-Domingue]]—the wealthiest colony in the Caribbean and whose population of half a million was 90% enslaved and four times as numerous as Santo Domingo.<ref name="google48">{{cite book |editor-last=Knight |editor-first=Franklin W. |title=General history of the Caribbean |date=1997 |publisher=Unesco |location=London |isbn=978-92-3-103146-5 |page=48 |edition=1. publ. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppGJBmQVJjEC&pg=PR2 |access-date=April 30, 2015 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111004217/https://books.google.com/books?id=ppGJBmQVJjEC&pg=PR2#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/3.htm|title=Dominican Republic – THE FIRST COLONY|access-date=August 16, 2016|archive-date=December 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213213711/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1795, Spain ceded Santo Domingo to France by the [[Peace of Basel|Treaty of Basel]] as a result of its defeat in the [[War of the Pyrenees]]. Saint-Domingue achieved independence as Haiti from France on January 1, 1804. In 1809, the French were expelled from the island and Santo Domingo returned to [[España Boba|Spanish rule]].{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=342}}

===Ephemeral independence and Haitian occupation===
{{Main|Republic of Spanish Haiti|Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo}}
After a dozen years of discontent and failed independence plots by various opposing groups, including a [[1812 Mendoza and Mojarra conspiracy|failed 1812 revolt]] led by [[Freedman|freedmen]], Santo Domingo's former Lieutenant-Governor (top administrator), [[José Núñez de Cáceres]], declared the colony's independence from the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish crown]] as [[Republic of Spanish Haiti|Spanish Haiti]], on November 30, 1821. This period is also known as the Ephemeral independence.<ref name="Bethell1986">{{cite book|author=H. Hoetink|editor=Leslie Bethell|title=The Cambridge History of Latin America|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X4axAmBS-7wC&pg=PA287|volume=V, Circa 1870 to 1930|date=May 29, 1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-24517-3|page=287|chapter=The Dominican Republic c. 1870–930|access-date=October 27, 2016|archive-date=January 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111004150/https://books.google.com/books?id=X4axAmBS-7wC&pg=PA287#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

The newly independent republic ended two months later, when it was occupied and annexed by Haiti, then under the leadership of [[Jean-Pierre Boyer]].<ref name="guitar">{{cite web |last = Guitar |first = Lynne |title = History of the Dominican Republic |publisher = Hola.com |url = http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/history.php |access-date = May 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070601040005/http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/history.php |archive-date = June 1, 2007 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> For twenty-two years, Haiti controlled Santo Domingo, which it called ''Partie de l'Est'', treating it as a colonial territory. The unpaid Haitian army sustained itself by taking resources from the Dominican people and land without compensation.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=343}}

===First Republic (1844–1861)===
[[File:Flag of the Dominican Republic (up to 1844).svg|thumb|Original [[flag of the Dominican Republic]] (up to 1849)]]
In 1838, [[Juan Pablo Duarte]] founded a secret society called [[La Trinitaria (Dominican Republic)|La Trinitaria]], which sought the complete independence of Santo Domingo without any foreign intervention.<ref name="pons">{{cite book |first=Frank |last =Moya Pons| author-link =Frank Moya Pons | title = The Dominican Republic: A National History|edition= August 1, 1998|page= 543 |publisher = Markus Wiener Publishers; 2nd edition| isbn= 978-1-55876-191-9|year =1998}}</ref>{{rp|p147–149}} Also [[Francisco del Rosario Sánchez]] and [[Ramon Matias Mella]], despite not being among the founding members of La Trinitaria, were decisive in the fight for independence. Duarte, Mella, and Sánchez are considered the Founding Fathers of the Dominican Republic.<ref>[http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/people_history-sanchez.html Francisco del Rosario Sánchez One of the Padres de la Patria / Fathers of the Patriotism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024184605/http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/people_history-sanchez.html |date=October 24, 2012 }}&nbsp;– Colonial Zone-Dominican Republic (DR)&nbsp;– Retrieved November 3, 2012.</ref>

