). The initial victims were the native peoples of the island which, in 1990, contains both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The native peoples of the island were replaced by the Spanish, and later by the Africans brought to the island countries by the Spanish.
Columbus claimed the island for Spain in 1492, and, in 1496, the Spanish established the first city in the western 4 hemisphere Santo Domingo. The western half of the island (the present day Haiti) was ceded to France in 1697, and the eastern half (the present day Dominican Republic) was ceded to France in 1795. In 1801, the Dominican side of the island was seized by Haiti (by that time a country in its own right); an action which caused Spain to return to the island and rule the Domini can side intermittently and alternatively with local republics from 1803 through 1821.
In 1822, the Haitians once again seized the Dominican side of the island, and they retained it through 1844. In 1844, the Dominicans were able to expel the Haitians
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