Dominican kids taking classes. *Photo from Wikipedia
February 27 is Independence Day, celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
Christopher Columbus landed on the Western part of Hispaniola, in what is now Haiti, on December 6, 1492. The island became the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World.
The Dominican people declared independence in November 1821 but were forcefully annexed by their more powerful neighbor Haiti in February 1822.
In 1844, Dominican independence was proclaimed and the republic, which was often known as Santo Domingo until the early 20th century, maintained its independence except for a short Spanish occupation from 1861 to 1865 and occupation by the United States from 1916 to 1924.
The Dominican Republic is a sovereign state on the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western three-eighths of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti.
*Reference: Wikipedia
