Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future Part 1

Santo Domingo.

by Otto Schoenrich.

PREFACE

It is remarkable how little has been written about the Dominican Republic, a country so near to our sh.o.r.es, which has for years had intimate commercial and political relations with our country, which is at present under the provisional administration of the American Government, and which is destined to develop under the protection and guidance of the United States. The only comprehensive publications on the Dominican Republic, in the English language, are the Report of the United States Commission of Inquiry to Santo Domingo, published in 1871, Hazard's "Santo Domingo, Past and Present," written about the same time, and Professor Hollander's notable Report on the Debt of Santo Domingo, published in 1905. The first and the last of these publications are no longer obtainable; hence, Hazard's book, written almost half a century ago, is still the chief source of information.

These considerations prompted me to indite the following pages, in which I have essayed to give a bird's-eye view of the history and present condition of Santo Domingo. The task has been complicated by two circ.u.mstances. One is the extraordinary difficulty of obtaining accurate data. The other is the fact that the country has arrived at a turning point in its history. Any description of political, financial and economic conditions can refer only, or almost only, to the past; the American occupation has already introduced fundamental innovations which will shortly be further developed, and a rapid and radical transformation is in progress. Santo Domingo at this moment is a country which has no present, only a past and a future.

My personal acquaintance with Santo Domingo and Dominican affairs is derived from observations on several trips to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, from friends.h.i.+ps formed with prominent Dominican families during a residence of many years in Latin America, and from experience as secretary to the special United States commissioner to investigate the financial condition of Santo Domingo in 1905, and as secretary to the Dominican minister of finance during the 1906 loan negotiations.

SANTO DOMINGO

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL SKETCH.--DAYS OF THE CONQUEST.--1492 to 1533

Aborigines.--Discovery.--Founding of Isabela.--Disaffection of the colonists.--Indian wars.--Oppression of the Indians.--Founding of Santo Domingo City.--Roldan's insurrection.--Humiliation of Columbus,--Ovando's administration.--Extermination of the natives.--Administrations of Diego Columbus.--Treaty with Indian survivors.

When Columbus, in December, 1492, sailed along the northern coast of the island of Haiti or Santo Domingo, he was more enchanted with what he saw than he had been with any of his previous discoveries. Giant mountains, covered with verdant forests, seemed to rise precipitately from the blue waters and lift their heads to the very clouds.

Beautiful rivers watered fertile valleys, luscious fruits hung from the trees, fragrant flowers carpeted the ground, and the air was filled with the songs of birds of gay plumage. There were scenes of nature's magnificence such as are found only in the tropics. Columbus, as he gazed upon them in admiration, little thought that this beautiful island was to witness his greatest sorrows, that it was to be his final resting place, and that it was in later generations to become the theater of long years of war and carnage.

At the time of its discovery the island of Santo Domingo was thickly inhabited. The native Indians were Arawaks belonging to the same race as those who occupied the other larger West India Islands. Unlike the fierce Caribs who inhabited some of the smaller Antilles, the Arawaks were of a gentle and meek disposition. They were inclined to idleness and sensuality. Columbus lauded their kindliness and generosity; the possession of these traits, however, did not prevent them from fighting bravely when exasperated.

Living in the stone age, they knew none of the useful metals, but gold ornaments were used for adornment. Older men and married women wore short ap.r.o.ns of cotton or feathers; all other persons went entirely nude. Their favorite amus.e.m.e.nts were ball games and savage dances with weird, monotonous music; their religion was the wors.h.i.+p of a great spirit and of subordinate deities represented by idols, called "zemis," carved of wood and stone in grotesque form, and of which some are still occasionally found in caverns or tombs. They dwelt in rude palm-thatched huts, the princ.i.p.al article of furniture being the hammock. Simple agriculture, hunting and fis.h.i.+ng provided their means of livelihood.