On February 27, 1844, the members of ''La Trinitaria'' declared independence from Haiti. They were backed by [[Pedro Santana]], a wealthy cattle rancher, who became general of the army of the nascent republic. The decades that followed were filled with tyranny, factionalism, economic difficulties, rapid changes of government, and exile for political opponents. Archrivals Santana and [[Buenaventura Báez]] held power most of the time, both ruling arbitrarily. They promoted competing plans to annex the new nation to a major power. The Dominican Republic's first [[Constitution of the Dominican Republic|constitution]] was adopted on November 6, 1844, and its population  in 1845 was approximately 230,000 people (100,000 whites; 40,000 blacks; and 90,000 mulattoes).{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=343}}
{{multiple image
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| footer            = [[Pedro Santana]] and [[Buenaventura Báez]], the ''[[caudillo]]s'' who led the Dominican Republic during its first republican period
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In March 1844, Haiti invaded but the Dominicans put up stiff opposition and inflicted heavy casualties on the Haitians.<ref name=Bethell>{{cite book|last1=Bethell|first1=Leslie|title=The Cambridge History of Latin America: Volume 3|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0000beth|url-access=registration|date=1984|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0000beth/page/267 267]}}</ref> By April 15, Dominican forces had defeated the Haitian forces on both land and sea.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=344}} In early July 1844, Duarte was urged by his followers to take the title of President of the Republic. Duarte agreed, but only if free elections were arranged. However, Santana's forces took Santo Domingo on July 12, and they declared Santana ruler of the Dominican Republic. Santana then put Mella, Duarte, and Sánchez in jail. On February 27, 1845, Santana executed [[María Trinidad Sánchez]], heroine of La Trinitaria, and others for conspiracy.

After defeating a third Haitian invasion in April 1849 at the [[Battle of Las Carreras]], Santana marched on Santo Domingo and deposed president [[Manuel Jimenes]] (who had ousted Santana as president) in a [[coup d'état]]. At his behest, Congress elected Buenaventura Báez as president, but Báez was unwilling to serve as Santana's puppet. In November–December 1849, Dominican seamen raided the Haitian coasts, plundered seaside villages, as far as [[Dame-Marie, Grand'Anse|Dame Marie]], and butchered crews of captured enemy ships.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baur|first1=John E.|title=Faustin Soulouque, Emperor of Haiti His Character and His Reign |journal=The Americas |volume=6 |issue=2 |date=October 1949 |page=143 |doi=10.2307/978436|jstor=978436 |s2cid=210429049 | issn = 0003-1615}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1dIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA127|title=Littell's Living Age|first1=Eliakim|last1=Littell|first2=Robert S.|last2=Littell|date=September 4, 1850|publisher=T. H. Carter & Company|via=Google Books|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=January 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010516/https://books.google.com/books?id=A1dIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA127#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> A fourth and final invasion by Haiti in November 1855 was defeated by Dominican forces by January 27, 1856, resulting in thousands of Haitian casualties.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=347}} Again Santana and Báez plotted against each other for political dominance, with Báez winning the first encounter and expelling Santana in 1857, and Santana winning the second and expelling Báez in 1859.

