First Dominican Republic

The First Dominican Republic was the independent state that existed from the proclamation of independence on 27 February 1844 until the country was annexed by Spain on 18 March 1861. The movement led by Juan Pablo Duarte, Ramón Matías Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sánchez rose against Haitian rule and declared the new republic at Santo Domingo. The first constitution, adopted in November 1844, established a republican government with separate executive, legislature and judiciary and separated church and state. In practice, politics was dominated by conservative caudillos, above all Pedro Santana and Buenaventura Báez, who alternated in power amid coups and foreign threats. Haiti repeatedly tried to reconquer its former territory, while Britain, France, Spain and the United States all pressed the young state for influence. The economy remained poor and the government unstable; eight administrations held office in seventeen years. Fearing Haitian attack and seeking external support, Santana arranged the annexation of the country to Spain in 1861, ending the First Republic. Santo Domingo was the capital.