Hispaniola

Hispaniola (Spanish: La Española; French: Hispaniola; Haitian Creole:
Ispayola; Latin: Hispaniola; Taíno: Haiti)[3][4] is the 22nd-largest
island in the world, located in the
Caribbean
.svg/400px-Antillas_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Caribbean island group, the
Greater Antilles. It is the second largest island in the Caribbean
after Cuba, and the most populous island in the Caribbean; the
eleventh most populous island in the world.
The 76,192-square-kilometre (29,418 sq mi) island is divided
between two sovereign nations, the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic
(48,445 km2, 18,705 sq mi), and Creole-speaking
Haiti

Haiti (27,750 km2,
10,710 sq mi). The only other shared island in the
Caribbean
.svg/400px-Antillas_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Caribbean is Saint
Martin, which is shared between
France

France (Saint-Martin) and the
Netherlands (Sint Maarten).
Hispaniola

Hispaniola is the site of the first permanent European settlement in
the Americas, founded by
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus on his voyages in 1492
and 1493.[5][6]
Contents
1 History
1.1 Etymology
1.2 Post-Columbian
2 Geography
2.1 Fauna
2.2 Flora
2.3 Climate
3 Demographics
3.1 Ethnic composition
4 Economics
5 Precious metals
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History[edit]
Early map of
Hispaniola

Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, c. 1639.
See also: Colony of Santo Domingo, Colony of Saint-Domingue, History
of Haiti, and History of the Dominican Republic
Etymology[edit]
The island was called by various names by its native people, the
Taíno Amerindians. No known Taíno texts survive, hence, historical
evidence for those names comes to us through three historians: the
Italian Pietro Martyr d‘Anghiera, and the Spaniards Bartolomé de
las Casas and Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo. Fernández de Oviedo and
de las Casas both recorded that the island was called Quizqueia
(supposedly "Mother of all Lands") by the Taíno. D'Anghiera added
another name,
Haiti

Haiti ("Mountainous Land"), but later research shows
that the word does not seem to derive from the original Arawak Taíno
language.[3] (Quisqueya is today mostly used in the Dominican
Republic.) Although the Taínos' use of Quizqueia is verified, and the
name was used by all three historians, evidence suggests that it
probably was the Taíno name of the whole island, and for a region
(now known as Los Haitises) in the northeastern section of the
present-day Dominican Republic.
When Columbus took possession of the island in 1492, he named it
Insula Hispana in Latin[7] and La Isla Española in Spanish,[8] with
both meaning "the Spanish island". De las Casas shortened the name to
"Española", and when d‘Anghiera detailed his account of the island
in Latin, he rendered its name as Hispaniola.[8] In the oldest
documented map of the island, created by Andrés de Morales, Los
Haitises is labeled Montes de Haití ("
Haiti

Haiti Mountains"), and de las
Casas apparently named the whole island
Haiti

Haiti on the basis of that
particular region,[4] as d'Anghiera states that the name of one part
was given to the whole island.[3]
Due to Taíno, Spanish and French influences on the island,
historically the whole island was often referred to as Haiti, Hayti,
Santo Domingo, St. Domingue, or San Domingo. The colonial terms
Saint-Domingue

Saint-Domingue and
Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo are sometimes still applied to the
whole island, though these names refer, respectively, to the colonies
that became
Haiti

Haiti and the Dominican Republic.[9] Since Anghiera's
literary work was translated into English and French soon after being
written, the name "Hispaniola" became the most frequently used term in
English-speaking countries for the island in scientific and
cartographic works. In 1918, the United States occupation government,
led by Harry Shepard Knapp, obliged the use of the name
Hispaniola

Hispaniola on
the island, and recommended the use of that name to the National
Geographic Society.[10]
The name Haïti was adopted by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques
Dessalines in 1804, as the official name of independent
Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. It was
also adopted as the official name of independent Santo Domingo, as the
Republic of Spanish Haiti, a state that existed from November 1821
until its annexation by
Haiti

Haiti in February 1822.[11][12]
Post-Columbian[edit]
Columbus landing on Hispaniola
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus inadvertently landed on the island during his
first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492, where his flagship, the
Santa Maria, sank after running aground on December 25. A contingent
of men were left at an outpost christened La Navidad, on the north
coast of present-day Puerto Plata. On his return the following
year,[13] following the destruction of
La Navidad

