Afro-Dominicans
Total population | |
---|---|
Approximately 800,000 Dominicans of full or predominant African ancestry Afro-Latin Americans, Afro-Cubans, Afro–Puerto Ricans, Afro-Haitians, Yoruba people, Arará, Fang people, Bubi people |
Afro-Dominicans (also referred to as African-Dominicans or Black Dominicans) are Dominicans of predominant or full
The first black people in the island were brought by European
In the 19th and 20th centuries
There is a lack of recent official data[8] because the National Office of Statistics (ONE) has not released racial data since 1960, though the Central Electoral Board collected racial data until 2014.[9] The 1996 electoral roll put the figures of "black" at 4.13% and "mulatto" at 2.3% of the adult population.[8] The 1960 population census (the last one in which race was queried[8]) placed it at 10.9%.[10] According to a 2011 survey by Latinobarómetro, 26% of the people surveyed identified themselves as black.[11]
History
16th - 18th century
In 1502 (or 1503), the
In 1521, the first major
With the discovery of precious metals in South America, the Spanish abandoned their migration to the island of Hispaniola to emigrate to South America and Mexico in order to get rich, for they did not find much wealth there. Thus, they also abandoned the slave trade to the island, which led to the collapse of the colony into poverty.[12] Still, during those years, slaves were used to build a cathedral that in time became the oldest in the Americas. They built the monastery, first hospital and the Alcázar de Colón, and the Puerta de las Lamentaciones (Spanish: Gate of Mercy). In the 1540s, Spanish authorities ordered the African slaves building a wall to defend the city from attacks by pirates who ravaged the islands.[13]
After 1700, with the arrival of new Spanish colonists, the Atlantic slave trade resumed. However, as industry moved from sugar to livestock, racial and caste divisions became less important, eventually leading to a blend of cultures—Spanish, African, and indigenous—which would form the basis of national identity for Dominicans.[17] It is estimated that the population of the colony in 1777 was 400,000, of which 100,000 were Europeans and Criollos, 60,000 African, 100.000 mestizo, 60,000 zambo and 100,000 mulatto.[12]
The abolition of slavery
At the end of the eighteenth century, fugitive African slaves from Saint-Domingue, the western French colony of the island fled east to Santo Domingo and formed communities such as San Lorenzo de Los Mina, which is currently part of the "city" of Santo Domingo. Fugitives arrived from other parts of the West Indies as well, especially from the various islands of the Lesser Antilles.[18]
By the late 1780s, free people of color in the island were inspired by the French Revolution to seek an expansion of their rights, while also involving enslaved Africans to fight for their cause.[citation needed]
In 1792, the
Despite adhering to European royalist political views, Louverture used the language of freedom and equality associated with the French Revolution.[20] From being willing to bargain for better conditions of slavery late in 1791, he had become committed to its complete abolition.[21]
French commissioner, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, proclaimed emancipation for all slaves in French Saint-Domingue,[22] hoping to bring the black troops over to his side.[23] In February 1794, the French revolutionary government officially proclaimed the abolition of slavery.[24] Louverture had been in diplomatic contact with the French generals. During this time, competition between him and other rebel leaders was growing, and the Spanish had started to look with disfavor on his control of a strategically important region.[25] In May 1794, when the decision of the French government became known in Saint-Domingue, Louverture switched allegiance from the Spanish to the French and rallied his troops to Lavaux.[26]
In 1801, Louverture, abolished slavery in the eastern region of Santo Domingo, freeing about 40,000 enslaved persons, and prompting much of the planter of that part of the island to flee to Cuba and Puerto Rico. However, slavery was re-established in 1809 when the Spanish recovered the area.[13] At the same time, the French governor Ferrand imported a second group of Haitian slaves to build the French colonial enclave Puerto Napoleon (Samana).[27]
Simultaneously, Ferrand rounded his troops to seize black children to sell into slavery. This action would infuriate and spark the wrath of Haiti's self proclaimed emperor,
Slavery was again abolished in 1822 by the mulatto Haitian president
In 1824,
In 1838 Dominican nationalists Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, Matías Ramón Mella established the Trinitario movement.[18]Following the proclamation of Dominican independence in 1844, the abolition of slavery was announced through a decree by the new government. This would be reinforced through another decree by the Central Government Board chaired by Pedro Santana. [29]
Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, black laborers from the British West Indies came to work in the sugar plantations on the east of the island. Their descendants are known today by the name of Cocolos.[30]
20th century
In 1920 the United States conducted a census in the country during its military occupation. The country was divided into 12 provinces and 63 cities and towns. The most populated Dominican province was Santo Domingo with 146,652 inhabitants, and the least populated was Samaná with 16,915 inhabitants. The most populated city was Santiago with 72,150 inhabitants, followed by La Vega with 58,466 and the capital city of Santo Domingo with 45,007 inhabitants; the least populated city was El Jovero (now Miches) with only 1,692 inhabitants.
