Ehtnic Conflict between Dominican Republic and Haiti Essay

The Dominican Republic and Haiti are two countries that share an island. The difficulties of two ethnicities sharing an island bring forth conflicts that stem from colonial times. Race, economics, politics and stigmas all play a role in ethnic conflict between these won cultures that have very different views on their roots. Prejudice, cultural identity issues and resentment towards Haitians is the reason why Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo massacred thousands of unarmed Haitians. This is why the two cultures still clash today. The history of the colonization of Americas is one written in blood. The Hispaniola is no exception, and the conflict can still be seen today. In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed west. In doing so, he†¦show more content†¦When Columbus returned in November 1493 he was surprised to learn that the settlement he had left behind had been destroyed. Some of the 39 men had clashed with the Taino Indians, and were killed. Other crewmembers had become sick, unable to cope with the harsh environment of the Caribbean. As time progressed, small settlements were founded across the island, and the heart of the Spanish conquest in the New World, Hispaniola, began to develop accordingly. In April 1493 a settlement on the northern coast called La Isabela was founded in what is now the province of Puerto Plata, and in 1494 Concepcion de la Vega was founded. On March 13, 1494 Columbus opened the first road in the New World called Paseo de los Hidalgos, and construction of the Fort of Santo T omas began around the Janico River, in what is now Santiago province. In 1496 Bartolome Colon (Bartholomew, Columbus’s brother) settled Nueva Isabela on the eastern side of the Ozama River on the south coast of the island, but in 1498 a hurricane and subsequent earthquakes destroyed the settlement. Soon after the destruction of Nueva Isabela, Bartolome Colon founded the city of Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic, on the western side of the Ozama River, on August 5, 1498. On subsequent voyages, in order to gain more funding for his travels, and under pressure to pay off the creditors who had funded his previous voyages, Columbus introduced a slave system, which can only be described as