La Navidad by the local
population, Columbus quickly established a second compound farther
east in present-day Dominican Republic, La Isabela.
The island was inhabited by the Taíno, one of the indigenous Arawak
peoples. The Taino were at first tolerant of Columbus and his crew,
and helped him to construct
La Navidad

La Navidad on what is now
Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Haiti, in December 1492. European colonization of
the island began in earnest the following year, when 1,300 men arrived
from
Spain

Spain under the watch of Bartolomeo Columbus. In 1496 the town of
Nueva Isabela was founded. After being destroyed by a hurricane, it
was rebuilt on the opposite side of the Ozama River and called Santo
Domingo. It is the oldest permanent European settlement in the
Americas.
Chiefdoms of Hispaniola
Several 16th century writers estimated the 1492 population of
Hispaniola

Hispaniola at over 1 million people.[14] Twentieth-century estimates
of the figure range from 60,000 to 8,000,000, but center around the
500,000 to 1,000,000 range.[14] Harsh enslavement by Spanish
colonists, as well as redirection of food supplies and labor towards
the colonists, had a devastating impact on both mortality and
fertility over the first quarter century.[15] Colonial administrators
and Dominican and Hyeronimite priests observed that the search for
gold and agrarian enslavement through the encomienda system were
depressing population.[15] Demographic data from two provinces in 1514
shows a low birth rate consistent with a 3.5% annual population
decline. Just 14,000 Taínos survived in 1517.[16] In 1503 the colony
began to import African slaves, believing them more capable of
performing physical labor.[citation needed]
The first documented outbreak of smallpox, previously an Eastern
hemisphere disease, on
Hispaniola

Hispaniola occurred in December 1518 among
enslaved African miners.[15][17] Some scholars speculate that European
diseases arrived before this date, but there is no compelling evidence
for an outbreak.[15] The natives had no immunity to European diseases,
including smallpox.[18][19] By May 1519, as many as one-third of the
remaining Taínos had died.[17]
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus brought sugar cane on his second voyage to the
island. Molasses was the chief product. Diego Colon's plantation had
40 African slaves in 1522. By 1526, 19 mills were in operation from
Azua to Santo Domingo.[20]:224
In 1574, a census taken of the
Greater Antilles

Greater Antilles reported 1,000
Spaniards and 12,000 African slaves on Hispaniola.[21]
As
Spain

Spain conquered new regions on the mainland of the Americas
(Spanish Main), its interest in
Hispaniola

Hispaniola waned, and the colony’s
population grew slowly. By the early 17th century, the island and its
smaller neighbors (notably Tortuga) became regular stopping points for
Caribbean
.svg/400px-Antillas_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Caribbean pirates. In 1606, the government of Philip III ordered all
inhabitants of
Hispaniola

Hispaniola to move close to Santo Domingo, to avoid
interaction with pirates. Rather than secure the island, his action
meant that French, English and Dutch pirates established their own
bases on the abandoned north and west coasts of the island.
French map of
Hispaniola

Hispaniola by Nicolas de Fer
In 1665, French colonization of the island was officially recognized
by King Louis XIV. The French colony was given the name
Saint-Domingue. In the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick,
Spain

Spain formally ceded
the western third of the island to France.[22][23] Saint-Domingue
quickly came to overshadow the east in both wealth and population.
Nicknamed the "Pearl of the Antilles," it became the richest and most
prosperous colony in the West Indies, with a system of human
enslavement used to grow and harvest sugar cane, during a time when
demand for sugar was high in Europe. Slavery kept prices low and
profit was maximized at the expense of human lives. It was an
important port in the Americas for goods and products flowing to and
from
France

France and Europe.
With the treaty of Peace of Basel, revolutionary
France

France emerged as a
major European power. In the second 1795 Treaty of Basel (July 22),
Spain

Spain ceded the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, later
to become the Dominican Republic. French settlers had begun to
colonize some areas in the Spanish side of the territory.
European colonists often died young due to tropical fevers, as well as
from violent slave resistance in the late eighteenth century. When the
French Revolution