"The people of the Dominican Republic are mainly of Spanish descent, some pure white, others mixed with African American blood, others with an admixture of Indian, and still others a combination of white, Indian, and negro. While the pure black, or nearly black, African American is far less in evidence than in Haiti. Along the coast and on the plantations there are an immense number of negros from Turks Islands, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and the other West Indies. In other localities the blacks are scattered among the other people so that they are scarcely noticeable, and while the Dominican Republic cannot by any stretch of the imagination be called a “black republic” it is distinctly a coloured one, but the colour is far lighter than in most of the West Indies and to a superficial observer a large portion of them would pass for white."
The province with the highest proportion of blacks was San Pedro de Macorís with 40%, with half of those being of foreign origin. The provinces with the most immigrants were Monte Cristi and San Pedro de Macorís, with 11,256 and 10,145 foreigners, mostly from Haiti (97%) in the first province, and from the West Indies (56%), Haiti (20%) and Puerto Rico (17%), in the case of the latter. Proportionately, foreigners represented 26.3% of the population of San Pedro de Macorís and 16.8% of the population of Monte Cristi.
The towns with the highest proportion of blacks were Restauración with 74%, followed by La Victoria, and Villa Mella; those with the lowest proportion of blacks were Monción with only 4%, and Constanza, Altamira and Jarabacoa with 8% each. The towns with the highest proportion of
Origins of the slaves
The slave trade involved nearly all of Africa's west coast inhabitants to be forcibly taken to the new world.
Others African ethnic groups arrived to colonial Santo Domingo during the slavery's period were:
The Wolof were kidnapped to Santo Domingo from Senegal in the first half of the sixteenth century, until the kidnapping of this ethnic group was prohibited after his rebellion in 1522.[12] Many of the slaves were also Ajas, usually taken in Whydah, Benin. The Ajas arrived in Santo Domingo, were well known for having made religious brotherhoods, integrated exclusively for them, the San Cosme and San Damian.[32]
Demographics
Census
Black (
The National Institute of Statistics (INE) does not collect racial data since the Census of 1960. descent, with a lesser degree of Amerindian admixture.
There are also many Afro-communities that descend from post-colonial migrations, most notably the
The
Geographic distribution
Though, African ancestry is common throughout the Dominican Republic, today it is more prevalent in eastern areas such as
Dominicans of Haitian ancestry live scattered across the country, however, communities in the border provinces of Elías Piña and Independence where they predominate among the population, highlighting the presence of European football fields, a very popular sport in Haiti.[citation needed]
Geographic distribution of blacks in the country is often tied to history. Higher concentrations of Afro Dominicans, descended from African slaves bought to colonial Santo Domingo, are in the southeast plain, because that is where most of the slaves were in the Spanish side of the island, around Monte Plata, El Seibo, and Hato Mayor etc. This same region is where there is a high concentration of Haitian immigrants, working on
Genetics
Autosomal DNA
In addition to being found to have 9%
Medical DNA
Risk allele variants G1 and G2 are associated with
Cultural contributions
African cultural remnants seen in the Dominican Republic in many different aspects, including music, dance, magic-religious beliefs, cuisine, economy, entertainment, motor habits, and language.
