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Dominican Republic Modern Immigration
Although almost all migrants were assimilated into
Dominican
society (often with surprising speed and thoroughness),
immigration had a pervasive influence on the ethnic and
the
racial configurations of the country. Within a generation
or two,
most immigrants were considered Dominican even though the
family
might well continue to maintain contact with relatives in
the
country of origin. Both the elite and the middle segments
of
society recruited new members with each economic
expansion. The
main impetus to immigration was the rise of sugar
production in
the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.
Nonetheless, some groups had earlier antecedents, while
others
arrived as late as the 1970s.
Nineteenth-century immigrants came from a number of
places.
Roughly 5,000 to 10,000 North American freedmen,
principally
Methodists, came in response to an offer of free land made
during
the period of Haitian domination (1822-44). Most, however,
were
city dwellers, and they quickly returned to the United
States. A
few small settlements remained around Santiago, Puerto
Plata, and
Samaná. They eventually were assimilated, although English
was
still widely used in the region of Samaná. Sephardic Jews
arrived
from Curaçao in the late eighteenth century and, in
greater
numbers, following independence from Haiti in 1844. They
were
assimilated rapidly; both their economic assets and their
white
ancestry made them desirable additions from the point of
view of
the Dominican criollos. Canary Islanders arrived during
the late
colonial period as well, in response to the improved
economic
conditions of the 1880s. Spaniards settled during the
period of
renewed Spanish occupation (1861-65); many Spanish
soldiers
stayed after the War of Restoration
(see Dominican Republic - Annexation by Spain, 1861-65
, ch. 1). Germans established
themselves--principally in
Puerto Plata--primarily in the tobacco trade.
The expansion of the sugar industry in the late
nineteenth
century drew migrants from every social stratum. Cubans
and
Puerto Ricans, who began arriving in the 1870s, aided in
the
evolution of the sugar industry as well as in the
country's
intellectual development. In addition, significant numbers
of
laborers came from the British, the Dutch, and the Danish
islands
of the Caribbean. They also worked in railroad
construction and
on the docks. Initial reaction to their presence was
negative,
but their educational background (which was superior to
that of
most of the rural populace), their ability to speak
English
(which gave them an advantage in dealing with North
American
plantation owners), and their industriousness eventually
won them
a measure of acceptance. They founded Protestant churches,
Masonic lodges, mutual aid societies, and a variety of
other
cultural organizations. Their descendants enjoyed a
considerable
measure of upward mobility through education and religion.
They
were well represented in the technical trades (especially
those
associated with the sugar industry) and on professional
baseball
teams.
Arabs--Lebanese and lesser numbers of Palestinians and
Syrians--first arrived in the late nineteenth century, and
they
prospered. Their assimilation was slower, however, and
many still
maintained contacts with relatives in the Middle East.
Italians
also arrived during this period and were assimilated
rapidly, as
did a few immigrants from diverse South American
countries. A few
Chinese came from other Caribbean islands and established
a
reputation for diligence and industriousness. More
followed with
the United States occupation of the island (1916-24). They
began
as cooks and domestic servants; a number of their
descendants
were restaurateurs and hotel owners.
The most recent trickle of immigrants entered the
country
from the 1930s to the 1980s. Many founded agricultural
colonies
that suffered a high rate of attrition. Among the groups
were
German Jews (1930s), Japanese (after World War II), and
Hungarians and Spaniards (both in the 1950s). More Chinese
came
from Taiwan and Hong Kong in the 1970s; by the 1980s, they
were
the second fastest growing immigrant group (Haitians being
the
first). Many had sufficient capital to set up
manufacturing firms
in the country's industrial free zones.
Data as of December 1989
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