French Revolution abolished slavery in the colonies on February 4,
1794, it was a European first,[24] and when Napoleon reimposed slavery
in 1802 it led to a major upheaval by the emancipated black slaves.
Thousands of the French troops sent by Napoleon to reestablish slavery
succumbed to yellow fever during the summer months, and more than half
of the French army died because of disease.[25] After the French
removed the surviving 7,000 troops in late 1803, the leaders of the
revolution declared western
Hispaniola

Hispaniola the new nation of independent
Haiti

Haiti in early 1804.
France

France continued to rule Spanish Santo Domingo.
In 1805, Haitian troops of General
Henri Christophe

Henri Christophe tried to conquer
all of Hispaniola. They invaded
Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo and sacked the towns of
Santiago de los Caballeros

Santiago de los Caballeros and Moca, killing most of their residents,
but news of a French fleet sailing towards
Haiti

Haiti forced General
Christophe to return to Haiti, leaving the eastern Spanish side of the
island in French hands. In 1808, following Napoleon's invasion of
Spain, the criollos of
Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo revolted against French rule and,
with the aid of the United Kingdom (Spain's ally) returned Santo
Domingo to Spanish control.
Fearing the influence of a society that had successfully fought and
won against their enslavers, the United States and European powers
refused to recognize Haiti, the second republic in the western
hemisphere.
France

France demanded a high payment for compensation to
slaveholders who lost their property, and
Haiti

Haiti was saddled with
unmanageable debt for decades.[26] It became one of the poorest
countries in the Americas, while the
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic [26] gradually
has developed into the largest economy of
Central America

Central America and the
Caribbean.
Geography[edit]
See also: Geography of
Haiti

Haiti and Geography of the Dominican Republic
Topographic map of Hispaniola
Hispaniola

Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the
Caribbean
.svg/400px-Antillas_(orthographic_projection).svg.png)
Caribbean (after Cuba),
with an area of 76,192 square kilometers (29,418 sq mi),
48,440 square kilometers (18,700 sq mi)[27] of which is
under the sovereignty of the
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic occupying the eastern
portion and 27,750 square kilometers (10,710 sq mi)[6] under
the sovereignty of
Haiti

Haiti occupying the western portion.
The island of
Cuba

Cuba lies 80 kilometers (50 mi) to the northwest
across the Windward Passage; 190 km to the southwest lies Jamaica,
separated by the
Jamaica

Jamaica Channel.
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico lies 130 km east of
Hispaniola

Hispaniola across the Mona Passage.
The Bahamas

The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos
Islands lie to the north. Its westernmost point is known as Cap
Carcasse.
Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico are collectively known as
the Greater Antilles.
The island has five major mountain ranges: The Central Range, known in
the
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic as the
Cordillera Central, spans the central
part of the island, extending from the south coast of the Dominican
Republic into northwestern Haiti, where it is known as the Massif du
Nord. This mountain range boasts the highest peak in the Antilles,
Pico Duarte

Pico Duarte at 3,098 meters (10,164 ft) above sea level. The
Cordillera Septentrional runs parallel to the Central Range across the
northern end of the Dominican Republic, extending into the Atlantic
Ocean as the Samaná Peninsula. The
Cordillera Central and Cordillera
Septentrional are separated by the lowlands of the
Cibao

Cibao Valley and
the Atlantic coastal plains, which extend westward into
Haiti

Haiti as the
Plaine du Nord (Northern Plain). The lowest of the ranges is the
Cordillera Oriental, in the eastern part of the country.[28]
The Sierra de Neiba rises in the southwest of the Dominican Republic,
and continues northwest into Haiti, parallel to the Cordillera
Central, as the Montagnes Noires, Chaîne des Matheux and the
Montagnes du Trou d'Eau. The Plateau Central lies between the Massif
du Nord and the Montagnes Noires, and the Plaine de l‘Artibonite
lies between the Montagnes Noires and the Chaîne des Matheux, opening
westward toward the Gulf of Gonâve, the largest gulf of the
Antilles.[28]
The southern range begins in the southwestern most Dominican Republic
as the Sierra de Bahoruco, and extends west into
Haiti