===Restoration republic===
[[File:Jura del gobernador y capitán general de Santo Domingo, don Pedro Santana (Museo del Prado).jpg|thumb|Pedro Santana is sworn in as governor-general of the new Spanish province.]]
In 1861, after imprisoning, exiling, and executing many of his opponents and due to political and economic reasons, Santana asked Queen [[Isabella II of Spain]] to retake control of the Dominican Republic. Spain, which had not come to terms with the loss of its mainland American colonies 40 years earlier, made the country a colony again.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Bulmer|editor1-first=Martin|editor2-last=Solomos|editor2-first=John|title=Gender, Race and Religion: Intersections and Challenges|date=2014|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> The island was occupied by 30,000 Spanish troops bolstered by battalions of Cuban and Puerto Rican volunteers and 12,000 Dominicans who aligned themselves with the Spanish forces.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=347}} The Haitian rebel [[Sylvain Salnave]], fearful of the reestablishment of Spain as colonial power, gave refuge and logistics to revolutionaries seeking to reestablish the independent nation. The ensuing civil war, known as the ''War of Restoration'', killed more than 50,000.<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Nach Mback |title=Haïti République Dominicaine-Une Île pour deux (1804–1916) |date=March 26, 2003 |publisher=KARTHALA Editions |isbn=9782811137113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuWdtKnKz4gC |access-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111010142/https://books.google.com/books?id=XuWdtKnKz4gC |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Puerto Plata Cathedrale.JPG|thumb|upright|[[St. Philip the Apostle Cathedral, Puerto Plata|St. Philip the Apostle Cathedral]] in Puerto Plata was destroyed during the war in 1863 and rebuilt starting in 1870]]
The war began on August 16, 1863. The Spanish garrison of Santiago was forced to retreat to [[Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic|Puerto Plata]] by mid-September. The Dominicans bombarded the port of Puerto Plata and destroyed much of the town.<ref>{{cite news|title=THE INSURRECTION IN HAYTI.; Translation of the Declaration of Independence.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1863/11/28/news/the-insurrection-in-hayti-translation-of-the-declaration-of-independence.html|work=The New York Times|date=November 28, 1863|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111173614/http://www.nytimes.com/1863/11/28/news/the-insurrection-in-hayti-translation-of-the-declaration-of-independence.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Santo Domingo Rebellion: Full Details of the Insurrection{{snd}}The Burning and Sacking of Puerto Plate. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1863/11/02/archives/the-santo-domingo-rebellion-full-details-of-the-insurrectionthe.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 2, 1863 |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-date=6 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706183846/https://www.nytimes.com/1863/11/02/archives/the-santo-domingo-rebellion-full-details-of-the-insurrectionthe.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the south, Spanish forces were successful in driving the rebels out of several towns and into Haiti. However, the capture of [[Azua, Dominican Republic|Azua]] proved to be a costly endeavor, with two months of fighting and a significant loss of lives for the Spanish.<ref name="Jan">{{cite news |title=From St. Domingo; The Capture of Azua – Operations of the Dominican Guerrillas – The Spaniards Defeated in two Battles – The Spanish Prospect Unfavorable. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1864/01/20/archives/from-st-domingo-the-capture-of-azuaoperations-of-the-dominican.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 20, 1864}}</ref> Spanish forces from Cuba attacked and captured [[Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic|Monte Cristi]] on the north coast, but sustained heavy casualties.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=348}}
[[File:Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración 2013.jpg|thumb|upright|"Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration"]]
By 1865, the Dominican forces had confined the Spanish troops to Santo Domingo, and the Spaniards were afraid to venture outside the capital.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=349}} After nearly two years of fighting, Spain abandoned the island in July 1865. One military historian estimates Spanish casualties at 10,888 killed or wounded in action and thousands dead from [[yellow fever]], while the Dominican forces fighting for Spain suffered 10,000 casualties.{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=306}} Another military historian estimates that Spain lost 18,000 dead, a figure that does not include the Dominicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans fighting alongside them.{{sfn|Scheina|2003|p=349}} The Dominicans fighting for independence against Spain suffered more than 4,000 dead.

Political strife again prevailed in the following years; warlords ruled, military revolts were extremely common, and the nation amassed debt. It was now Báez's turn to act on his [[Proposed annexation of Santo Domingo|plan of annexing the country to the United States]], where two successive presidents were supportive. U.S. President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] desired a naval base at [[Samaná Bay|Samaná]] and also a place for resettling newly freed African Americans.<ref>{{cite book |title=U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth |last=Waugh |first=Joan |page=137 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AnH6-AlKACUC&pg=PA137 |publisher=[[UNC Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8078-3317-9 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111005233/https://books.google.com/books?id=AnH6-AlKACUC&pg=PA137#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The treaty was defeated in the [[United States Senate]] in 1870.<ref name="guitar"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hidalgo |first=Dennis |title=Charles Sumner and the Annexation of the Dominican Republic |journal=Itinerario |volume=21 |issue=2 |doi=10.1017/S0165115300022841 |url=https://www.academia.edu/277925 |year=1997 |pages=51–66 |s2cid=163872610 |access-date=December 19, 2017 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816001342/https://www.academia.edu/277925 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Treaties.htm#5 |title=U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > Origins & Development > Powers & Procedures > Treaties |access-date=October 17, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Senate]] |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107073857/http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Treaties.htm#5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Atkins |first=G. Pope |author2=Larman Curtis Wilson |title=The Dominican Republic and the United States: From Imperialism to Transnationalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBlfCf8I-YC&pg=PA27 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8203-1931-5 |page=27 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111005233/https://books.google.com/books?id=MkBlfCf8I-YC&pg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Báez was toppled in 1874, returned, and was toppled for good in 1878.