Music
Perhaps the greatest influence of enslaved Africans is observed in music and dance. Such influence comes from the dances, that, like the calenda, practiced in the Dominican Republic, as elsewhere in America, from the early years of slavery. We must Father Labat, who toured the West Indies in the eighteenth century, a fairly thorough calenda.[30]
This dance derives, according to research by the folklorist
It is important to also mark other musical instruments Dominicans of African origin such as the Palo mayor (mainmast), the canoita, los timbales (present in the bachata, also called bongos), and the tambora (Key instrument in the merengue music, the Dominican national dance).[45]
For his part, the Bachata is a hybrid of the
On the other hand, there are also music genres Dominican widespread across the country, whose origin is uncertain, being considered of Spanish and African origin, depending of
Dominican folk music is intimately tied to religious culture, and interpreted primarily in the fiesta de santos (party of saints), also known, according to the area of the country, as velaciones (vigils), velas (candles) o noches de vela (sleepless nights). Other popular rhythms are of Spanish origin, such as the mangulina and the carabiné.[30]
Fashion
The first Afro-Dominican models featured on the cover of Vogue Mexico are Licett Morillo, Manuela Sánchez, Annibelis Baez and Ambar Cristal Zarzuela for the September 2019 edition.[48]
Religion
Although most black Dominicans are Roman Catholics, Protestants make up 21.3% of the population. Atypical magical-religious beliefs are practice among some black Dominicans. The most characteristic feature is the Dominican Vudú, which relates directly to the magical activity but it's generally considered taboo in mainstream Dominican society.[citation needed]
Funeral rites contain many features of African descent that are shared with other American countries. A typical example is the baquiní o velorio del angelito.[30]
Institutions and cuisine
The economic field include various institutions of mutual aid, existing both in the fields and in the cities. In rural areas, these institutions are in the form of groups of farmers who come together to collaborate on certain agricultural tasks such as planting, clearing of forests, land preparation, etc. Are called juntas (boards) o convites and have similar characteristics to Haitian combite closely related to the dokpwe of the Fon people of Dahomey. These tasks are accompanied by songs and musical instruments that serve as encouragement and coordination at work. All board members are required to reciprocate the assistance and collaboration in the work of others. After the day is a festival that is the responsibility of the landowner.[30]
Another institution of mutual aid, of African origin, is revolving credit system that goes by the name of St. corresponding to
Some Dominican cuisine and dishes containing some products of African origin. Among the former are the guandul, the ñame and the funde. Typical African dishes seem to be the
Buildings
African slaves were forced to build a cathedral that in time became the oldest in America. They built their monastery, first hospital and the Alcázar de Colón. In the 1540s, the Spanish authorities ordered the African slaves to build a wall to defend the city from attacks by pirates who ravaged the islands. They also built the Puerta de las Lamentaciones (Gate of wailing).[13]
Racial discrimination and consciousness
As in most parts of
According to census reports the majority, 73% identify as "Mestizo" or "Indio", Mestizo meaning mixed race of any type of mix, unlike in other Latin American countries where it denotes solely a European and Indigenous mix, and Indio slang for mulatto in Dominican Republic. Most Dominicans acknowledge their obvious Mulatto racial mix, oftentimes with slight Taino admixture along with the already heavy African and European. However, even though the majority of Dominicans recognize their mixed race background, many Dominicans often think "less" of their African side in comparison to the European and even much smaller Taino. Many Dominicans (men and women) often prefer lighter romantic partners because of the more European features and to "Mejorar la raza" (better the race) in regards to starting a family.[citation needed]