Haiti as the Massif
de la Selle and the Massif de la Hotte, which form the mountainous
spine of Haiti’s southern peninsula. Pic de la Selle is the highest
peak in the southern range, the third highest peak in the
Antilles

Antilles and
consequently the highest point in Haiti, at 2,680 meters
(8,790 ft) above sea level. A depression runs parallel to the
southern range, between the southern range and the Chaîne des
Matheux-Sierra de Neiba. It is known as the
Plaine du Cul-de-Sac

Plaine du Cul-de-Sac in
Haiti, and Haiti’s capital
Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince lies at its western end.
The depression is home to a chain of salt lakes, including Lake Azuei
in
Haiti

Haiti and
Lake Enriquillo

Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.[28]
The island has four distinct ecoregions. The Hispaniolan moist forests
ecoregion covers approximately 50% of the island, especially the
northern and eastern portions, predominantly in the lowlands but
extending up to 2,100 meters (6,900 ft) elevation. The
Hispaniolan dry forests ecoregion occupies approximately 20% of the
island, lying in the rain shadow of the mountains in the southern and
western portion of the island and in the
Cibao

Cibao valley in the
center-north of the island. The
Hispaniolan pine forests

Hispaniolan pine forests occupy the
mountainous 15% of the island, above 850 metres (2,790 ft)
elevation. The flooded grasslands and savannas ecoregion in the south
central region of the island surrounds a chain of lakes and lagoons in
which the most notable include that of Lake Azuei and
Trou Caïman

Trou Caïman in
Haiti

Haiti and the nearby
Lake Enriquillo

Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican
Republic.[citation needed]
Fauna[edit]
There are many bird species in Hispaniola, and the island's amphibian
species are also diverse.
Flora[edit]
The island has four distinct ecoregions. The Hispaniolan moist forests
ecoregion covers approximately 50% of the island, especially the
northern and eastern portions, predominantly in the lowlands but
extending up to 2,100 meters (6,900 ft) elevation. The
Hispaniolan dry forests ecoregion occupies approximately 20% of the
island, lying in the rain shadow of the mountains in the southern and
western portion of the island and in the
Cibao

Cibao valley in the
center-north of the island. The
Hispaniolan pine forests

Hispaniolan pine forests occupy the
mountainous 15% of the island, above 850 metres (2,790 ft)
elevation. The flooded grasslands and savannas ecoregion in the south
central region of the island surrounds a chain of lakes and lagoons in
which the most notable include that of Lake Azuei and
Trou Caïman

Trou Caïman in
Haiti

Haiti and the nearby
Lake Enriquillo

Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.
Satellite image depicting the border between
Haiti

Haiti (left) and the
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic (right)
In Haiti, deforestation has long been cited by scientists as a source
of ecological crisis; the timber industry dates back to French
colonial rule.
Haiti

Haiti has seen a dramatic reduction of forests due to the excessive
and increasing use of charcoal as fuel for cooking. Recent in-depth
studies of satellite imagery and environmental analysis regarding
forest classification conclude an accurate estimate of approximately
30% tree cover,[29] a stark decrease in the 60% forest cover in 1925.
Despite recent in-depth studies, the notoriously unsubstantiated 2%
forest cover estimate has been widely circulated in media and in
discourse concerning the country.[30] Despite the drastic
underestimation of Haiti's forest cover, the country has been
significantly deforested over the last 50 years, resulting in the
desertification of portions of the Haitian territory.
In the
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic the forest cover has increased. In 2003 the
Dominican forest cover had been reduced to 32% of the territory, but
in 2011 the trend towards reducing reverts to increase forest cover by
eight percentage points to stand at nearly 40% of territory. The
success of the Dominican forest growth is due to several Dominican
government policies and private organizations for the purpose, and a
strong educational campaign that has resulted in increased awareness
on the Dominican people of the importance of forests for their welfare
and in other forms of life on the island.[31]
Climate[edit]
Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic
Owing to its mountainous topography, Hispaniola’s climate shows
considerable variation over short distances, and is the most varied of
all the Antilles.[32]
Except in the Northern Hemisphere summer season, the predominant winds
over
Hispaniola

