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Hispaniola And La Espanola, By Christopher Columbus Essay

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Hispaniola or la Espanola, named by Christopher Columbus after his landing in 1492, is one of the largest island lying in the Caribbean Sea. The island is divided politically into the Dominican Republic and Haiti. One island, barely a barrier and yet, two completely different cultures and two completely different nations. The island was divided as a result of colonization. While the French colonized the west part of the island, what is today known as Haiti, and the Spanish colonized the east part of the island and what is today known as the Dominican Republic. As a result of those two different colonizations by two completely different nations with different cultures, Haiti and the Dominican Republic became two nations. However, for two nations on the same island with similar ancestry and a similar history, the Dominican Republic and Haiti are in a position where they could help each other if they were ever a time help was needed. That is not the case. After colonization and they fought for their freedoms, the history between the two nations turned bitter. Therefore, the political relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is a tense affair between two embittered nations occupying one island. As it is, the Dominican Republic became independent in 1844, forty years after Haiti. Unlike Haiti, the Dominican Republic was colonized by the Spaniards. Given the fact that Haiti gained its independence before the Dominican Republic, most of the nation wanted to stay as

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