The Dominican Republic is a country located on the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bordering Haiti. Hispaniola is the second-largest of the Greater Antilles islands, and lies west of Puerto Rico and east of Cuba and Jamaica. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule lasted for much of the 20th century; the move towards representative democracy has improved vastly since the death of military dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in 1961. Dominicans sometimes refer to their country as Quisqueya, a name for Hispaniola used by indigenous Taíno people. The Dominican Republic is not to be confused with Dominica, another Caribbean country.
Bavaro Boca Chica Cabarete Cabrera Higuey Juan Dolio La Romana Las Terrenas Puerto Plata Punta Cana Rio San Juan Samana Santiago Santo Domingo Sosua
The capital of the country is the city of Santo Domingo (full name Santo Domingo de Guzman), located in the Southern part of the island. Originally a single city located within the province Distrito Nacional (National District), it has now been divided into a Province of Santo Domingo and the National District. The Province of Santo Domingo is comprised of several municipalities: Santo Domingo Norte (North Santo Domingo), Santo Domingo Este (East Santo Domingo, which is the provincial capital), Santo Domingo Oeste (West Santo Domingo) and Boca Chica. The Ozama River serves a natural border between the National District and the Province of Santo Domingo. Thus the capital city of the Country is the City of Santo Domingo de Guzman, Province of National District. The second largest city is Santiago de los Caballeros, more commonly referred to as simply Santiago.
The country has three major mountain ranges: The Central Mountains (Cordillera Central), which originate in Haiti and span the central part of the island, ending up in the south. This mountain range boasts the highest peak in the Antilles, Pico Duarte (3,087 m / 10,128 ft above sea level). The Septentrional Mountains, running parallel to the Central Mountains, separate the Cibao Valley and the Atlantic coastal plains.
The highest point here is Pico Diego de Ocampo. The lowest and shortest of the three ranges is the Eastern Mountains, in the eastern part of the country. There are also the Sierra Bahoruco and the Sierra Neyba in the southwest. This is a country of many rivers, including the navigable Soco, Higuamo, Romana (also known as 'Rio Dulce'), Yaque del Norte, Yaque del Sur, Yuna, Yuma, and Bajabonico. Puerto Plata's Mount. Isabela is famous for the Cuban plane that crashed there in 1992.
The two largest islands, nearshore, are Saona Island in the southeast and Beata Island in the southwest. To the north, at a distance between 100 and 200 km, are three extensive, largely submerged banks, which geographically are a southeast continuation of the Bahamas:
Navidad and Silver Banks have been officially claimed by the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic is a Hispanic country, therefore, as with all Hispanic countries in the Americas, its culture and people is derived predominantly from Spain, though heavily blended with African traditions and, to a much smaller degree, with indigenous Amerindian cultural elements.
The Spanish cultural heritage is most evident in the national language and predominant religion - Catholicism. African cultural elements are most prominent in musical expressions and the carnival vibe of life, testimony to the rich African heritage that existed before and after slavery, but was not allowed to be practiced during it. More recent Antillean and Anglo-American influences also exist. Near the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic, some people practice voodoo.
Baseball is by far the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic and there are many famous Dominicans who play Major League Baseball in the U.S., including Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martínez, David Ortiz, Rafael Furcal, Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, and Manny Ramirez. The Dominican Republic also has its own baseball league which runs from October to January.
Many MLB players and minor leaguers play in this six-team league during off-season. As such, the Dominican winter league serves as an important "training ground" for the MLB. The winner of the Dominican winter league goes on to represent the country at the Caribbean World Series.
Eighty-nine percent of Dominicans are baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. Other substantial religious groups are the Evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Around one percent of the nation's inhabitants practice pure spiritism, although it is very common for Catholicism and spiritism to be mixed in Santeria's seancees and "saint" parties.
The country that is now the Dominican Republic was formerly a Spanish colony. Many Spanish traits are still present and public people recognizingly notice a Latin American feel to the island and its cuisine. Many traditional Spanish dishes have found a new home in the Dominican Republic. This is the same story for the African and Taino dishes which still hold on strong in all aspects of the society.
Some dishes are still Spanish with different twist, while many are also of unchanged African and Taino dishes. Some of these African dishes include but not limited to: Mofongo(Mashed and re-fried plantains with pork grinds inside) Mangu (Mashed boiled platains) Mondongo (Cow tripe soup)
Some of these are Taino dishes include, but not limited to: Arepita(Fried yuka or sometimes potatos) Cassave (A bread made out of Yuka) Chulitos (Meat stuffed Re-fried yuka)
Dominican cuisine differs in some respects from other parts of the West Indies and spicing of dishes is much more on the mild side. The main spices used in Dominican recipes are onions, garlic, coriander and oregano. What Dominicans tend to eat depends highly on where they live, near the Sea or in the mountains. Regardless, most Dominican meat dishes tend to involve cow meat as the animals are farmed quite heavily on the island. Meat dishes tend to be very well cooked or even stewed in Dominican restaurants, a tradition stemming from lesser availability of refrigeration on the island.
Seaside Dominican fishing villages will have great varieties of seafood; the most common being shrimp, marlin, mahi-mahi or dorado(spanish), and lobster. Most villagers will more commonly dine on cheap lesser quality fish usually stewed with "la criolla" (rice). Premium seafood tends to be too expensive for the locals and is saved for the island's main industry, the tourist resorts.
Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti.
The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865.
A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.
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Tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall.
Temperature - Yearly Average
Anguilla 
Antigua 
Aruba 
Bahamas 
Barbados 
Cayman Islands 
Dominica 
Dominican Republic 
Guadeloupe 
Jamaica 
Martinique 
Netherlands Antilles 
Puerto Rico 
St Kitts 
St Lucia 
St Vincent 
Trinidad And Tobago 
Turks And Caicos Islands 
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