Hispaniola are the northeast trade winds. As in
Jamaica

Jamaica and Cuba,
these winds deposit their moisture on the northern mountains, and
create a distinct rain shadow on the southern coast, where some areas
receive as little as 400 millimetres (16 in) of rainfall, and
have semi-arid climates. Annual rainfall under 600 millimetres
(24 in) also occurs on the southern coast of Haiti’s northwest
peninsula and in the central Azúa region of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac.
In these regions, moreover, there is generally little rainfall outside
hurricane season from August to October, and droughts are by no means
uncommon when hurricanes do not come.[33]
Les Cayes, Sud, Haiti
On the northern coast, in contrast, rainfall may peak between December
and February, though some rain falls in all months of the year. Annual
amounts typically range from 1,700 to 2,000 millimetres (67 to
79 in) on the northern coastal lowlands;[32] there is probably
much more in the
Cordillera Septentrional, though no data exist.
The interior of Hispaniola, along with the southeastern coast centred
around Santo Domingo, typically receives around 1,400 millimetres
(55 in) per year, with a distinct wet season from May to October.
Usually, this wet season has two peaks: one around May, the other
around the hurricane season. In the interior highlands, rainfall is
much greater, around 3,100 millimetres (120 in) per year, but
with a similar pattern to that observed in the central lowlands.
As is usual for tropical islands, variations of temperature are much
less marked than rainfall variations, and depend only on altitude.
Lowland
Hispaniola

Hispaniola is generally oppressively hot and humid, with
temperatures averaging 28 °C (82 °F). with high humidity
during the daytime, and around 20 °C (68 °F) at night. At
higher altitudes, temperatures fall steadily, so that frosts occur
during the dry season on the highest peaks, where maxima are no higher
than 18 °C (64 °F).
Demographics[edit]
The
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic is a
Hispanophone

Hispanophone nation of approximately 10
million people. Spanish is spoken by all Dominicans as a primary
language. Roman Catholicism is the official and dominant religion.
Haiti

Haiti is a Francophone nation of roughly 10 million people. Although
French is spoken as a primary language by the educated and wealthy
minority, virtually the entire population speaks Haitian Creole, one
of several French-derived creole languages. Roman Catholicism is the
dominant religion, practiced by more than half the population,
although in some cases in combination with Haitian Vudú faith.
Another 25% of the populace belong to Protestant churches.[34] Haiti
emerged as the first Black republic[35] in the world.
Ethnic composition[edit]
The ethnic composition of the Dominican population is 73% mixed
(Taino/European), 16% white and 11% black.
The ethnic composition of
Haiti

Haiti is estimated to be 95% black, 5% white
and mixed.
Economics[edit]
The island has the largest economy in the Greater Antilles, however
most of the economic development is found in the Dominican Republic,
the Dominican economy being nearly 800% larger than the Haitian
economy.
The estimated annual per capita income is US$1,300 in
Haiti

Haiti and
US$8,200 in Dominican Republic.[36]
The divergence between the level of economic development between Haiti
and
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic makes its border the higher contrast of all
western land borders and is evident that the
Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic has
one of the highest migration issues in the Americas.[37]
Geologic map

Geologic map of Hispaniola. Mzb are
Mesozoic

Mesozoic amphibolites and
associated metasedimentary rocks, Ki are
Cretaceous

Cretaceous plutons, Kv are
Cretaceous

Cretaceous volcanic rocks, uK are Upper
Cretaceous

Cretaceous marine strata, Ku
are
Cretaceous

Cretaceous sedimentary and volcanic rocks, K are
Cretaceous

Cretaceous marine
strata, IT are
Eocene
.JPG/440px-Crassostrea_gigantissima_(Finch,_1824).JPG)
Eocene and/or
Paleocene

Paleocene marine strata, uT are
Post-
Eocene
.JPG/440px-Crassostrea_gigantissima_(Finch,_1824).JPG)
Eocene marine strata, T are
Tertiary marine strata, V are
volcanic rocks, and Q are
Quaternary