The natives called the island Haiti, signifying "high ground," but the western portion was also called Babeque or Bohio, meaning "land of gold" and the eastern part Quisqueya, meaning "mother of the earth."

The name Quisqueya is the one by which Dominican poets now refer to their country. The inhabitants lived in communities ruled by local caciques, and the country was divided into five princ.i.p.al regions, each under an absolute chief cacique, as follows:

Magua, signifying "watered plain," the northeastern part of the island and comprising most of what is to-day known as the Cibao--that part of the Dominican Republic lying north of the central mountain-range. The chief was Guarionex.

Marien, or Mariel, comprised the northwestern portion of the island and was ruled by Guacanagari.

Jaragua comprised the southwestern part, its chief being Bohechio, the oldest of the caciques.

Maguana extended from the center of the island to the south coast near Azua and was ruled by the proud Caonabo.

Higuey, or Higuayagua, the most bellicose portion of the country, comprised the entire southeast and was ruled by Cayacoa.

Columbus happened upon the island on his first voyage. After discovering Guanahani on October 12, 1492, and vainly searching for j.a.pan among the Bahama Islands, he discovered Cuba and while skirting along the north sh.o.r.e of what he supposed to be the mainland heard of an island said to be rich in gold, lying to the east. Taking an easterly course, he was abandoned by the Pinta, one of his caravels, whose captain, disregarding the admiral's signals, sailed away to seek his fortune alone. Continuing with his remaining caravels, the Santa Maria and the Nina, Columbus reached Cape Maisi, the easternmost point of Cuba, where he sighted a high mountainous land lying in a southeasterly direction. On the following day, December 6, 1492, he reached this land, which he called la Espanola, because it reminded him of Andalusia. In English histories the name is modified to Hispaniola. The port Columbus called San Nicolas, as he had entered it on St. Nicholas day, and it is now known as Mole St. Nicolas.

Columbus then sailed along the north coast of the island and entered the pretty little port known to-day as Port-a-l'Ecu. Here, on December 12, he solemnly took possession of the country in the name of his sovereigns, erecting a wooden cross on a high hill on the western side of the bay. He then visited Tortuga Island, to the north, giving it this name on account of its shape and the great number of turtles in the water near its coast. After stopping in a harbor which he called Puerto de Paz, Port of Peace, because of the harmony which prevailed at the meetings with the natives, Columbus continued in an easterly direction, but adverse winds compelled him to put into the bay of Santo Tomas, to-day bay of l'Acul, where the cordial intercourse with the natives was renewed. Here he received an emba.s.sy from the chief of the district, Guacanagari, inviting him to visit the cacique's residence, further along the coast, and bringing him as presents a wampum belt artistically worked and a wooden mask with eyes, tongue and nose of gold.

To accept the invitation Columbus set sail on the morning of December 24. In the evening when the admiral had retired the helmsman committed the indiscretion of confiding the helm to a s.h.i.+p's boy. About midnight when off Cape Haitien, near their destination, the vessel was caught in a current and swept upon a sandbank where she began to keel over.

During the confusion which followed, Columbus had the mainmast chopped down but all efforts to right the s.h.i.+p were in vain, and Columbus and the crew were obliged to take refuge on the little Nina.

As soon as Guacanagari received news of the disaster he sent large canoes filled with men to help the strangers transport their stores to the sh.o.r.e. The relations between the Spaniards and the Indians became most cordial, especially as the Spaniards were gratified to obtain much gold in exchange for articles of insignificant value, owing to which circ.u.mstances and to the natural advantages of the location, Columbus determined to build a fort with the wreckage of his vessel.

The fort was on a hill east of the site of the present town of Cape Haitien. Columbus gave it the name of La Navidad because he had entered the bay on Christmas day, and leaving thirty-nine men as colonists set out on the Nina on January 4, 1493, on his return trip to Spain.