Relative peace came to the country in the 1880s, which saw the coming to power of General [[Ulises Heureaux]].<ref name=countrystudies>{{cite web |title=Dominican Republic&nbsp;– Ulises Heureaux, 1882–99 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]; Federal Research Division |url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/8.htm |access-date=December 23, 2007 |archive-date=September 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923042018/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/8.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> "Lilís", as the new president was nicknamed, put the nation deep into debt while using much of the proceeds for his personal use and to maintain his police state.<ref name=countrystudies/><ref>{{cite book |last=Langley |first=Lester D. |title=The Banana Wars |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8420-5047-0 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xc1RBfZd3pcC&pg=PA20 |year=2002 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111005339/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xc1RBfZd3pcC&pg=PA20#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1899, he was assassinated. However, the relative calm over which he presided allowed improvement in the Dominican economy. The sugar industry was modernized,<ref name=Hall>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Michael R. |title=Sugar and Power in the Dominican Republic |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-313-31127-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/sugarpowerindo00mich}}</ref>{{rp|p10}} and the country attracted foreign workers and immigrants. Lebanese, Syrians, Turks, and Palestinians began to arrive in the country during the latter part of the 19th century.<ref name=Brown>{{cite book|last=Brown, Isabel Zakrzewski |url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00brow |title=Culture and customs of the Dominican Republic |date=1999 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-30314-2 |location=Westport, CT |oclc=41256263 |url-access=registration}}</ref> During the U.S. occupation of 1916–24, peasants from the countryside, called Gavilleros, would not only kill U.S. Marines, but would also attack and kill Arab vendors traveling through the countryside.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Dominican Republic and its Arab Assimilation |url=http://www.abreureport.com/2015/08/the-dominican-republic-and-its-arab.html |access-date=September 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928033911/http://www.abreureport.com/2015/08/the-dominican-republic-and-its-arab.html |archive-date=September 28, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===20th century (1900–1930)===
[[File:Alejandro Woss y Gil.jpg|thumb|right|President [[Alejandro Woss y Gil]] taking office in 1903]]
From 1902 on, short-lived governments were again the norm, with their power usurped by caudillos in parts of the country. Furthermore, the national government was bankrupt and, unable to pay its debts to European creditors, faced the threat of military intervention by France, [[German Empire|Germany]], and [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].<ref name=cs9>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/9.htm |title=Dominican Republic&nbsp;– Renewed conflict, 1899–1916 |access-date=October 19, 2008 |work=Country Studies |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]; Federal Research Division |archive-date=July 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706222617/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/9.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> United States President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] sought to prevent European intervention, largely to protect the routes to the future [[Panama Canal]]. He made a small military intervention to ward off European powers, to proclaim his famous [[Roosevelt Corollary]] to the [[Monroe Doctrine]], and also to obtain his 1905 Dominican agreement for U.S. administration of Dominican customs, which was the chief source of income for the Dominican government. A 1906 agreement provided for the arrangement to last 50 years. The United States agreed to use part of the customs proceeds to reduce the immense foreign debt of the Dominican Republic and assumed responsibility for said debt.<ref name=Encarta/><ref name=cs9/>

After six years in power, President [[Ramón Cáceres]] (who had himself assassinated Heureaux)<ref name=countrystudies/> was assassinated in 1911. The result was several years of great political instability and [[Dominican Civil War (1911–1912)|civil war]]. U.S. mediation by the [[William Howard Taft]] and [[Woodrow Wilson]] administrations achieved only a short respite each time. A political deadlock in 1914 was broken after an ultimatum by Wilson telling the Dominicans to choose a president or see the U.S. impose one. A provisional president was chosen, and later the same year relatively free elections put former president (1899–1902) [[Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra]] back in power. With his former [[Secretary of War]] [[Desiderio Arias]] maneuvering to depose him and despite a U.S. offer of military aid against Arias, Jimenes resigned on May 7, 1916.<ref name="congress">{{cite web| title=Dominican Republic: Occupation by the United States, 1916–1924| work=Country Studies| publisher=[[Library of Congress]]; Federal Research Division| url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/10.htm| access-date=May 29, 2007| archive-date=December 13, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213215941/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/10.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> Wilson thus ordered the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic.
[[File:Ocupacion-1916.jpg|thumb|The [[United States Marine Corps]] landing on Dominican soil in 1916]]
[[File:FortalezaPOP.jpg|thumb|[[Fortaleza San Felipe|Fort San Felipe]] was captured on June 1, 1916, by 133 U.S. Marines after a battle against 500 Dominican rebels, resulting in several U.S. casualties.{{sfn|Musicant|1990|p=249}}]]
[[File:USMC Fortaleza Ozama from river 1922 restored.jpg|thumb|The flag of the [[United States]] waving over [[Fortaleza Ozama|Ozama Fortress]] during the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic, {{Circa|1922}}]]
U.S. Marines landed on May 16, 1916, and seized the capital and other ports, while General Arias fell back to his inland Santiago stronghold.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=49}} A significant weaponry disparity between the U.S. Marines and Arias's forces led to the latter's defeat.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rhodes|first1=Edward|title=Presence, Prevention, and Persuasion: A Historical Analysis of Military Force and Political Influence|date=2004|publisher=Lexington Books|page=163}}</ref> The clashes with the U.S. Marines marked the first time the Dominicans had ever encountered a machine gun.{{sfn|Musicant|1990|p=252}} A peace delegation from Santiago surrendered the city on July 5, coinciding with General Arias' surrender to the Dominican governor. The military government established by the U.S. under the Navy and Marine Corps on November 29, led by Vice Admiral [[Harry Shepard Knapp]], was widely repudiated by the Dominicans, but organized resistance ceased.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=52}}

