Following the arrival of Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola on December 5th 1492, the island became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the new world. 

The Spanish went on to rule the region known as Spanish Haiti for over 300 years until the Dominican Republic gained independence in 1821. This independence was short-lived as shortly afterwards a military invasion by Haiti unified the island of Hispaniola. 

In 1844 Juan Pablo Duarte,  along with other leaders, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella created a secret society named ‘La Trinitaria’ to revolt against the Haitian regime. On February 27th 1844, the Trinitaria declared independence from Haiti.