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The Corruption Of The Dominican Republic

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The Dominican Republic was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. He named it La Isla de Española. The capital, Santo Domingo was founded in 1496 is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. Spain ceded the colony to France in 1795. The island was conquered in 1801 by Haitian blacks under the command of Toussaint L’Ouverture. In 1808 the people revolted and captured Santo Domingo the next year, setting up the first republic. Led by Pedro Santana the Haitians were thrown out and the Dominican Republic was established. Multiple attacks on the Island forced Santana to make the country a part of Spain from 1861 to 1865. The first president, Buenaventura Baez had to deal with many economic issues and in 1870 attempted to annex the country to the United States but senate declined. Anarchy and corruption continued until the dictatorship of Ulises Heureaux. The United States sent a group of Marines when chaos broke out once again in 1924. Rafael Leonides Trujillo Molina a sergeant who was trained by the marines established a dictatorship until 1961 when he was assassinated. Juan Bosch represented the Dominican Revolutionary Party was the first president elected in over 41 years. President Bosch was a scholar and a poet. His leftist policies included, naturalization of certain foreign holdings, including land redistribution. In 1963 President Bosch was dethroned by COL Elias Wessin. Juan Bosch then moved to Puerto Rico were he established

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