The occupation regime kept most Dominican laws and institutions and largely pacified the general population. The occupying government also revived the Dominican economy, reduced the nation's debt, built a road network that at last interconnected all regions of the country, and created a professional National Guard to replace the warring partisan units.<ref name="congress"/> Additionally, with grass-roots support from local communities and assistance from both Dominican and US officials, the Dominican education system expanded significantly during US occupation. Between 1918 and 1920, more than three hundred schools were established nationwide.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rodríguez |first1=Alexa |title=A Narrative from the Margins: Community and Agency during the US Occupation of the Dominican Republic, 1916-1924 |journal=History of Education Quarterly |date=2022 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=179–197 |doi=10.1017/heq.2022.38|s2cid=254350899 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The system of forced labour used by the [[United States occupation of Haiti|Marines in Haiti]] was largely absent in the Dominican Republic.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1978|p=17}}

The U.S. government's rule ended in October 1922, and elections were held in March 1924.<ref name="congress"/> The victor was former president (1902–03) [[Horacio Vásquez]]. He was inaugurated on July 13, 1924, and the last U.S. forces left in September.{{sfn|Musicant|1990|p=284}} In 1930, General [[Rafael Trujillo]], who was trained by the U.S. Marines during the occupation,<ref name=nyt/> seized power following a military revolt against the government of Vásquez.

Trujillo consolidated his power after [[Hurricane San Zenón]] devastated Santo Domingo in September 1930, killing 8,000 people. A few of the former caudillos initially opposed the new dictator. General Cipriano Bencosme led an uprising but was defeated and killed in November 1930 during a confrontation with the army near Puerto Plata. General Desiderio Arias was also unsuccessful, dying in combat near [[Mao, Dominican Republic|Mao]] in June of the following year.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1978|p=22}}

===Trujillo Era (1930–1961)===
[[File:Rafael L. Trujillo en la silla presidencial (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rafael Trujillo]] imposed a dictatorship of 31 years (1930–1961).]]
There was considerable economic growth during [[Rafael Trujillo]]'s long and iron-fisted regime, although a great deal of the wealth was taken by the dictator and other regime elements. There was progress in healthcare, education, and transportation, with the building of hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and harbors. Trujillo also carried out an important housing construction program and instituted a pension plan. He finally negotiated an undisputed border with Haiti in 1935, and achieved the end of the 50-year customs agreement in 1941, well before it would have expired in 1956. He made the country debt-free in 1947.<ref name=Encarta/><ref name=Galvan>{{cite book |author=Javier A. Galván |title=Latin American Dictators of the 20th Century: The Lives and Regimes of 15 Rulers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AdAEQi2WZwC&pg=PA49 |year=2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0016-1 |page=49 |access-date=February 13, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111005250/https://books.google.com/books?id=6AdAEQi2WZwC&pg=PA49#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> This was accompanied most noticeably by absolute repression and the copious use of murder, torture, and terrorist methods against the opposition.

Several Dominicans were assassinated in [[New York City]] after taking part in anti-Trujillo activities.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |title=TRUJILLO REGIME CRUEL, RUTHLESS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/13/archives/trujillo-regime-cruel-ruthless-dominican-dictator-ruled-30-years.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 13, 1975 |access-date=June 2, 2023 |archive-date=June 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602135023/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/13/archives/trujillo-regime-cruel-ruthless-dominican-dictator-ruled-30-years.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 1937, Dominican troops murdered 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian men, women, and children—mostly with machetes—along the Haitian-Dominican border under the orders of Trujillo.<ref name=nyt/>

During [[World War II]], Trujillo symbolically sided with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. During the course of the war, German U-boats torpedoed and sank two Dominican merchant vessels—the ''San Rafael'' off the coast of Jamaica, and the ''[[SS Presidente Trujillo|Presidente Trujillo]]'' off [[Fort-de-France]]—along with four other Dominican-manned ships in the Caribbean. The country did not make a military contribution to the war, but Dominican sugar and other agricultural products supported the Allied war effort, and the Dominican Republic also accepted Jewish refugees [[Évian Conference|fleeing Nazi persecution]].

