48 Fun Facts About Dominican Republic

What is the capital city of the Dominican Republic?

Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and for decades a whole New World empire was governed from it.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with which other country?

Haiti grew out of the western third of Hispaniola, which France controlled from 1697 until the colony won its independence in 1804.

Which mountain range is home to the highest peaks in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean?

Cordillera Central is the island's most rugged range, with several peaks above 3,000 metres, and across the western border the same mountains are called the Massif du Nord, the northern massif.

Which language do the vast majority of people in the Dominican Republic speak?

Spanish took root here before anywhere else in the Americas: the colony founded on this island in the 1490s was Spain's first permanent settlement in the New World.

What is the national currency of the Dominican Republic?

The peso began as a silver coin worth eight reales that became standard across colonial Latin America, which is why so many countries there still give their money that name.

Which major body of water borders the Dominican Republic to the north?

Atlantic Ocean: the north coast faces it while the south coast faces the Caribbean, and trade winds blowing off the Atlantic all year take the edge off the tropical heat.

What is the name of the highest mountain peak in the Dominican Republic and the entire Caribbean?

Pico Duarte, located in the Cordillera Central, stands at over 3,000 meters, making it the highest point in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean.

On which of his four voyages to the Americas did Columbus reach Hispaniola and give it its name?

His first: he landed in 1492 and named the island La Isla Española, later rendered as Hispaniola, and it became the springboard for the conquest of the Caribbean and the mainland.

Which Dominican slugger, nicknamed Big Papi, powered the Boston Red Sox to their 2004 World Series title?

David Ortiz almost single-handedly kept Boston alive when it trailed the Yankees three games to none in 2004, and he went on to win three World Series rings with the club.

Which lively music and dance genre, recognized by UNESCO, is a traditional part of Dominican culture?

Merengue runs through Dominican life from the classroom to family celebrations, and politicians have long taken it out on the campaign trail to win over crowds.

The Dominican Restoration War of 1863–1865 permanently ousted which colonial power?

Spain had re-annexed the country in 1861 at Pedro Santana's invitation; the Restoration War forced the Spanish out by July 1865, and Restoration Day is marked every August 16.

On the Dominican Republic's flag, what does the color red symbolize?

The blood of heroes is what the red stands for, with blue for liberty and white for salvation; the rebels of 1844 took a blue and red flag and laid a white cross over it.

What is the national bird of the Dominican Republic?

Palmchat, or cigua palmera, is found only on Hispaniola and owes its name to the palms in which it feeds, roosts and builds its nests.

What symbol appears on the coat of arms in the Dominican Republic's flag?

An open Bible sits at the centre of the shield under a small cross, turned to John's verse that the truth shall set you free, a sign of the Christian identity the founders stressed.

Which is the longest river in the Dominican Republic?

Yaque del Norte is the country's longest river, running nearly 300 km northwest to the sea at Monte Cristi and watering the fertile farming valley around Santiago on the way.

Which guitar-based romantic music and dance genre began in the Dominican Republic's countryside and poor neighborhoods?

Bachata grew out of bolero-style guitar music in the Dominican countryside and Santo Domingo's poor barrios in the 1960s; long scorned, it was inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019.

Which figure is one of the three "Founding Fathers" of the Dominican Republic, key to its 1844 independence?

Juan Pablo Duarte founded the secret society La Trinitaria in 1838 to plot independence from Haiti; with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella he is honored as one of the three Padres de la Patria.

Which commodity was historically the Dominican Republic's major export crop?

Sugar was the mainstay of the Dominican economy for nearly a century, until its share of the country's exports collapsed during the 1980s.

What unique and endangered plant species is designated as the national flower of the Dominican Republic?

The Bayahibe rose (Pereskia quisqueyana), a leafy cactus found only around the village of Bayahibe, was declared the national flower in 2011 and is critically endangered in the wild.

Which motto appears on the ribbon above the shield of the Dominican coat of arms?

Dios, Patria, Libertad (God, Fatherland, Liberty) began as the motto of La Trinitaria, the secret society that plotted independence, before it was set on the ribbon above the shield.

How did Rafael Trujillo's 31-year dictatorship end in 1961?

Shot in an ambush: gunmen attacked his car on a road outside the capital on 30 May 1961, but the plotters never managed to take over the government.

The Dominican Republic is part of which major island group in the Caribbean Sea?

Greater Antilles: the name is traditionally traced to Antilia, a legendary land that medieval charts placed far out to sea west of Europe, before any European had reached these islands.

What significant historical event is commemorated annually on February 27th in the Dominican Republic?

Independence Day marks 27 February 1844, when rebels seized the capital's fortress and ended 22 years of Haitian rule while the movement's founder was still abroad.

Which of these baseball stars was born in the Dominican Republic?

Albert Pujols was passed over until the 13th round of the 1999 draft, the 402nd player chosen, yet he retired with 703 home runs.

Which hypersaline lake is the lowest point in the Dominican Republic and the entire Caribbean?

Lake Enriquillo, the country's largest lake, lies more than 40 metres below sea level; rivers flow in but nothing flows out, so evaporation has left it saltier than the sea.

