QUESTION ---ANSWER

A few students submitted questions via email about the Dominican Republic, here are their questions and what I could find regarding them!

What did freedom mean for former slaves in the Dominican Republic?

Just as in many Caribbean societies emancipation did not mean automatic freedom for former slaves in the Dominican Republic. Slaves continued to be controlled by plantation owners after they had gained their freedom because they could not afford financially to leave. Boham Richardson explained freedom for former slaves in the Caribbean by stating “ Caribbean planters attempted to control members of the newly free working classes by restricting their access to local lands, enacting immobilizing vagrancy laws, and importing thousands of laborers into the region in order to drive wages down”. This means that even though slavery was no longer legal in the Dominican Republic African Americans had few options when looking for forms of employment, often times binding them to their former masters. These limits on civil rights and economic restraints on blacks were often referred to as “unfreedom” because essentially little progress had been made in the first years of emancipation on the island. Former slaves despite the revolution often experienced little changes in their quality of day-to-day life. When they were still employed by former masters they were still subject to abuse and horrible working conditions. However despite this “unfreedom” experienced by freed slaves in the Dominican Republic more rights were given to them in the form of relationships. No longer could owners put harsh, unjust restrictions on African Americans living together or starting families with one another. Occasionally when slaves were not financially bound to their original masters their first in the Dominican their first role express their newly gained freedom would be to relocate to Haiti to look for employment. This migration was looked at as a fresh start for Dominicans and a way to better themselves.

What similarities and differences occurred between the experiences of free women and free men the same?

Little is noted about the different experiences between free women and free men in the Dominican Republic. Both males and females had gone through extreme oppression during the years of slavery and had similar choices during the “unfreedom” timeframe following emancipation. It can be inferred that because so little is written about specific women or male experiences following emancipation that it was relatively similar to one another.

What kinds of systems of labor replaced slavery on your island?

Low wage work replaced slavery in the Dominican Republic. Large numbers of people from Haiti were recruited to relocate to the Dominican Republic and drive wages down for newly freed slaves with the increase in population. These Haitians were coerced into moving mainly by private companies and their stories of wealth to be had on sugar plantations. At the time both countries governments were to weak to take control of the free migrant worker system. Essentially systems of labor remained similar to slavery directly after emancipation because the wages were so minimal little advancements could be made.

Sources:

From Hidden Hand to Heavy Hand: Sugar, the State, and Migrant Labor in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

Samuel Martinez

Latin American Research Review , Vol. 34, No. 1 (1999), pp. 57-84

Published by: The Latin American Studies Association

The Tribulations of Blackness: Stages in Dominican Racial Identity

Silvio Torres-Saillant

Callaloo , Vol. 23, No. 3, Dominican Republic Literature and Culture (Summer, 2000), pp. 1086-1111

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Emancipation in the Dominican Republic

The Background:

Late 17^th century- Slave labor had become central to the way of life on the island of Hispaniola. Whites were reliant on African slave labor for almost all aspects of their daily life. The African population dramatically outnumbered their Spanish owners. Sugar production was still the leading export and the main source of income for Hispaniola. However, new fortunes had been discovered in the Americas in the form of gold and attention from the Spanish crown was dwindling. The French had slowly begun to occupy the western side of Hispaniola, what today is known as Haiti. French inhabitants of the island faced little violent hostility because of Spain’s removed interest in their investment of the island. Their presence was legally recognized in 1697 with the Ryswick peace agreement and it officially gave the western one-third of the island.

By the late 18^th century Haiti had become extremely profitable for the French and considered an invaluable colony. The French Revolution had rippled out to Hispaniola by 1789 and French officials feared they would lose their investment in the island just as they had lost Canada to the British during the seven years war. A large mixed population now inhabited the island. Slave women had discovered that having relations with their masters was a way to secure liberty for themselves and their descendants, a quick form of personal emancipation.

The Juice-

Slavery officially ceased to be a form of labor on Hispaniola in 1793. The driving force to ending slavery was a man by the name of Toussaint Louverture. Toussaint Louverture was a former slave who was believed to have been educated by his godfather. He united mainly black and mulatto people and created a force with the main goal to get the new British occupiers off Hispaniola. By 1801 Louverture had managed to unify the entire island of Hispaniola against the Spanish as well and declaring Haiti an independent country. Haitians freed that the French would re-enslave them from an attack through the Dominican so in 1844 Haitians invaded the Eastern side of the island. Slavery was officially abolished on the Eastern side of Hispaniola under the leadership of Jean Pierre Boyer. Dominicans however did not see the improvement under the new Haitian occupiers that they had so badly hoped for.

The Debate-

There was little debate over ending slavery in the Dominican Republic. Freedom was rather demanded and taken by the slaves on the island of Hispaniola. They saw an opportunity arise with the chaos of the French Revolution and used that to their advantage in gaining freedom. Had the slaves of Hispaniola tried to gain independence through peaceful means there is no telling if and when emancipation would have occurred.

Sources:

Frank Moya Pons. The Dominican Republic: a national history. Princeton : Markus Weiner Publishers, 1995

David , Howard. Coloring the nation: race and ethnicity in the Dominican Republic. Colorado: Lynne Riener Publishers, 2001.