The arsenal at [[San Cristóbal Province|San Cristóbal]], operated under Trujillo's regime, produced rifles, machine guns, and ammunition.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=175}} Trujillo also formed a Foreign Legion of 3,000 mercenaries to attempt to overthrow [[Fidel Castro]] in Cuba. Major [[William Alexander Morgan|William Morgan]] agreed to lead the attack for $1 million, but Castro learned of the plot and instructed Morgan to go along with it and report back. Trujillo was tricked into believing that Morgan had captured [[Trinidad, Cuba|Trinidad]]. On August 13, 1959, a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-47]] transport flying from the Dominican Republic carrying military advisors and supplies landed at Trinidad airport. Castro seized the aircraft and the ten occupants and arrested some 4,000 suspects throughout Cuba.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=240}}

On November 25, 1960, Trujillo's henchmen killed three of the four [[Mirabal sisters]], nicknamed ''Las Mariposas'' (The Butterflies). Along with their husbands, the sisters were conspiring to overthrow Trujillo in a violent revolt. The [[International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women]] is observed on the anniversary of their deaths.

[[File:1960. Junio, 24. Atentado a Rómulo Betancourt en Los Próceres.jpg|thumb|Aftermath of the June 24, 1960, assassination attempt in [[Caracas]], which wounded the Venezuelan president and his Minister of Defense, and killed an air force colonel and a policeman. In August, the OAS voted unanimously to condemn the Dominican Republic for its aggression and imposed an arms embargo.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=256}}]]
For a long time, the U.S. and the Dominican elite supported the Trujillo government. This support persisted despite the assassinations of political opposition, the [[parsley massacre|massacre of Haitians]], and Trujillo's plots against other countries.<ref name="Wucker">{{cite web |last=Wucker |first=Michele |title=Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians and the Struggle for Hispaniola |work=Windows on Haiti |url=http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2003/ling001/wucker.html |access-date=December 26, 2007 |archive-date=August 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831131817/http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2003/ling001/wucker.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The U.S. finally broke with Trujillo in 1960, after Trujillo's agents attempted to assassinate the Venezuelan president [[Rómulo Betancourt]] with a car bomb, as he was a fierce critic of Trujillo.<ref name=locdr11>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/11.htm|title=Dominican Republic&nbsp;– The era of Trujillo|work=Country Studies|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]; Federal Research Division|access-date=June 9, 2007|archive-date=June 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623160133/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/11.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826562,00.html |title=Trying to Topple Trujillo |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 5, 1960 |access-date=December 26, 2007 |archive-date=November 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106155313/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826562,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During Betancourt's earlier exile in Cuba, Trujillo's agents attempted to inject poison into him on a Havana street in broad daylight.<ref name=Sifakis>{{cite book |last1=Carl Sifakis |title=Encyclopedia of assassinations: more than 400 infamous attacks that changed the course of history |date=2013 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. |pages=105–106}}</ref>

After its representatives confirmed Trujillo's complicity in the nearly successful assassination attempt, the [[Organization of American States]] (OAS), for the first time in its history, decreed sanctions against a member state.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1978|p=28}} The United States severed diplomatic relations with the Dominican Republic on August 26, 1960, and in January 1961 suspended the export of trucks, parts, crude oil, gasoline and other petroleum products. U.S. President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] also took advantage of OAS sanctions to drastically cut purchases of Dominican sugar, the country's major export. This action ultimately cost the Dominican Republic almost $22,000,000 in lost revenues at a time when its economy was in a rapid decline. Trujillo had become expendable, and dissidents inside the Dominican Republic argued that assassination was the only certain way to remove him.<ref name="Cord Meyer">{{cite book |url=http://www.umsl.edu/~thomaskp/plwordab.htm |last=Ameringer |first=Charles D. |title=U.S. Foreign Intelligence: The Secret Side of American history |edition=1990 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0669217803 |date=January 1, 1990 |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=June 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610085607/http://www.umsl.edu/~thomaskp/plwordab.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CIA">{{cite web |date=November 24, 1972 |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84-00499R001000100003-2.pdf |title=The Kaplans of the CIA – Approved For Release 2001/03/06 CIA-RDP84-00499R001000100003-2 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=January 17, 2019 |pages=3–6 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412055748/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84-00499R001000100003-2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> On May 31, 1961, Venezuela arrested several individuals plotting to overthrow the government, armed with weapons traced to the Dominican Republic.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=257}} On May 30, 1961, Trujillo was shot and killed by Dominican dissidents.<ref name=nyt/>

