Exploration and Settlement Timeline

Columbus lands at Hispaniola in the Caribbean.

1492

The official language is Spanish, although English, French and German are widely spoken.

Balboa "discovers" the Pacific Ocean in Panama.

1513

Members of the armed forces and the national police are not allowed to vote.

Cortes conquers the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan(Mexico City)

1521

The Dominican Republic is the second largest country in a Caribbean island (after Cuba).

De Soto explores the region between Florida and the Mississippi River.

1539

Within 10 years, more than 90 per cent of the native population had died and the Spanish began to import slaves from Africa.

First permanent English settlement is founded in Jamestown,Virginia.

1607

The Spanish part later became the country we now know as the Dominican Republic. The French part became independent as Haiti.

Mayflower Pilgrims found Plymouth colony in Massachusetts.

1620

The only other island in the Caribbean that is shared between two countries is Saint Martin.

English settlers defeat Native Americans in King Philip's War.

1676

The Dominican Republic has won three gold, two silver and two bronze medals since 1964.

France claims the Mississippi River Valley and names it Louisiana.

1682

FEBRUARY 27 is Independence Day in the Dominican Republic, commemorating the day in 1844 on which independence was declared from Haiti, with which it shares the island of Hispaniola.