What traditional Dominican meal of white rice, red beans and stewed meat is considered the national dish?

La Bandera, 'the flag', is the everyday form of the country's most important meal: Dominicans eat their main meal at midday, and this plate is its standard menu.

Bartholomew Columbus founded the future Dominican capital on the east bank of which river?

Ozama: Bartholomew Columbus founded the first town across the water from today's Colonial City in 1496, and Nicolás de Ovando rebuilt it on the present bank in 1502.

Which indigenous people inhabited Hispaniola before Europeans arrived?

Taíno words live on in everyday English: hammock and barbecue both come from their language.

Which religion has historically been dominant in the Dominican Republic?

Roman Catholicism arrived with the Spanish in the 1490s and is still the state religion under a 1954 concordat with the Vatican, though the law also guarantees freedom of worship.

Which animals arrive in Samaná Bay between January and March each year to breed?

Humpback whales use Samaná Bay as a breeding ground, and their arrival each winter draws boatloads of whale-watchers.

Which eastern coastal region of the Dominican Republic is renowned for white-sand beaches and resorts?

Punta Cana is the Dominican Republic's most popular tourist destination, famous for its luxurious resorts and long stretches of pristine white-sand beaches.

Larimar, a rare blue stone found only in the Dominican Republic, is mined near which south-western city?

Barahona: the only larimar mine lies in the hills of its province; Miguel Méndez named the stone in 1974 by joining his daughter Larissa's name to mar, the sea.

Which gemstone, including a rare blue variety, is mined in the mountains behind Puerto Plata?

Amber from the Cordillera Septentrional near Puerto Plata is among the world's most prized, often holding insect inclusions; the rare blue amber that fluoresces in sunlight is a Dominican specialty.

Which institution, often called the Americas' first, did a 1538 papal bull found in the Dominican capital?

University: the bull In Apostolatus Culmine raised a friars' college to that rank in 1538, though Lima's San Marcos, chartered by the crown in 1551, disputes the title of oldest.

What is the national tree of the Dominican Republic, valued for its strong and beautiful wood?

Mahogany from these islands supplied cabinetmakers in Europe and America for centuries, until it was cut almost to nothing; trade in the species is now restricted by treaty.

Which type of government does the Dominican Republic have?

Representative democracy is the model: voters elect a president, who is both head of state and head of government, and a two-chamber Congress every four years.

Which strait separates Hispaniola from Puerto Rico?

Mona Passage, about 130 km wide, lies in an earthquake zone: a 1918 shock off its northern end sent a tsunami sweeping along the coast to its east.

Which high-kicking Giants pitcher became the first Dominican-born player elected to baseball's Hall of Fame?

Juan Marichal once outdueled Warren Spahn in a game that stayed scoreless until the 16th inning in 1963, when a Willie Mays home run won it 1-0.

The Mirabal sisters, killed on dictator Trujillo's orders in 1960, were known in the Dominican resistance by what code name?

Las Mariposas, the Butterflies, were murdered on 25 November 1960, the date the UN later made the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

How did Juan Bosch's elected government fall after seven months in 1963?

A military coup removed Bosch on 25 September 1963 after officers, churchmen and business leaders warned of 'another Cuba', and the fight to restore him later set off a civil war.

Which US president sent about 20,000 troops into the Dominican Republic's civil war?

Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the landing on 28 April 1965, saying the rebels were dominated by communists, and an OAS peace force later joined the American troops.

Santiago de los Caballeros, the Dominican Republic's second-largest city, is the main metropolis of which region?

Cibao: this fertile valley between two mountain ranges is the Dominican farming heartland, and Santiago grew up as its market city, exporting rum and cigars.

Mamajuana, the spiced Dominican drink, infuses bark and herbs in rum, honey and what else?

Red wine: mamajuana steeps tree bark and herbs in rum, red wine and honey, and its name is thought to come from dame-jeanne, the French for the big demijohn bottle it was mixed in.

The 1937 massacre of Haitians along the Dominican border is named after which herb?

Parsley, or perejil, was reportedly the word soldiers made suspects pronounce to pick out Creole speakers, though scholars debate how widely the test was used; thousands were killed in October 1937.

Juan Luis Guerra earned a 1982 diploma from which American music school?

Berklee College of Music in Boston gave Guerra a diploma in jazz composition in 1982; back home he started a vocal group that put those jazz ideas on its first album.

Dominican-born designer Oscar de la Renta apprenticed under which Spanish couturier?

Cristóbal Balenciaga took him on after de la Renta, sent to Madrid at 18 to study painting, began sketching for fashion houses to earn extra money.

Whom did the Dominican Republic beat 3-0 to win its first World Baseball Classic in 2013?

Puerto Rico, which had knocked out defending champion Japan, lost the final 3-0 as the Dominicans, led by Robinson Canó, became the first team to win the Classic unbeaten.

Before the 1822 occupation, which Bolívar-led state did local leaders ask to join?

Gran Colombia was the choice of José Núñez de Cáceres, who declared independence in late 1821; before any answer came, President Boyer's army marched in from the west and held the whole island for 22 years.