Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future

It is remarkable how little has been written about the Dominican Republic, a country so near to our shores, 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 circumstances. 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 friendships 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.

In compiling this work I have endeavored to read all books of any consequence which have been published with reference to Santo Domingo and Haiti and have especially consulted the following:

José Ramón Abad, "La República Dominicana"; Santo Domingo, 1886.

Rudolf Cronau, "Amerika, die Geschichte seiner Entdeckung"; Leipzig, 1892.

Enrique Deschamps, "La República Dominicana, Directorio y Guía General"; Barcelona, 1906.

José Gabriel García, "Compendio de la Historia de Santo Domingo"; Santo Domingo, 1896.

H. Harrisse, "Christophe Colomb"; Paris, 1884.

Samuel Hazard, "Santo Domingo, Past and Present, with a Glance at Haiti"; New York, 1873.

Jacob H. Hollander, "Report on the Debt of Santo Domingo"; 59th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document; Washington, 1905.

Antonio López Prieto, "Informe sobre los Restos de Colón"; Habana, 1878.

Fernando A. de Meriño, "Elementos de Geografía Física, Política e Histórica de la República Dominicana"; Santo Domingo, 1898.

Médéric Louis Elie Moreau de Saint-Méry, "Description de la partie espagnole de l'isle Saint-Domingue"; Philadelphia, 1796.

Casimiro N. de Moya, "Bosquejo Histórico del Descubrimiento y Conquista de la Isla de Santo Domingo"; Santo Domingo, 1913.

F.A. Ober, "A Guide to the West Indies and Panama"; New York, 1914.

Publications of the Dominican Government.

Publications of the Bureau of American Republics and the Pan-American Union.

Annual Reports of the General Receiver of Customs of the Dominican Republic to the Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department, Washington, 1907 to 1917.

"Report of the United States Commission of Inquiry to Santo Domingo"; 42d Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document, Washington, 1871.

Emiliano Tejera, "Los Restos de Colon"; Santo Domingo, 1878; and "Los dos Restos de Colon"; Santo Domingo, 1879.