Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The Dominican Republic is an independent country occupying the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola (shared with Haiti). It is not part of the United States nor any "America" political entity. It gained independence from Haiti (1844), was briefly recolonized by Spain (1861–65), and has been sovereign since. The U.S. occupied it 1916–1924. Today it has its own government, currency (peso), military, and UN seat.