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Dominican Republic Annexation by Spain, 1861-65
On March 17, 1861, Santana announced the annexation of
the
Dominican Republic by Spain. A number of conditions had
combined
to bring about this reversion to colonialism. The Civil
War in
the United States had lessened the Spanish fear of
retaliation
from the north. In Spain itself, the ruling Liberal Union
of
General Leopoldo O'Donnell had been advocating renewed
imperial
expansion. And in the Dominican Republic, both the ruler
and a
portion of the ruled were sufficiently concerned about the
possibility either of a renewed attack from Haiti or of
domestic
economic collapse to find the prospect of annexation
attractive.
Support for annexation did not run as deep as Santana
and his
clique had represented to the Spanish, however. The first
rebellion against Spanish rule broke out in May 1861, but
it was
quashed in short order. A better organized revolt, under
the
leadership of the baecista, General Sánchez, sprang
up
only a month later. Santana, now bearing the title of
captain
general of the Province of Santo Domingo, was forced to
take to
the field against his own countrymen as the representative
of a
foreign power. The wily Santana lured Sánchez into an
ambush,
where he was captured and executed. Despite this service,
Santana
found his personal power and his ability to dole out
patronage to
his followers greatly restricted under Spanish rule. In a
fit of
pique, he resigned the captaincy general in January 1862.
Resentment and rebellion continued, fed by racial
tension,
excessive taxation, the failure to stabilize the currency,
the
uncompensated requisition of supplies by the Spanish army,
heavyhanded reform of local religious customs by an inflexible
Spanish
archbishop, and the restriction of trade to the benefit of
the
Spanish empire. The Spaniards quelled more uprisings in
1863, but
guerrilla actions continued. In response to the continuing
unrest, a state of siege was declared in February 1863.
Rebellious Dominicans set up a provisional government
in
Santiago, headed by General José Antonio Salcedo Ramírez,
on
September 14, 1863. Their proclamation of an Act of
Independence
launched what is known as the War of Restoration. For
their part,
the Spanish once again turned to Santana, who received
command of
a force made up largely of mercenaries; however, this
campaign
was the last for the old caudillo. By this time, his
popularity
had all but disappeared. Indeed, the provisional
government had
denounced Santana and had condemned him to death for his
actions
against his countrymen. On June 14, 1864, a broken and
despondent
Santana saved the rebels the trouble of carrying out their
sentence. The timing of his death lent credence to
speculation
that he had committed suicide, although this belief was
never
proven.
Meanwhile, the guerrilla war against the Spanish ground
on.
The rebels further formalized their provisional rule by
replacing
Salcedo (who had advocated the return of Báez to rule a
restored
republic) and by then holding a national convention on
February
27, 1865, which enacted a new constitution and elected
Pedro
Antonio Pimentel Chamorro president.
Circumstances began to favor a Spanish withdrawal. The
conclusion of its Civil War promised that the United
States would
make new efforts to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, which
barred
European powers from the Western Hemisphere. Spanish
military
forces, unable to contain the spread of the insurrection,
lost
even greater numbers of troops to disease than they did to
the
guerrillas. The O'Donnell government had fallen, taking
with it
any dreams of a renewed Spanish empire. On March 3, 1865,
the
Queen of Spain approved a decree repealing the annexation
of
Santo Domingo.
The Spanish left political chaos in their wake. A power
struggle began between the conservative, cacique-dominated
south
and the more liberal Cibao, where the prevalence of
medium-sized
landholdings contributed to a more egalitarian social
structure.
The two camps eventually coalesced under the banners of
separate
political parties. The Cibaeños (residents of the Cibao)
adhered
to the National Liberal Party (Partido Nacional Liberal),
which
became known as the Blue Party (Partido Azul). The
southerners
rallied to the Red Party (Partido Rojo).
The conservative Reds effectively employed their
numerical
superiority in the capital to force the restoration of
Báez, who
returned triumphantly from exile and assumed the
presidency on
December 8, 1865. Never again, however, would he exercise
the
sort of dictatorial control over the republic that he and
Santana
had once alternately enjoyed. The country's institutions
had
changed. Regional forces mustered during the War of
Restoration
had replaced the national army that previously had done
battle
with the Haitians. Political power had likewise been
diffused,
particularly between the opposing poles of the Cibao and
the
south. Under these conditions, it was difficult, if not
impossible, for one man to dominate the entire nation.
Data as of December 1989
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