FLAG OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The flag of the Dominican Republic is one of the three Dominican national symbols. It is divided into a total of four squares, which are separated by a white cross that divides them identically. Two of the boxes on the flag are blue and two of them are red.

In the center of the pavilion is the coat of arms of the republic. In it is the design of an open Bible, being the only flag in the world that has this peculiarity.

Flag of Dominican Republic. No copyright laws apply to this image.

The banner has been subject to many changes throughout its history, going hand in hand with the political, economic and military mishaps that have plagued the republic since colonial times.

History

- Flag during the Spanish colonization (1493 - 1795)

The Dominican Republic was one of the countries that fell into the hands of Spain during the colonial era. In fact, Christopher Columbus first set foot on American soil on the island before anywhere else in America.

Columbus arrived on the island of Hispaniola (as he named it) in 1492. He obtained the respect of local leaders, as the indigenous people of the region took the settlers as heavenly creatures, given their notable differences. However, as Columbus had arrived after the shipwreck of the Santa María, he returned to the island again in 1493 to establish the first Spanish city in America.

Since the founding of the first Spanish city, called La Isabela, the island of Hispaniola came under Spanish control. For the next fifty years, the settlers enslaved the entire local population and then were forced to work in the gold mines and produce money for the country.

This event marked the beginning of the colonial period in the territory that would later belong to the Dominican Republic, under the Spanish banner of the Cross of Burgundy. However, the official flag of Spain was not used openly in the country, as it was in many other South American nations during the time of Spanish rule in the region.

Ningyou.

End of the colony and early French rule

Spanish rule on the island lasted for several years, but during that period, Hispaniola was affected by many internal problems. Although the island was the first Spanish colony in the region, it was losing relevance before the eyes of the crown (and of the inhabitants themselves) as Spain conquered more territory.

The population of Hispaniola decreased considerably after the death of the slaves as a result of forced labor, as well as the migration of its inhabitants to the colonies of Central and South America.

In 1640, France managed to establish a domain of the Isla de la Tortuga, an island near Hispaniola that today belongs to Haiti. Although this island fell, a few years later, under the rule of pirates from the region, it is also considered that the French rule of this time was the first step for the subsequent appropriation of Hispaniola and the foundation of Haiti.

- Treaty of Basel and flag of France (1795 - 1809)

When Spain and France went to war at the end of the 18th century, the natives of Hispaniola took advantage of the conflict to carry out a rebellion against their superiors. The rebellion was born, mainly, in Santo Domingo (for this reason the inhabitants of the country are called Dominicans).

However, the rebellion did not result in the independence of the country and, in fact, the rebels were betrayed by the French. Even so, the rebellion continued, and local riots against foreign military occupation never ceased.

The War of the Convention, so called the dispute between Spain and France, was turning out to be a complete disaster for the Spanish Crown. The Iberian country had lost the northeast territory and part of Catalonia at the hands of the French armies, which caused that a peace agreement had to be reached.

The agreement, called the Treaty of Basel, consisted of the secession of Spanish territory at the hands of the French. One of the territories that became part of France was the island of Hispaniola. Thus, it was renamed Saint Dominique (French for Santo Domingo) and passed into the hands of the French. The official use of the Gallic tricolor was adapted from 1795, when the Treaty was signed.

Dominican flag during French rule (1795 - 1809) . This graphic was drawn by SKopp. Public domain

- Period of the Spain Boba (1809 - 1821)

After the French occupation, the revolution of the inhabitants did not stop. The country was divided into two types of inhabitants mainly: European whites and African blacks, who were brought as slaves, but who were already a large number within the island. Blacks were the main leaders of the revolution, which would be called the Haitian Revolution.

In fact, at the beginning of 1804, they managed to seize control of Saint-Dominique and declared it as the territory of Haiti.

The island of Hispaniola continued to officially belong to France. Gallic troops occupied the entire northern region of the island until 1808, when the local Spanish inhabitants grew weary of the French presence and rebelled against the military forces in the region. The Battle of Palo Hincado took place, where the Spanish eliminated all the French.

Santo Domingo returned to become a Spanish territory after the battle, this being the population center of Hispaniola. The flag of Spain began to be used throughout this period, starting in 1809, which is called "Spain Boba". It was in a period marked by the lack of interest of the Spanish in administering and controlling the island.

Santo Domingo was very short of wealth after 300 years of exploitation, which made Spain concentrate more on other territories and on its war with other European countries.

Dominican flag during Spain Boba (1809 - 1821) . HansenBCN, designs from SanchoPanzaXXI

- Short-lived independence (1821 - 1822)

The neglect of Spain with the territory of Hispaniola was such that a local leader named José Núñez de Cáceres took command and declared the Republic of Spanish Haiti in 1821. This was done with the intention of completely separating from the Spanish Crown., who seemed no longer interested in managing the region.

In addition to disinterest, Spain was under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte's troops, which complicated the administration of Fernando VII in the colonial provinces. The Dominican Creoles, however, were highly dissatisfied with their situation, which exploded in the creation of the new republic.

Núñez's original intention was to unify Haiti with Greater Colombia. By the end of 1821, the Spanish Republic of Haiti sent a diplomatic delegate to meet with the president of the then Gran Colombia, Simón Bolívar.

By then, Bolívar was still in his independence campaigns, which caused the Haitian diplomat to never be able to meet the president. That, in turn, did not allow the Republic of Spanish Haiti to join Gran Colombia.

