Haiti and the Dominican Republic: Two Nations on Hispaniola

Haiti is not in the Dominican Republic. They are two separate sovereign nations sharing the island of Hispaniola (La Española) in the Caribbean.

Key Facts

Shared Island, Divergent Paths

• Colonial: West (Saint-Domingue) = French, richest colony (sugar, coffee, slaves). East (Santo Domingo) = Spanish, poorer, cattle.
• Haitian Revolution (1791–1804): Only successful slave revolt. Independence 1804.
• Haitian Occupation (1822–1844): Haiti unified island. Dominican independence 1844.
• 1937 Parsley Massacre: Trujillo (DR) ordered killing of ~10k–30k Haitians/Dominicans of Haitian descent.
• Modern Border: 391 km. Tense. Migration, trade, smuggling, cholera, political instability (Haiti).

Size Ranking in Caribbean

Haiti is the third-largest country by land area in the Caribbean (after Cuba 109k km² and Dominican Republic 48k km²). It is not the smallest (smallest: St. Kitts & Nevis 261 km²).