December 5 – Discovery Day in Hispaniola

nPostednon December 5, 2016

nTherenis a fairly large island in the Caribbean Sea that some TainonAmerindians, back in the 1400s, called Haiti (“Mountainous Land”).nThe Taino lived on the various Caribbean Islands, including Haiti –ntherefore it would incorrect to say that Christopher Columbus and hisnmen “discovered” the island on this date in 1492.

nAndnyet many people do say just that, and the holiday name makes thenclaim, too!

nHavenyou ever heard the truism, “History is written by the victors?” n

nColumbusnwas sailing in the name of the Spanish monarchs, and as he and othernSpanish men explored and settled the Caribbean islands, they oftennkilled or raped the Taino. Even more Taino died from smallpox andnother infectious diseases accidentally brought to the New World bynthe Spaniards. So, the Taino nearly died out. In the meantime, thenSpaniards conquered the territory, wrote the history, and foistedntheir names on inhabitants and lands. n

nColumbusnnamed the island LanIsla Española,nor “the Spanish island.” It was later shortened to Española.nThese names are, of course, in the Spanish language. Another languagenused by Columbus was Latin – and in Latin the name of the islandnwas InsulanHispana.

nSpanishnand French people colonized different portions of the island. Thenvarious peoples living there called the island Haiti, Santo Domingo,nor Saint-Domingue, but somehow English speakers came up with andifferent name : Hispaniola. (Note that it is influenced by the Latinnversion of the island’s name.) By the 1900s official groups like thenNational Geographic Society adopted the name Hispaniola for thenentire island.

Whennenslaved and free people of color living in the western portion ofnHispaniola revolted against their French colonizers, they had tonfight Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. But they won! The nation of Haitinwas established on January 1, 1804, becoming the first independentnnation of Latin America, the first independent nation of thenCaribbean, and the second republic of the New World (after the UnitednStates). Revolutionary hero Jean-Jacques Dessalines chose the namenHaiti for the new nation as a way of honoring the originalninhabitants of the island.

nThenlarger portion of the island of Hispaniola is the Dominican Republic.nThis region was colonized by Spain, not France. The islandersndeclared their independence from Spain in 1821. They were annexed bynHaiti the next year, but a couple of decades later, the Dominicansnwere able to successfully break away. n

nI’mnnot positive how Haitians and Dominicans celebrate Discovery Day, butnI have seen photos of parades!

Historians believed that, although Columbus died in Spain, his
nremains were buried in what is now the Dominican Republic.
nHowever, there is now some doubt about this claim.

n
nCheck out the beauties of Haiti…
n