Near the great yellow promontory on the north of the island, to which Columbus gave the name it still retains of Monte Cristi, the Pinta, which had deserted the other vessels off Cuba, was sighted. Columbus having heard the excuses of the Pinta's captain, took no action with respect to the latter's delinquency, but set about exploring a large river in the vicinity to which he gave the name of Rio de Oro and which to-day is called the Yaque. Continuing the journey along the coast of the island the vessels rounded the giant promontory of Cape Cabron and that of Samana and entered the great bay of Samana which Columbus at first took to be an arm of the sea. Here it was that the first armed encounter between sons of the old world and the new took place. The Indians set upon the Spaniards when they landed but were quickly driven to flight, one of their number being severely wounded.

On the following day, however, a more pleasant meeting took place and presents were exchanged. On January 16 the two vessels set sail for Spain.

The immense excitement produced in Spain by the discoveries of Columbus made the preparation of another expedition an easy matter, and on September 25, 1493, the admiral again set out from Spain, this time with sixteen s.h.i.+ps and some 1300 men. After touching at several of the Leeward Islands and Porto Rico, the fleet sighted the Samana peninsula on November 22, 1493, and three days later arrived at Monte Cristi. Here the finding of two corpses of Spaniards filled the members of the expedition with grave apprehensions, which proved justified when two days later they arrived at La Navidad and found the fort completely destroyed, the Indian village burnt to the ground, and the whole neighborhood silent and desolate.

Guacanagari was found at a village further inland and according to his story and that of other Indians, a number of Spaniards had succ.u.mbed to disease, others were killed in brawls among themselves and the remainder died at the hands of the inland caciques Caonabo and Guarionex and their warriors, who attacked and destroyed both the fort and the village of Guacanagari. At the same time it was stated that the Spaniards had made themselves hateful to the natives by their domineering disposition and their lewdness and covetousness. The finding in some of the native huts of objects that had belonged to the colonists, as well as other suspicious circ.u.mstances, caused Father Boil and other companions of Columbus to doubt the chief's story and insist that sanguinary vengeance be taken. Columbus, however, affected to be satisfied with the explanation given and determined to take no further action, but to seek a new location for the colony. From this time forward discord divided not only the Spaniards and Indians but also the Spaniards themselves.

As the fleet was sailing east the weather obliged it to put into an indentation of the coast fifty miles east of Monte Cristi. The place so charmed the Spaniards that it was decided to found a town here. The first city of the new world was therefore laid out and Columbus gave it the name of Isabela, in honor of his royal patron. During the construction of the city Columbus sent two expeditions to the Cibao mountains, both of which succeeded in collecting a large amount of gold.

It soon became evident that the neighborhood of Isabela was not a healthy one. Fever invaded the colony; Columbus himself was not exempt. Discontent came and an uprising among the soldiers was nipped in the bud. On recovering from his illness Columbus resolved to make an exploration of the interior; and with drums beating and flags flying a brilliant expedition left Isabela. The beautiful Royal Plain was soon reached and friendly relations established with its peaceful inhabitants, whose wonder at the Spaniards and terror at their horses knew no bounds. A fortress was founded on the banks of the Janico river and called Santo Tomas. Columbus then returned to Isabela to find the town in a state of excitement on account of petty quarrels and the general sickness. Picking out the princ.i.p.al malcontents he sent them to Santo Tomas, and ordered that another fortress be founded. On April 24, 1494, he left the island with three vessels for a voyage of exploration to the west, entrusting the government of the colony to his brother Diego and an executive council.

But a short time elapsed before new dissensions broke out, followed by troubles with the Indians. A military expedition dispatched to the interior committed numerous depredations and drove the natives into the ranks of Caonabo, who was planning the expulsion of the strangers.

