The Six Years' War () was a civil war in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

which lasted from 2 May 1868 to 2 January 1874 that "constituted the third war of independence fought by the Dominican people", in this case against the administration of President

Buenaventura Báez Ramón Buenaventura Báez Méndez (July 14, 1812March 14, 1884), was a Dominican conservative politician and military figure. He was president of the Dominican Republic for five nonconsecutive terms. His rule was characterized by corruption and ...

, which in 1869 negotiated the Dominican Republic's annexation to the United States. According to the Dominican intellectual

Pedro Henríquez Ureña Pedro Henríquez Ureña (June 29, 1884 – May 11, 1946) was a Dominican essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic. Biography Early works Pedro Henríquez Ureña was born in Santo Domingo, the third of four siblings. He ...

, this war was a critical phase in the creation of Dominican national consciousness because, having already differentiated themselves from the Haitians in the first war of independence and the Spaniards in the second, the Dominicans asserted their incompatibility with the United States.Frank Moya Pons, "The Incomplete State: The Dominican Republic, 1844–1961", in S. C. M. Paine (ed.), ''Nation Building, State Building, and Economic Development: Case Studies and Comparisons'' (Routledge, 2010), p. 172. The war was fought mainly by

irregulars Irregular military is any military component distinct from a country's regular armed forces, representing non-standard militant elements outside of conventional governmental backing. Irregular elements can consist of militias, private army, pr ...

(revolutionaries, intellectuals, conservative elements in the military) against the regular

Dominican Army The Dominican Army (), is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Dominican Navy, Navy and the Dominican Air Force, Air Force. The Dominican army with 28,750 active duty personnel consists of s ...

loyal to Báez. According to Hector Avalos, the civil war had a religious dimension, since the predominantly Catholic Dominicans, having already rejected Haitian ''Vodou'', now decisively rejected American Protestantism. Hector Avalos, ''Introduction to the U.S. Latina and Latino Religious Experience'' (Brill Academic Publishers, 2004), p. 93. The first fight was in Boca de Cachón. The rebels were defeated, because it was a small group of patriots. Unintimidated, Generals Timoteo and Andrés Ogando Encarnación, counting on the support of Generals

Gregorio Luperón Gregorio Luperón (September 8, 1839 – May 21, 1897) was a Dominican revolutionary, military general, businessman, liberal politician, Freemasonry, freemason, and statesman who was one of the leaders in the Dominican Restoration War. Luperón w ...

and

José María Cabral General José María Cabral y Luna (born Ingenio Nuevo; December 12, 1816 – February 28, 1899) was a Dominican Republic, Dominican military figure and politician. He served as the first President of the Dominican Republic, Supreme Chief of th ...

, launched a new offensive. They seized Las Matas de Farfán, Neiba and other southern towns. By the end of 1871 they had overthrown the Báez government. Cabral took the presidency. In his autobiography, Luperón explains that "the revolution in the south, under the leadership of General Timoteo Ogando, was gaining ground. Cabral found in San Juan a respectable force, organized and with all the inhabitants unified in a single thought: overthrow Báez and save the homeland." Dominican annexation was successful in the 1870 referendum, but was defeated in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

References

{{Reflist Civil wars involving the states and peoples of North America Guerrilla wars Second Dominican Republic Dominican Republic–United States relations Wars involving the Dominican Republic Rebellions against the United States Anti-imperialism in North America Anti-American sentiment in North America 19th-century rebellions 19th-century revolutions 19th century in the Caribbean 19th century in the Dominican Republic 1860s in the Dominican Republic 1870s in the Dominican Republic 1868 in the Caribbean 1869 in the Caribbean 1870 in the Caribbean 1871 in the Caribbean 1872 in the Caribbean 1873 in the Caribbean 1874 in the Caribbean Conflicts in 1868 Conflicts in 1874 Military history of the Caribbean Military history of the Dominican Republic

See also

References