After seeing so much of the devastation wrought by hurricane Gustav, little is heard about the Dominican Republic, although it was one of the worst hit. Unlike Haiti that hugs the limelight because of scarce food supply, this sturdy country in the West Indies simply moved and used all its resources to restore the damage brought by the hurricane. What makes this republic stand on its own?
As history would have it, the Dominican Republic occupies two thirds of the Island of Hispaniola and is the second largest country in the West Indies after Cuba. Christopher Columbus came to the Island in 1492, colonized by the Spaniards in 1493 and on it built the first chartered university, cathedral, and monastery in the Americas. The capital, Santo Domingo was founded in 1496 and thus is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere.
The nation became independent in 1844, but was initially governed by repressive governments and endured cycles of political instability. But today the Dominican Republic is a thriving democracy, economically dependent on agriculture (sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cacao, cattle); industry (tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel, gold mining, textiles) and exports (ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver and coffee).
Like any independent republic, it has a
Dominican Republic National Flag and features a white central cross that covers the entire breadth that divides it into four rectangles - top is blue and red while the bottom rectangles are red and blue. And a small coat of arms is strategically placed at the center of the cross that depicts an open Bible, particularly the first chapter of the Gospel of St. John.
Further, white stands for salvation, while red signifies blood of its heroes, and the color blue is for liberty.
by:
The Flagman