The commander of the expedition, Moisen Pedro de Margarite, was called to account by Diego Columbus; but conspiring with Father Boil, the religious head of the colony, the two contrived to excite a popular insurrection against the governor, which may be regarded as the first Dominican revolution. At this time Bartholomew Columbus, another brother of the admiral, arrived with provisions, and the insurrectionists, taking possession of the s.h.i.+ps, returned in them to Spain where they lost no opportunity to disparage the achievements of Columbus and to slander him and his brothers.

The princ.i.p.al caciques of the island now formed an alliance and uniting their forces laid siege to Santo Tomas. Only Guacanagari refused to join them and hurried to Isabela to offer his services to the Spaniards. At this juncture, on September 29, 1494, Columbus, sick and weary, returned from his voyage, during which, after other discoveries, he had explored a portion of the south coast of the island. As soon as he had recovered sufficient strength he led an expedition into the interior, relieved Santo Tomas, won numerous victories over the natives and founded another fortress, La Concepcion, in the Vega Real, or Royal Plain. Caonabo, however, a.s.sembled a vast number of warriors and forced Columbus to renewed efforts. The Spaniards and Indians met where the ruins of the old city of Concepcion de la Vega now are, and the famous battle of the Royal Plain was fought on March 25, 1495. The natives are alleged by the Spanish historians to have numbered 100,000, while the Spaniards had but 200 men and 20 horses, besides the warriors of Guacanagari. In the battle, a b.l.o.o.d.y one, the Indians were completely beaten, their discomfiture being due princ.i.p.ally to the superior arms of the Europeans and the fear inspired by the horses and by twenty blood-hounds brought into the fight by the Spaniards. On the occasion of this battle the miracle of the Santo Cerro, or Holy Hill, is said to have occurred, when, according to the Spanish chroniclers, the Indians captured an eminence on which the Spaniards had erected a wooden cross, but were unable to destroy the cross with fire or hatchet, and were finally frightened away by the apparition of the Virgin Mary.

This one crus.h.i.+ng defeat definitely broke the Indians' power, for though there were subsequent outbreaks they were only sporadic and, with one exception, of comparatively little importance. Caonabo still remained at large and the Spaniards secured possession of his person by one of those feats of individual prowess which mark the history of the conquest. The Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda went out in search of the cacique, and having found him with his warriors, suggested that they repair to Isabela together to arrange terms of peace with Columbus.

The suggestion being accepted, they set out and on crossing the Yaque river Ojeda pressed the Indian to put on a pair of handcuffs, a.s.serting that these bracelets were a distinction of the king of Castile. Caonabo acceded, whereupon the Spaniard sprang upon his horse and swinging the chief upon the croup, fled from the midst of the astonished warriors and bore him a prisoner to Isabela. Caonabo was later embarked for Spain but died on the voyage.

A beginning was now made of the harsh oppression which was soon to cause the entire disappearance of the native race. A quarterly tribute was imposed on every Indian above the age of fourteen. Those who lived in the auriferous region of the Cibao were obliged to deliver as much gold dust as could be held in a small bell, others were to give twenty-five pounds of cotton. Many natives fled to the mountains to escape the onerous tax and new settlements were established by the Spaniards.

The enemies of Columbus had in the meantime been sufficiently successful in Spain to cause one de Aguado to be sent out with the object of investigating conditions in the colony. His conduct from the very first was so arrogant that the admiral determined to return at once to justify himself before the court. On March 10, 1496, he embarked for Spain, leaving his brother Bartholomew as governor of the colony.

Before his departure the news arrived of the discovery of several rich gold mines in the southern part of the island. They were found by a soldier named Miguel Diaz, who having fled to the wilderness to escape punishment for wounding a comrade, had established conjugal relations with an Indian woman near the present site of Santo Domingo City.

Noticing that her consort was tiring of her, the lady tried to retain him by revealing the existence of gold deposits in the region; and Diaz promptly secured his pardon and promotion by reporting the find to Isabela. The romance had a sad ending, for the Indian, shocked at the cruel treatment accorded her countrymen by the Spaniards who came to the place, abandoned her husband and children and disappeared in the forest.