===Post-Trujillo (1961–1996)===
[[File:Juan Bosch (1963).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Juan Bosch (politician)|Juan Bosch]], the first democratically elected president after Trujillo]] After the assassination, [[Ramfis Trujillo]], the dictator's son, remained in de facto control of the government for the next 6 months, as commander of the armed forces. Trujillo's brothers, Hector Bienvenido and Jose Arismendi Trujillo, returned to the country and plotted against President Balaguer. On November 18, 1961, as a planned coup became more evident, U.S. Secretary of State [[Dean Rusk]] issued a warning that the US would not "remain idle" if the Trujillos attempted to "reassert dictatorial domination". Following this warning, and the arrival of a 14-vessel U.S. naval task force within sight of Santo Domingo, Ramfis and his uncles fled the country on November 19. The OAS lifted its sanctions on January 4, 1962.{{sfn|Gleijeses|1978|p=62}}

In February 1963, a democratically elected government under leftist [[Juan Bosch (politician)|Juan Bosch]] took office but it was overthrown by a military coup in September. On April 24, 1965, a second military coup ousted the military-installed president [[Donald Reid Cabral]].{{sfn|Musicant|1990|p=363}} Despite tank assaults, [[strafing]], and aerial bombardment by the opposing Loyalists, the pro-Bosch Constitutionalists maintained control of most of the capital. By April 26, 5,000 armed civilians outnumbered the 1,500 original rebel military regulars. Radio Santo Domingo, now fully under rebel control, began to call for more violent actions and the killing of all police officers.

On April 28, U.S. President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] deployed U.S. Marines to Santo Domingo to protect American citizens, with U.S. forces subsequently expanded to 24,000 troops.<ref name=nyt/> On April 30, two battalions of the [[82nd Airborne Division]] landed at [[San Isidro Air Base|San Isidro airfield]]. Hours later, U.S. troops crossed the Duarte Bridge to link up with Loyalists, who were to secure a corridor for the Marines guarding the U.S. Embassy. However, the Loyalists withdrew to San Isidro airfield instead.{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=276}} On May 2, U.S. forces were authorized to link up, and the outgunned Constitutionalists retreated to the southeastern part of the city. On May 6, U.S. diplomats persuaded the OAS to establish an [[Inter-American Peace Force]] to support American troops. The following countries volunteered: [[Brazil]] (1,250 soldiers), [[Costa Rica]] (25 police), [[Honduras]] (250 soldiers), [[Nicaragua]] (164 soldiers), and [[Paraguay]] (286 soldiers).{{sfn|Scheina|2003b|p=277}}

U.S. and OAS peacekeeping troops remained in the country for over a year and left after supervising elections in 1966 won by [[Joaquín Balaguer]]. He had been Trujillo's last puppet-president.<ref name=Encarta/><ref name="civil war">{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/13.htm |title=Dominican Republic&nbsp;– Civil War and United States Intervention, 1965 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=September 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923042607/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/13.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Balaguer remained in power as president for 12 years. His tenure was a period of repression of human rights and civil liberties.<ref name="govinfo">{{cite web |title=Congressional Bills 117th Congress |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-117hr2725ih/html/BILLS-117hr2725ih.htm |website=[[GovInfo]] |access-date=December 22, 2022 |archive-date=January 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120200122/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-117hr2725ih/html/BILLS-117hr2725ih.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> His rule was criticized for a growing disparity between rich and poor. It was, however, praised for an ambitious infrastructure program, which included construction of large housing projects, sports complexes, theaters, museums, aqueducts, roads, highways, and the massive [[Columbus Lighthouse]], completed in 1992 during a later tenure.