Due to the influence of European colonization and the propagation of Africans or "darker people" as being of the lowest caste, having African ancestry is often not desired in the Dominican Republic, which can also be said of many other parts of the Latin America and even the United States, where African American men often prefer "lightskinned" mixed Mulatto looking women[citation needed], as well as Africa and the Caribbean, where blacks often bleach their skin[citation needed]. Approximately 80% of Dominicans are of mixed racial ancestry and few people self-identify as being black. In Dominican Republic, racial categories differ significantly from that in North America. In the United States, the one-drop rule applies in such that if a person has any degree of African blood in them they are considered black. Which is seen as inaccurate from people in the Dominican Republic and many other Latin American countries[citation needed], as Mulattos have just as much European ancestry as African. In Latin America there is more flexibility in how people racially categorize themselves. In the Dominican Republic a person who has some degree of black ancestry can identify as non-black if appearance wise they can pass of as being another racial category or is racially ambiguous.[citation needed]
Socio-economic status also heavily influences race classification in the country and tends to be correlated with whiteness. In the Dominican Republic, those of higher social status tend to be predominately of a lighter color tone as are often labeled as 'blanco/a', 'trigueño/a', or 'indio/a', while poorer people tend to be 'moreno/a', 'negro/a, or 'prieto/a', the latter category being heavily associated with Haitian migrants.[50] Ramona Hernández, director of the Dominican Studies Institute at City College of New York asserts that the terms were originally a defense against racism: "During the Trujillo regime, people who had dark skin were rejected, so they created their own mechanism to fight against the rejection".[51]
Haitian diaspora
Overview
Haiti is more impoverished than the Dominican Republic. So, in 2003, 80% of all Haitians were poor (54% in extreme poverty) and 47.1% were illiterate. The country of ten million people has a fast-growing population, but over two-thirds of the jobs lack the formal workforce. Haiti's GDP per capita was $1,300 in 2008, or less than one-sixth of the Dominican figure.[52] As a result, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have migrated to the Dominican Republic, with some estimates of 800,000 Haitians in the country,[53] while others believe they are more than a million. Usually working in low paid and unskilled in building construction, household cleaning, and in plantations.[3]
Children of illegal Haitian immigrants are often stateless and they are denied services, as their parents are denied Dominican nationality, and therefore are considered transient residents, due to their illegal status and undocumented, and children often have to choose only Haitian nationality.[54]
A large number of Haitian women, often arriving with several health problems, cross the border to Dominican soil during their last weeks of pregnancy to obtain necessary medical care for childbirth, since Dominican public hospitals cannot deny medical services based on nationality or legal status. Statistics from a hospital in Santo Domingo report that over 22% of births are to Haitian mothers.
History
During the wars with Haiti (1844–56), the government of this country developed a black centrism, a centrism that Dominicans strongly refused in favor of their Hispanic heritage. Historically, Haiti was more densely populated than the Dominican Republic. Due to the lack of free lands in Haiti, as land was held by a small group of landlords, Haitian peasants began to settle in the borderland region, within the Dominican Republic. Through the years, especially after 1899, the Haitian government claimed the territory populated by Haitians, and under a treaty in 1929 several towns and cities in Central Hispaniola officially became Haitian, comprising 4,572 km2. A Dominican census in 1935 revealed that 3.6% of the population was Haitian. In 1936, the Haitian government claimed more territory and the Dominican Republic ceded another 1,628 km2 to Haiti; the next year, the Dominican dictatorship ordered the Dominicanization of the border (