- Division of Hispaniola and establishment of Haiti (1822 - 1844)

After the plan to join Greater Colombia failed, both halves of the island of Hispaniola were already culturally divided. The eastern side of the island, where the Spanish Dominicans lived, did not have a very consolidated political power, but a ruling class of European inhabitants.

Although unification with Haiti was not something that all Spanish Dominicans wanted, the ruling class of Santo Domingo welcomed the actions that the blacks of the West had carried out. The fact that the country had already been able to become independent from France and Spain and later establish itself more solidly as a nation was something that the Orientals longed for.

At the same time, the political fragility of Santo Domingo did not allow what would later become the Dominican Republic to act more solidly as a country. They did not have a good level of military organization, and Western blacks saw this as a great weakness.

The big problem with the fragility of the eastern whites was that if the Spanish or the French decided to invade the region, they could take it very easily. Having France or Spain so close was something that the western government of Haiti did not want under any circumstances, since both countries were still slaveholders.

In 1822, a Haitian garrison of 10,000 soldiers, commanded by President Jean-Pierre Boyer, decided to invade Santo Domingo with the intention of unifying the country. Santo Domingo and the Dominican ruling class opened the doors to the troops and handed control of the city to Haiti. For more than 20 years, the Dominican Republic became part of Haiti.

Flag of Haiti (1822 - 1844) Madden, Vzb83, Denelson83, Chanheigeorge, Zscout370 and Nightstallion Coat of arms: Lokal_Profil and Myriam Thyes

- Flag of the Trinitaria and First Republic (1844 - 1861)

Haitian control over the territory of the Dominicans did not sit well in the eyes of the country's population. The Haitian government took many measures against whites, such as prohibiting them from buying property and giving them total control over the Church.

The measures of the Haitian government generated resentment among the Dominican population, which led to the creation, in 1838, of the secret society called "La Trinitaria." This society promoted the Dominican independence movement, consolidated in 1844, when the independence army was formed and the First Republic was established.

The flag of the Trinitarians consisted of a white cross, similar to the current one, but with the two upper red squares and the two lower blue squares. In 1849, the first Dominican coat of arms was incorporated into the flag and the squares were reorganized.

Flag of the Trinitaria and First Republic (1844 - 1849) No machine-readable author provided. BetacommandBot assumed (based on copyright claims).

Flag with the shield (1849 - 1861). By Samhanin

- General Captaincy of Santo Domingo (1861 - 1865)

Pedro Santana, a very wealthy landowner in the country and a member of the Conservative Party, led an insurrection in 1861 where Queen Isabel was asked to re-annex the Dominican Republic to Spanish territories.

Spain agreed and, in 1861, the Captaincy of Santo Domingo was re-created. The Dominican Republic once again became a Spanish province. This also caused the country to once again adopt the flag of Spain as its official national flag.

HansenBCN, designs from SanchoPanzaXXI

- Flag of the Second Republic (1865 - 1916)

The Dominican rebels who were against Spanish rule re-achieved the country's independence in 1865, once again reestablishing the Dominican Republic as a sovereign nation. The rebellion, however, left many of the country's large cities in ruins, although the Spanish were driven out of the region.

Two political parties originated: the red, known as the conservative, and the blue, known as the progressive. The Dominican Republic was divided by various local caudillos with their own armies, but the country did manage autonomously under the same flag as the previous one, but with a more modern coat of arms.

Flag of the Second Republic (1865 - 1916) . See File history below for details.

- Flag and control of the United States (1916 - 1924)

The civil wars between Dominican leaders after the fall of Spanish rule caused the country to go into severe debt. Its main creditors were banks in the United States.

Thus, in 1916 and fearing that the debts would not be paid, the Americans invaded the Dominican Republic and established control in the region, modifying the country's economic policies to give it greater stability. It was under American control for 8 years, during which it used the country's flag as the official one.

Flag during the occupation of the United States (1916 - 1924). Created by jacobolus using Adobe Illustrator.

- Independence and current flag (since 1924)

The current flag of the Dominican Republic is the same as that of the Second Republic, and was established again after the end of North American rule in the country. Dominican nationalists hastened the end of the US occupation by allying with nationalist parties in Cuba and Puerto Rico.

In 1924, a Dominican emissary visited the United States government hall to propose the establishment of an independent government. An agreement was reached to continue with the payment of debts and a new provisional government was created in a newly independent Dominican Republic, pending elections.

Flag of Dominican Republic. No copyright laws apply to this image.

Meaning

The shield of the country was altered several times during its history, but it features three spears from each side of the Bible, with a laurel on the left side and a palm on the right. It is the only shield in the world that presents the drawing of a Bible in its design, representing the religious faith of the country. It also has a cross on top of the bible and the inscription of "God, Fatherland, Liberty" on the top.

The red of the flag represents all the blood that the Dominicans have shed in their violent history. The blue of the flag represents the sky of the country. Officially, blue also represents the Catholic religion, since it is said that in heaven God protects the country from any danger. The white that crosses the flag represents peace and unity.

References

1. Flag of the Dominican Republic, EcuRed, (nd). Taken from ecured.cu
2. Dominican Flag, World Atlas Website, (nd). Taken from worldatlas.com
3. Flag of The Dominican Republic, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018. Taken from Britannica.com
4. Flag of the Dominican Republic, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org
5. Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org
6. History of the Dominican Republic, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org