Dominican in the Spotlight- Dania Ramirez

Dania Ramirez was born November 8, 1979 in Santo Domingo and is a Dominican-American TV actress. She is most recently known for playing Alex in Entourage, Maya Herrera in Heroes and Blanca during the last season of The Sopranos.

Did You Know?

Even though Santiago is the second largest city in Dominican Republic, as of 2006 the metropolitan area of New York City had a larger population of Dominicans.

Read, Read, Read all about it!

Conjoined Dominican twins separated after marathon surgery TODAY!

RICHMOND, Virginia. - The Dominican Siamese twins Maria Teresa and Teresa Maria were separated after a surgery lasting 24 hours, the Office of the First Lady announced Tuesday.

The operation began 5am Monday in Virginia Children's Hospital and concluded 5am today, when anxiety gripped those present in one of the hospital’s salons.

The first lady Margarita Cedeño accompanied the twins mother Lisania Sanatis and their aunt Mary for several hours to await the results.

The medical team of 20 physicians, led by doctor David A. Lanning, carried out the surgery to separate the girls organ by organ.

http://www.dominicantoday.com

Good morning Class! As a refresher we covered the somewhat recent Haitian earthquake a few days ago in class and I thought it would only be appropriate that I touch base with you on the blog regarding the subject in more detail. Today we are going to look at a brief history of the Haitian revolution, then look at the revolution from a different perspective. The perspective of a neighboring Dominican citizen, Miguel, who was hearing about the revolution that was happening in Haiti while it was taking place. In history I remind you, it is always important not to only look at the first hand accounts of people experiencing a major event but also those outsiders looking in. Often times those outsiders to the situation can offer a less emotionally involved point of view and more beneficial to your research. Just a tip for all you future historians!

Now Let’s get started:

Background: Three fact refresher on the Haitian Revolution:

1. The Haitian Revolution began in 1791 when the slaves in the country decided they would no longer live under the rule of white abusive slave owners.

2. The Haitian Revolution would last twelve years after the initial start in August 1791.

3. The Haitian Revolution was the ONLY successful widespread slave revolt to happen in the Caribbean.

Now that you are brought back into the mindset of the Haitian Revolution, we will read an excerpt of Miguel’s book where he will tell you of his experiences during this brutally violent time on the island of Hispaniola.

Hello my name in Miguel and I was a survivor of the Haitian Revolution. You may think survival for slaves in the Dominican Republic was easy during the time of the Haitian Revolution because we were not involved in the actual rebellion, I am here to tell you otherwise. During this time if I can remember correctly, my mind has started to fail me with old age, was the worst experience I ever encountered in my seventy-two years of life. I was twelve when the revolution began in 1791 and was delighted when I first heard of the success blacks were having gaining their freedom so close to our backyards. I thought it would only be a matter of time before freedom fever spread to our plantation too and we would come together to gain revenge on the people who had treated us so badly for so long. People who had raped our sisters, stolen our mothers, beaten our fathers in front of us, yes I wanted revenge on these animals. Yet as mother always told me to be patient, this is what I done. I was patient. I listened to all the stories I could of a man named Toussaint, their leader, and how he was guiding them from victory to victory against the slave owners. I knew I too could lead the people of the Dominican Republic as Toussaint did because I done lived here all my life. I knew every side road, maroon community and at least half the slaves in this country. Yet, my time never came. My patients proved to be a weapon against me. As our slave owners heard more and more about the blacks success in Haiti they grew more and more scared we’d do the same thing. They began beaten us more and more throughout the day, with harsher punishments for the smallest signs of rebellion. I know they was scared, I’d be too, we had more hatred in our hearts then anyone anywhere. We were ready to rebel the second we seen a chance, but the didn give us no chance. Many of the larger plantation owners had left at this time, seemed like the just pay someone else to take charge and they return when all this mess was over. I never seen the return though. The people that took over their jobs were much crueler then the original, I guess they felt they had something to prove to us. Non- slaveholding whites, well there really wasn’t many of them and sure not enough to concern us, but if they were rich enough they fled. Everyone could smell what was brewing in the Dominican it was to close to Haiti not too and everyone was scared.

Overtime the Spanish became tired of all the work they had to invest in us to keep us enslaved, we really made it a nightmare. That I recon we just weren’t that important to them anymore. It had been eighteen years since the revolution started in Haiti and Spain was tired of the headaches we was causing them so far away.

By 1822 the Haitians began to occupy our land. For twenty two years those people were in OUR COUNTRY. Even though whites for the first time in my life counldn’t own land most of them left anyway. We were restricted in everyway under the Haitian rule, some of my friends were forbidden to speak our native tounge of Spanish. It was around this time that I grew very ill. They said it was some kind of fever but I know better, it was from the abuse. My body was tired and could not withstand the harsh temperatures of the Dominican any longer.

- Miguel died shortly after finishing this excerpt he wrote to share his experiences with generations to come. I encourage you all to read more accounts of the Haitian Revolution for your book report due in three weeks!

Sources:

Frank Moya Pons. The Dominican Republic: a national history. Princeton : Markus Weiner Publishers, 1995

Knight, Franklin . Modern Caribbean . United States : The University of North Carolina Press, 1989.