Quaternary alluvium. The black triangles
indicate the Late
Eocene
.JPG/440px-Crassostrea_gigantissima_(Finch,_1824).JPG)
Eocene Hatillo Thrust fault.
Precious metals[edit]
Christopher Columbus, noting "the land and trees resembled those of
Spain, and that the sailors caught in their nets many fish like those
of Spain...named it Espanola on Sunday, December 9th." One of the
first inhabitants he came across on this island was "a girl wearing
only a gold nose plug." Columbus later learned that the "land of gold
was farther east." Soon the Tainos were trading pieces of gold for
hawk's bells with their cacique declaring the gold came from Cibao.
Traveling further east from Navidad, Columbus came across the Yaque
del Norte River, which he named Rio de Oro because its "sands abound
in gold dust."[38]
On Columbus' return during his second voyage he learned it was the
cacique Caonabo, "lord of the mines", who had massacred his settlement
at Navidad. While Columbus established a new settlement at La Isabela
on Jan. 1494, he sent
Alonso de Ojeda

Alonso de Ojeda and 15 men to search for the
"mines of Cibao." After a six-day journey, Ojeda came across an area
"very rich in gold", in which the "Indians took gold out of a
brook...and many other streams in that province." Columbus himself
visited the mines of
Cibao

Cibao on 12 March 1494. He constructed the Fort
of Santo Tomas, present day Janico, with Captain Pedro Margarit in
command of 56 men.[38]:119,122–126
On 24 March 1495, Columbus with his ally Guacanagarix, embarked on a
war of revenge against Caonabo, capturing him and his family while
"killing many Indians and capturing others." Afterwards, "every person
of fourteen years of age or upward was to pay a large hawk's bell of
gold dust."[38]:149–150
Miguel Diaz and
Francisco de Garay discovered large gold nuggets on
the lower
Haina River in 1496. These San Cristobal mines were later
known as the Minas Viejas mines. Then, in 1499, the first major
discovery of gold was made in the cordillera central, which led to a
mining boom. By 1501, Columbus' cousin Giovanni Colombo, had
discovered gold near Buenaventura, the deposits were later known as
Minas Nuevas. Two major mining areas resulted, one along San
Cristobal-Buenaventura, and another in
Cibao

Cibao within the La
Vega-Cotuy-
Bonao

Bonao triangle, while Santiago de los Caballeros,
Concepcion, and
Bonao

Bonao became mining towns. The gold rush of
1500–1508 ensued.[20]
Ferdinand "ordered gold from the richest mines reserved for the
Crown." Thus, Ovando expropriated the gold mines of Miguel Diaz and
Francisco de Garay in 1504, as pit mines became royal mines, though
placers were open to private prospectors. Furthermore, Ferdinand
wanted the "best Indians" working his royal mines, and kept 967 in the
San Cristobal mining area supervised by salaried
miners.[20]:68,71,78,125–127
Under Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres' governorship, the Indians were
made to work in the gold mines, "where they were grossly overworked,
mistreated, and underfed," according to Pons. By 1503, the Spanish
Crown legalized the distribution of Indians to work the mines as part
of the encomienda system. According to Pons, "Once the Indians entered
the mines, hunger and disease literally wiped them out." By 1508 the
Indian population of about 400,000 was reduced to 60,000, and by 1514,
only 26,334 remained. About half were located in the mining towns of
Concepcion, Santiago, Santo Domingo, and Buenaventura. The
repartimiento of 1514 accelerated emigration of the Spanish colonists,
coupled with the exhaustion of the mines. In 1516, a smallpox epidemic
killed an additional 8,000, of the remaining 11,000 Indians, in one
month. By 1519, according to Pons, "Both the gold economy and the
Indian population became extinct at the same time."[39][20]:191–192
However, writing in 1860, Courtney observed, the island is "one
immense gold field", of which the early Spaniards had "scarcely began
to be developed." Additionally, "The gold is still found in the Cibao
regions as of old."[40] By 1919, Condit and Ross noted "the greater
part of the Republic is covered by concessions granted by the
government for mining minerals of diverse sorts." Besides gold, these
minerals included silver, manganese, copper, magnetite, iron and
nickel.[41]
Mining operations in 2016 have taken advantage of the volcanogenic
massive sulfide ore deposits (VMS) around Maimón. To the northeast,
the Pueblo Viejo Gold Mine was operated by state-owned Rosario
Dominicana from 1975 until 1991. In 2009, Pueblo Viejo Dominicana
Corporation, formed by
Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold and Goldcorp, started open-pit
mining operations of the Monte Negro and Moore oxide deposits. The
mined ore is processed with gold cyanidation.
Pyrite