In 1937, Trujillo, in an event known as the Masacre del Perejil (
In 2005 Dominican President Leonel Fernández criticized collective expulsions of Haitians were "improperly and inhumane." After a delegation from the United Nations issued a preliminary report stating that it found a profound problem of racism and discrimination against people of Haitian origin, the Dominican Foreign Minister, Carlos Morales Troncoso, gave a formal statement saying "Our border with Haiti has its problems, this is our reality, and this must be understood. It's important not to confuse national sovereignty with indifference, and not to confuse security with xenophobia."[55]
After the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, the number of Haitians doubled to 2 million, most of them illegally crossed after the border opened for international aid. Human Rights Watch estimated in 70,000 Haitian immigrants legal and 1,930,000 illegal living in Dominican Republic.[citation needed]
Notable people
- Alejandro Balde, footballer
- Alberto Baldé - footballer
- Erick Japa, footballer
- Josefina Báez - actress
- Adrián Beltré - former MLB baseball player
- Robinson Canó - MLB baseball player
- Vladimir Guerrero - former MLB baseball player
- Joan Guzman- former professional boxer
- Ulises Heureaux - former president of the Dominican Republic
- Al Horford - NBA basketball player
- Sebastián Lemba - slave rebellion leader
- Pedro Martínez - former MLB baseball player
- Lineisy Montero - model
- Monkey Black, rapper
- David Ortiz - former MLB baseball player
- José Joaquín Puello - general and government minister
- Fernando Rodney - MLB baseball player
- Antony Santos - musician
- Alfonso Soriano - former MLB baseball player
- Arlenis Sosa - model
- Sammy Sosa - former MLB baseball player
- Mamá Tingó - activist
- Johnny Ventura - musician, politician
- Ronaldo Vásquez, footballer
- Dorny Romero, footballer
- Joao Urbáez, footballer
- Junior Firpo, footballer
- Luiyi de Lucas, footballer
- Marco Luciano, mlb baseball player
- Peter González, footballer
- Fausto Rey, singer
- El Canario, singer
- Omega, singer
- Victor Núñez
- Elly De La Cruz
- Edison Azcona
See also
- Cocolos
- Samaná Americans
- Haitians in the Dominican Republic
- Afro-Latin Americans
- Black Hispanic and Latino Americans
- Emancipados
- Dominican people
- Slavery in colonial Spanish America
- Atlantic slave trade
- Racism in the Dominican Republic
- Mixed Dominicans
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Breve Encuesta Nacional de Autopercepción Racial y Étnica en la República Dominicana. Santo Domingo: Oficina Nacional de Estadística de la República Dominicana. 2022.
- ^ Aníbal de Castro (15 November 2013). "Dominican Republic has a clear, respectful immigration policy". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 1-904584-07-1. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Schaaf, Bryan (21 May 2009). "Haiti and the Dominican Republic: Same Island, Different Worlds". Haiti Innovation.org. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- OCLC 1119633191.
- ^ "Cronología | First Blacks in the Americas". firstblacks.org. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "What Became of the Taíno?".
- ^ ISBN 978-84-00-09240-5. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
- ^ a b Néstor Medrano; Ramón Pérez Reyes (23 April 2014). "La JCE acelera cedulación en instituciones del país" (in Spanish). Listín Diario. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
Entre las novedades del nuevo documento no se establece como se hacía anteriormente el color de la piel de la persona, ya que, la misma fotografía consigna ese elemento.
- ^ Cuarto Censo Nacional de Población, 1960. Santo Domingo: Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas. 1966. p. 32.
- ^ "Informe Latinobarómetro 2011: Tabla Nº16: Raza a la que pertenece por país" [Latinobarómetro Report 2011: Table Nº16: Race to which responder belongs by country] (in Spanish). Corporación Latinobarómetro. 28 October 2012. p. 58. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Dominican Republic". Minority Rights Group International – MRGI. 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Slave Routes: Dominican Republic". Antislavery.org. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-8135-8449-2.