On arriving in Spain, Columbus wrote his brother to found a town on the south coast at the mouth of the Ozama. Bartholomew Columbus immediately set out to select a site and on August 4, 1496, laid the first stone of the new city on the left bank of the Ozama, calling it Nueva Isabela, in honor of the queen. The name was afterwards changed to Santo Domingo in honor, so tradition has it, of the saint to whom the day of its foundation was dedicated. As the location of this city was much healthier than that of fever-ridden Isabela on the north coast, the settlers in an ever increasing stream removed to the new town which flourished as the other decayed, until after a few years Isabela was entirely abandoned. The only vestiges now remaining of it are a few ruined foundation walls and shapeless heaps of stone overgrown with rank tropical vegetation.

Bartholomew Columbus busied himself with further explorations of the interior, founding a number of strongholds, among them Santiago de los Caballeros, which commanded the Royal Plain. While at Concepcion de la Vega he was informed that several Indians had burned an altar erected by friars in the interior, and had buried the sacred images. The bigoted governor had the Indians apprehended and burnt alive in the public square. This cruel act induced fourteen caciques to conspire for an uprising; but their designs being betrayed, they were captured by a bold stroke and two of them executed. Determined to crush the spirit of the natives, Bartholomew Columbus invaded and devastated the district of Monte Cristi, driving the Indians into the remote forests and capturing and imprisoning their chiefs.

His severity was not confined to the Indians, but the Spaniards, naturally restive under the government of a Genovese, were also made to feel it until their disaffection developed into open rebellion.

At the head of the conspiracy was Francisco Roldan, the judge of the colony, a man ambitious and seditious by nature, but who owed Columbus many favors. Others, disgusted because their dreams of gold had not been realized, followed him and the insurrection was soon well under way. The rebels took Isabela and sacked the government storehouse and then took steps to besiege Bartholomew Columbus at Concepcion de la Vega. The arrival of fresh troops and stores from Spain enabled the governor to hold the rebels in check.

Such was the deplorable state of affairs when Columbus returned to the island on August 30, 1498. Realizing Roldan's strength, he consented to make terms under which the insurgents were to receive stores and other property and return to Spain. By the time their vessels were ready most of them had changed their mind and declined to go, but they wrote letters to Spain bitterly complaining of the admiral and his brothers, and accusing them of oppression and despotism. Columbus found himself obliged to agree to the most humiliating terms with the rebels, conceding a complete pardon, restoring them to their official posts, promising to pay their salary in arrears and distributing lands and Indians among them. Nevertheless, other quarrels followed, Columbus was forced to take severe measures and the complaints against him grew.

Little by little the stories of arrogance and oppression circulated with reference to the Columbus brothers undermined the esteem in which they were held by the sovereigns, who were also disappointed at not seeing the fabulous wealth they had expected from the new discoveries.

They determined to send to the island of Espanola a person authorized to investigate conditions and decide all disputes.

Their choice for the mission was unfortunate; it fell on Francis...o...b..badilla, a spiteful, arrogant and tactless man. On arriving in Santo Domingo on August 23, 1500, he immediately began to annul dispositions made by Columbus and sent for the admiral who was in the interior. As soon as Columbus appeared, Bobadilla, far exceeding his authority, caused him to be put in chains and confined in a cell of the fortress of Santo Domingo. He also imprisoned the brothers of Columbus and sent them to Spain together with the Discoverer, all chained like infamous criminals. At the same time he made a report attributing malfeasance, injustice and fraud to all.

The administration of Bobadilla was disastrous. In his efforts to ingratiate himself with Columbus' enemies he heaped favors on Roldan and his followers and gave them franchises and lands. He made the slavery of the Indians more galling than ever, obliging them to labor in the fields and mines. Columbus' property and papers were confiscated and Columbus' friend, the explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas, was imprisoned and his property seized.