Pyrite and sphalerite
are the main sulfide minerals found in the 120 m thick volcanic
conglomerates and agglomerates, which constitute the world's second
largest sulphidation gold deposit.[42]
Between
Bonao

Bonao and Maimon, Falconbridge Dominicana has been mining
nickel laterites since 1971. The Cerro de Maimon copper/gold open-pit
mine southeast of Maimon has been operated by Perilya since 2006.
Copper is extracted from the sulfide ores, while gold and silver are
extracted from both the sulfide and the oxide ores. Processing is via
froth flotation and cyanidation. The ore is located in the VMS Early
Cretaceous

Cretaceous Maimon Formation.
Goethite

Goethite enriched with gold and silver is
found in the 30 m thick oxide cap. Below that cap is a supergene zone
containing pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite. Below the supergene
zone is found the unaltered massive sulphide mineralization.[43]
See also[edit]
Casa de Contratación
Dominican Republic–
Haiti

Haiti relations
Geography of the Dominican Republic
Geography of Haiti
List of divided islands
References[edit]
^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency".
www.cia.gov.
^
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Haiti & The
Dominican Republic

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^ "Embassy of the Dominican Republic, in the United States". Archived
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^ a b "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency".
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^ "Quam protinus Hispanam dixi": Epistola De Insulis Nuper Repertis
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^ Lancer, Jalisco. "The Conflict Between
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^ "What Are Some Facts About Christopher Columbus?".
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epidemics in a global perspective. Albuquerque: University of New
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^ Lord, Lewis (January 21, 2007). "A Conqueror More Lethal Than the
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^ "History of
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^ Austin Alchon, Suzanne (2003). A pest in the land: new world
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^ a b c d Floyd, Troy (1973). The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean,
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^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1972). The Oxford History of the American
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^ "
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^ Popkin, Jeremy D. (2008) Facing Racial Revolution: Eyewitness
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^ Bollet, A.J. (2004). Plagues and Poxes: The Impact of Human History
on Epidemic Disease. Demos Medical Publishing. pp. 48–49.
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^ a b c Bowin, Carl (1975). Nairn, Alan; Stehli, Francis, eds. The
Geology of Hispaniola, in The Ocean Basins and Margins. New York:
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^ "
Haiti

Haiti is Covered with Trees". EnviroSociety. Tarter, Andrew.
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^ O'Connor, M. R., ed. (13 October 2016). "One of the Most Repeated
Facts about
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Haiti is a Lie". Vice News.
^ "República Dominicana aumenta su cobertura boscosa a 39.7% -
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^ a b Alpert, Leo (1941). "The Areal Distribution of Mean Annual
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Island

Island of Hispaniola". Monthly Weather Review. 69
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^ Camberlin, Pierre (2010). "More variable tropical climates have a
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^ "The World Factbook". Cia.gov.
^ "Haitians Heroes" (PDF). Palmbeachschools.org. Archived from the
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^ Bello, Marisol (January 21, 2010). "
Hispaniola

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^ IMF – PIB per cápita (PPA) República Dominicana / Haití
^ a b c Columbus, Ferdinand (1959). The Life of the Admiral
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand. New Brunswick: Rutgers, The
State University. pp. 76–77, 83, 87.
^ Pons, Frank (1995). The Dominican Republic, A National History. New
Rochelle:
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Anson P. Norton. pp. 123–125.
^ Condit, D. Dale; Ross, Clyde P. (1921). Economic Geology, Chapter X,
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^ "Cerro de Maimon". Perilya.com. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
External links[edit]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hispaniola.
Look up hispaniola in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hispaniola.
Google maps
Map of the Islands of
Hispaniola

Hispaniola and
Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico from 1639
Champlin, Jr., John D. (1880). "Hayti". Encyclopædia
Britannica. 11 (9th ed.).
The Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake at the Library of Congress
contains primary materials on Hispaniola.
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