Columbus and the Dominican Republic: Setting the Record Straight

Christopher Columbus did not discover the Dominican Republic.

Key Facts

First European on Hispaniola (shared by DR and Haiti) was Alonso de Ojeda (1493), Columbus's rival.
Columbus arrived later in 1493 and founded La Isabela (1496), the first permanent European settlement in the Americas.

First European settlement in Americas (La Isabela, 1496)
First university (Universidad Santo Domingo, 1538)
First cathedral (Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, 1514–1540)
First paved roads in Americas (1502)
First American nation to gain independence from European rule (from Haiti, 1844)

Columbus initiated colonization, but the island's European contact began with Ojeda.

Central America