- ^ "First Blacks in the Americas". CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-84-9920-504-5. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ P. J. Ferbel (2002). "La sobrevivencia de la cultura Taína en la República Dominicana" [Survival of the Taino culture in the Dominican Republic] (in Spanish). suncaribbean.net. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ a b c Francisco del Rosario Sánchez One of the Padres de la Patria / Fathers of the Patriotism – Colonial Zone-Dominican Republic (DR) – Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- ^ Bell, pp.42–50
- ^ James, pp.125–126
- ^ Bell, pp.86–87; James, p.107
- ^ Bell, p.19
- ^ James, pp.128–130
- ^ James, pp.141–142
- ^ Bell, pp.92–95
- ^ James pp.143–144
- ^ Bolívar M. Troncoso Morales. "Origen de la población dominicana" [Origin of the Dominican population] (in Spanish). suncaribbean.net. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- OCLC 863932373. [page needed]
- ^ "La abolición de la esclavitud en la independencia dominicana y de las Américas". Hoy Digital. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Carlos Esteban Deive (January 1979). "Notas sobre la cultura Dominicana" [Notes concerning the culture of the Dominican Republic]. Boletín del Museo del Hombre Dominicano (in Spanish). VIII (12). Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ Verrill, Alpheus Hyatt (1914). "Porto Rico Past and Present and San Domingo of Today".
- ^ Esteban Deive, Carlos (September 5, 1977). Revista Ahora. Num. 721.
- ^ De León, Viviano (11 November 2011). "RD será de negros, blancos y mulatos : Reforma electoral eliminaría el color indio". Listín Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ Néstor Medrano (10 January 2015). "La cédula vieja vence hoy; miles acuden a centros JCE" (in Spanish). Listín Diario. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ Fuente: Encuesta Latin American Public Opinion Project, LAPOP,"La variable étnico racial en los censos de población en la República Dominicana" (in Spanish). Oficina Nacional de Estadística. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013.
- ^ "African American – Latino World: The Dominican Republic's African-American Descendants". ahorasecreto.blogspot.com. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ Louis Gates Jr., Henry; Britanik, Kristin (18 October 2013). "Dominicans and Black American Roots?". theroot.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Unos 200.000 haitianos se han quedado ilegalmente en República Dominicana" [About 200,000 Haitians have remained in the Dominican Republic illegally]. elmundo.es (in Spanish). 31 October 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Historia, Metodología y Organización de los Censos en República Dominicana 1920–1993" [History, Methodology and Organization of the Census in the Dominican Republic 1920–1993] (PDF). National Bureau of Statistics of Santo Domingo (in Spanish). April 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Flady Cordero (30 July 2013). "La desregulación de la inmigración es el negocio del siglo". Hora Cero (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- S2CID 11070628.
- S2CID 11070628.
- ^ S2CID 132835585.
- ^ Radhamés Veras, Jose. "Tradición Musical Afro-Dominicana" [Afro-Dominican Musical Tradition] (in Spanish). mindspring.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Historia Dominicana. Conferencia: "La discriminación de la cultura africana en la música dominicana" (Dominican History. "Discrimination of African culture in the Dominican music"). Wrote by Alejandro Paulino. General Archive of the Nation, 25 November 2010.
- ^ Buenas tareas (Good tasks)
- ^ Opinión sobre el merengue Archived 21 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine (Opinion on the merengue). Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "Four Afro-Dominican models make history with cover of Vogue". NBC News. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- S2CID 143035833.
- doi:10.5354/0719-4862.2018.50855 (inactive 31 January 2024).)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link - ^ "Afrodominicanos pugnan por su identidad" [Afro-Dominicans fight for their identity] (in Spanish). diariolibre.com. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Haiti: Economy overview". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ Pina, Diógenes (21 March 2007). "Dominican Republic: Deport Thy (Darker-Skinned) Neighbour". Ipsnews.net. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the United States: Protect rights, reduce statelessness". Caribbean Net News. Reuters. 19 January 2007. Archived from the original on 8 July 2008.
- ^ Diógenes Pina (31 October 2007). "Dominican Republic: Gov't Turns Deaf Ear to UN Experts on Racism". IPS News Agency. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
External links
- Article on Dominican Palos music written by Dr Martha Ellen Davis at lameca.org
- ¿Es racista el pueblo dominicano? (Are the Dominican people racist?)