Today, it is fair to say, many Dominicans and most of the country’s governing elite are far removed from Duarte’s ideals of fairness and social justice. Duarte’s dream was the creation of a just and fair nation for all. The birthday of Juan Pablo Duarte, the revered Founding Father of the Dominican Republic, and Dominican Independence Day, are celebrated every year throughout the entire month of February. In 1844, after a long struggle, the Dominican Republic won independence from Haiti. During the twenty-year long occupation, Dominicans did everything they could to distance themselves socially, culturally and politically from their occupiers, and many historians believe that this is when Dominicans’ views on citizenship, identity and race were shaped. While most Haitians had been previously enslaved Africans, most Dominicans in the Spanish-controlled East were primarily of European ancestry, explained Jonathan Katz in a recent article. Barely one year after winning independence from Spain in 1821, the Dominican Republic was annexed by neighboring Haiti, a former French colony.
It is widely acknowledged that the hostility faced by Haitians today has its roots in the shared post-colonial histories of the two nations. Haitians in the Dominican Republic-or DR, as it’s known colloquially-really have been treated disgracefully. Ironically, the confrontation helped me realize that the protesters were right. Rapists and thieves … these were the slurs that were taught in school and that people around me used every day. How could they say that? Didn’t they understand that Haitians wanted to take over my country and only went there to “rape and steal.” Or, at least, that’s what I grew up believing. This entry was posted in Uncategorized on by Gregoriano.I had an epiphany of sorts about ten years ago when I found myself arguing with protesters on Times Square over the fact that they were publically calling my country, the Dominican Republic, racist and demanded equality for all the Haitians who lived there. He is also commemorated in London, as well as in New York. Today he is commemorated in Dominican Republic with a holiday, and the highest mountain in the Caribbean is named ” Pico Duarte ” on his honor. In Dominican Republic, we were told as kids that the only thing he regretted was dying on exile. He suffered and died of tuberculosis in 1876 at 63 years of age. He would spend weeks without eating or sleeping. Duarte ( from Venezuela ), Sanchez, and Mella declaired the independence of Dominican Republic successfully.ĭuarte was very passionate about freeing the country he was born in. From Venezuela, Duarte was commanding the secret society to attack the Haitian government, and successfully, 2 years later on February 27th, 1844. With the supposed “success” of the Haitian government eradicating the secret society “La Trinitaria”, they didn’t think they would have to deal with the trinitarians ever again.
Unfortunately, in 1842 the government found out, and he was going to be executed, but instead, he was condemned to exile, and moved to Venezuela. He formed a secret society called ” La trinitaria,” whose main purpose was to gather as many people as possible without the government knowing, to counter attack the Haitian Army. At 15 years old, his parents sent him to New York, USA, and then to London, England to finish his studies.Īlong Francisco del Rosario Sanchez, and Ramon Matias Mella, he fought to bring peace and terminate the power that Jean Pierre Boyer ( president of Haiti ) had over the Dominicans. He was born in Santo Domingo, on January 26, 1813. Located in canal street, this monument commemorates one of the founding fathers of Dominican Republic. Statue in Honor to Juan Pablo Duarte. Located on 6th ave.
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