Colonial Period & Santo Domingo (1496–1795)

In 1496, Columbus' brother Bartolomé founded the city of Santo Domingo on the southern bank of the Río Ozama — the settlement that would endure. Santo Domingo became the capital of the entire New World: Here, the first cathedral, the first university, the first hospital, the first street, and the first monastery in the Americas were established. From here, the conquests of Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and beyond were launched.

For the Taíno, the arrival of the Europeans was a catastrophe. Through forced labor (Encomienda system), introduced diseases (smallpox, measles, influenza), and brutal violence, the Taíno population was nearly wiped out within 50 years. From an estimated 400,000–1,000,000 Taíno at Columbus' arrival, only a few hundred remained by the mid-16th century. The Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas documented the atrocities and became the first human rights activist in history.

To replace the missing labor force, the Spaniards began importing African slaves from 1503 — the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, which would forever change the demographics of the Caribbean. The sugarcane plantations in the eastern part of the island became the economic engine, operated by thousands of enslaved Africans.

From the 17th century, the Spanish part of Hispaniola lost significance: The gold was exhausted, and Spain's attention turned to Mexico and Peru. French pirates and settlers occupied the western part of the island, which was officially ceded to France in 1697 as Saint-Domingue — the future Haiti. The French part became the richest colony in the world, while the Spanish east sank into insignificance.