One Island, Two People, Two Histories:

The Dominican Republic and Haiti

By: Mapa, Kinsey, & Graciela

Hispaniola• Lays between the

islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the East

• Haiti occupies the western third and the Dominican Republic the eastern two-thirds of the island.

Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, 1671

Geography • 170-mile border between Haiti and Dominican Republic

•Between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

•Two-thirds of its people now live in cities

Early Life in Haiti and DR

• Natives were Tainos

• Lived in Villages

• Divided Classes

• Simple Food

History Dominican Republic & Haiti

• Spanish Rule – Christopher Columbus 1492

• Tainos

– Plantation Economy

• French Rule– French Revolutionary War 1795– 1808 Complete Control– 1809 People Revolted

• Haiti– 1% Still forested– Reason

• Building material• Soil erosion• Lost soil fertility

• Dominican Republic– 28% still forested– Reason:

• Watershed protection • Hydoelectric power• Preserved Rainforest

Deforestation

Differences Between Haiti and DR

Haiti• Poorest Country in the

New World• Corrupt Government• Most Overpopulated• Market Economy is

Modest• Extreme Polarization

Between the Masses of Poor and Rich Elite

Dominican Republic• Less Population Density

Growth Rate• Democracy without

Military Coup• Foreign Exchange

Includes Iron, Nickel, Employs More Workers

• Large Tourist Industry

Peak Production in Haiti & Dominican

Republic• 1697

• During French Control

• Sugar and Coffee

• Slave labor

Five Factor Framework1. Human

environmental 2. Friendly

Policies3. Unfriendly

policies4. Response by

societies and leaders

Human Environmental Impacts

• Exploitation of valuable trees in the Republic

• Extinction of Valuable Tree Species

Friendly Policies • Dictator Trujillo established first national

park, protection of forests, and put an end to burning forests for agriculture.

• Balaguer recognized the country’s need for maintaining forests.

• Opened Borders to Haitian Workers

Unfriendly Policies• Corrupt leaders led people to believe they

were fixing society, when in reality they were destroying it.

• People fighting against the logging ban.

• Haiti’s Constitution banned foreign investment or ownership.

Responses By the Societies and Their

Leaders• Leaders tried to improve the environment by

slowing logging.

• Opening borders to trade.

• People leaving to gain money and better life.

• Living beyond their means.

Today's Society•Water quality is very poor.

•People Spending beyond their means.

•Resources are scarce.

The End