Political Organization of Space
Government
The Dominican Republic was formally known as the Spanish Captaincy General of Santa Domingo. The history of the Dominican Republic's name process has significant involvement with Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus. As Columbus was working for the Spanish Crown (The Monarchy of Spain) he came across a large island in the Atlantic Ocean that is now known as the Caribbean. An indigenous tribe called the Tainos inhabited this area. Columbus came and claimed the lands for the Spanish Crown, naming it La Isla Espanola (The Spanish Land). This island was soon Latinized to Hispaniola, and then later renamed as the Spanish Captaincy General of Santa Domingo until 1821. The Dominican Republic collided with Haiti and eventually gained its independence, being known as Santo Domingo. When it reached the early 20th century, Santo Domingo became its current form of Dominican Republic also known as Republica Dominicana. The people of the Dominican Republic are termed as Dominicans. It is pronounced as (Do-MEE-nee-can) with extra emphasis on the "Mi" syllable. Dominicans actually share the same demonym with Dominica, a country that is located in the Caribbean.
The Dominican Republic has a Unitary, Democratic Republic. Since they've gained their independence in 1844, they have had around 38 constitutions, the highest number of constitutions that any country has ever had. Lets break down the elements of a unitary democratic republic. A unitary form of government is a form of government where only the national government officials have power. Local governments only carry out decisions made by the national government overall. A democratic republic is defined as a form of government that shares both principles from democratic and republican governmental systems. In a Democracy, the citizens are apart of the government and its political processes, limiting the power of higher authorities such as The President of the United States. In a Republic government, the public determines decisions on social and political elements of the country. Most modern representative democracies are republics. 2020 general election winner Luis Abinader is the current president of the Dominican Republic. He took office in August 2020, taking the place of former president Danilo Medina.
The capital of the Dominican Republic is Santa Domingo. Santa Domingo was founded in 1496 by Bartholomew Columbus, explorer Christopher Columbus' brother. It was originally known as Nueva Isabela in honor of Queen Isabella I of Spain and was located on the east bank of the Ozama River. Unfortunately, is was destroyed by a hurricane until later rebuilt in 1502 at its present location. Later on, it became the beginning of most of the Spanish expeditions of exploration and conquest of other islands of the West Indies. The Dominican Republic is one of the few islands in the world that is shared by two independent nation-states. It makes up two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola and comprises of a population of over 10 million. A nation state is a state in which a majority shares the same culture and is conscious of it. The Dominican Republic is a nation state because a majority of its people share the same cultural identity and ethnic background.
Nationality
The title of the Dominican national anthem is "Quisqueyanos Valiente" or in English, "Valiant Sons of Quisqueye". This is actually the third national anthem that the Dominican Republic had adopted. The first anthem was used from 1844 to 1885 and was called "Cancion Dominicana". The second anthem after this didn't have a official name. Valient Sons of Quisqueye has been in use since June 7, 1897, but was officially adopted on May 30, 1934. A man named Jose Reyes was inspired by the Argentinian anthem to create his own anthem for his country. As he planned to make the song, he invited his friend Emilio Prud'hommeto help compose the lyrics of the song. The song soon gained popularity after he performed the song on August 17, 1883. The lyrics represent the national history of the Dominican Republic because Dominicans (Quisqueye) finally are freed from enslavement and they now have nationalism in their country. Deputy Rafael Garcia Martinez wanted to give the song official status, but he was denied by President Heureaux due to Martinez's disagreement with Heureaux's methods. After Heureaux's death, May 30, 1934 was the date that Quisqueyanos Valiente officially became the National anthem of the Dominican Republic.
The flag of the Dominican Republic is quite different from those of other countries, The Dominican Republic's flag is the only flag in the world that has the holy bible on it. The red and blue colors of the flag were made to alternate and the white part of the flag is actually a holy cross. Also, the flag features the words "Dios, Patria, Libertad" meaning "God, fatherland, Liberty" and the name of the country. Each of the colors of the flag has a different meaning. The red on the flag is for the blood of heroes, the blue is for liberty, and the white is for salvation. The DR has an extensive variety of plant species throughout the country. The island has over 300 varieties of orchids such as Dendrobium, Vanda, Cattleya, and Oncidium. They also own many tropical fruits such as mangoes, passion fruits, and sea grapes.
State morphology
The Democratic Republic has a prorupted shape, meaning that it has a long extension, or an extended arm of territory. This shape is prorupted because it has an elongated portion but otherwise is compact. The advantages to having a prorupted state is that there is more access to resources and trade is not dependent on other countries depending on where they are located. The disadvantages to having a prorupted shape is that they are fairly easy to be invaded by foreign countries and due to their elongated shape, they may have poor communication within their borders.
Boundaries
The Dominican Republic is located on the island of Hispanola between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is the neighbor of Haiti on the East. The Dominican Republic is not landlocked at all, putting it in good economic standing.
Internally, the Dominican Republic is divided into thirty provinces, with Santo Domingo being the national capital.
The only boundary disputes that the Dominican Republic has experienced recently is when Haitian migrants decide to cross the porous into the Dominican Republic in order to find work and illegal migrants from the DR cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work. In the past, Haiti and the Dominican Republic had many border disputes. Two of most notable disputes are the Beheadings of Moca in 1805 and the Parsley Massacre of 1937. The Beheadings of Moca was an event that took place in Santo Domingo and was apart of a series of Haitian invasions. Over 40 children were beheaded in a church, in attempts to murder Jean-Louis Ferrand. The Parsley Massacre was a massacre organized by dictator Rafael Trujillo. It was so bad that almost the whole Haitian population were either killed or forced out of their place of residence.
Trade Partners
The Dominican Republic's main trading partners are China, Haiti, The United States, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, and Mexico. The Dominican Republic's main ally is the United States. The Dominican Republic is a member of the World Bank, International Labour Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization. The World Bank reduces poverty by lending money to the governments of its poorer members to improve their economies and improve the standard of living for its people. The International Labour Organization promotes social justice and internationally recognizing human and labour rights. The International Atomic Energy Agency encourages and assists research, development and practical application of atomic energy for peaceful uses throughout the world. The International Civil Aviation Organization creates regulations for aviation safety, security, efficiency, and regularity environmental protection. Lastly, the world health organization focuses on primary health care to improve access to quality essential services.