In 1978, Balaguer was succeeded to the presidency by opposition candidate [[Antonio Guzmán Fernández]], of the [[Dominican Revolutionary Party]] (PRD). [[Hurricane David]] hit the Dominican Republic in August 1979, which left upwards of 2,000 people dead and 200,000 homeless. The hurricane caused over $1 billion in damage. Another PRD win in 1982 followed, under [[Salvador Jorge Blanco]]. Balaguer regained the presidency in 1986 and was re-elected in 1990 and 1994, in the latter defeating PRD candidate [[José Francisco Peña Gómez]], a former mayor of Santo Domingo.<!--some info needs to be added about Balaguer's performance 1986-96--> The 1994 elections were flawed, bringing international pressure, to which Balaguer responded by scheduling another presidential contest in 1996. Balaguer was not a candidate. The PSRC candidate was his Vice President [[Jacinto Peynado Garrigosa]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/28/world/longtime-ruler-overshadows-dominican-republic-election.html |title=Longtime Ruler Overshadows Dominican Republic Election |last=Rohter |first=Larry |date=March 28, 1996 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121161810/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/28/world/longtime-ruler-overshadows-dominican-republic-election.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1996–present===
In 1996, with the support of Joaquín Balaguer and the Social Christian Reform Party in a coalition called the Patriotic Front, [[Leonel Fernández]] achieved the first-ever win for the [[Dominican Liberation Party]] (PLD),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/02/world/lawyer-raised-in-new-york-to-lead-dominican-republic.html |title=Lawyer Raised in New York to Lead Dominican Republic |last=Rohter |first=Larry |date=July 2, 1996 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121161715/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/02/world/lawyer-raised-in-new-york-to-lead-dominican-republic.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which Bosch had founded in 1973 after leaving the PRD. Fernández oversaw a fast-growing economy: growth averaged 7.7% per year, unemployment fell, and exchange and inflation rates were stable.<ref name=coha/>

[[File:Protestas dominicanas en Santo Domingo 2020.jpg|thumb|[[2020 Dominican Republic protests]] in Plaza de La Bandera, Santo Domingo]]
In 2000, the PRD's [[Hipólito Mejía]] won the election. This was a time of economic troubles.<ref name=coha/> Under Mejía, the Dominican Republic participated in the US-led coalition, as part of the Multinational [[Plus Ultra Brigade]], during the 2003 [[Iraq War|invasion of Iraq]], suffering no casualties. In 2008, Fernández was elected for a third term.<ref name="ussdnote" /> Fernández and the PLD are credited with initiatives that moved the country forward technologically. His administrations were accused of corruption.<ref name="coha" />

[[Danilo Medina]] of the PLD was elected president in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. A significant increase in crime, government corruption and a weak justice system threatened to overshadow their administrative period.<ref>{{cite web|last=Corcino|first=Panky|title=Suicidio en OISOE destapa gran escándalo de corrupción gestión Medina|url=http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2015/10/02/i197751_suicidio-oisoe-destapa-gran-escandalo-corrupcion-gestion-medina.html|access-date=April 3, 2018|archive-date=April 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404134459/http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/2015/10/02/i197751_suicidio-oisoe-destapa-gran-escandalo-corrupcion-gestion-medina.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Redacción|title=Súper Tucanos y Sobornos – Cronología del Proceso de Adquisición DJ4658885|url=https://m.diariolibre.com/noticias/justicia/super-tucano-y-soborno-cronologia-del-proceso-de-adquisicion-DJ4658885|access-date=January 23, 2017|archive-date=April 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414234205/https://m.diariolibre.com/noticias/justicia/super-tucano-y-soborno-cronologia-del-proceso-de-adquisicion-DJ4658885|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was succeeded by the opposition candidate [[Luis Abinader]] in the [[2020 Dominican Republic general election|2020 election]] (weeks after [[2020 Dominican Republic protests|protests erupted in the country]] against Medina's government), marking the end to 16 years in power of the centre-left Dominican Liberation Party (PLD).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53268860|title=Change in Dominican Republic as opposition wins presidency|work=BBC News|date=July 6, 2020|access-date=January 11, 2024|archive-date=July 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705210130/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53268860|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dominican Republic's new president takes office warning of tough recovery |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominicanrepublic-politics-idUSKCN25D04W |work=Reuters |date=August 17, 2020 |language=en |access-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222205457/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominicanrepublic-politics-idUSKCN25D04W |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2024, President Luis Abinader won a second term in the [[2024 Dominican Republic general election|elections]]. His tough policies towards migration from neighbouring Haiti was popular among voters.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dominican Republic President Abinader wins second term |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/20/dominican-republic-president-abinader-wins-second-term |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>