republic · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
Republic of Spanish Haiti
Origins
Frustrated by Spain's neglect during España Boba, the lawyer and official José Núñez de Cáceres led a bloodless coup in Santo Domingo on 1 December 1821. He proclaimed the Independent State of Spanish Haiti and sought union with Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia.
Rule and society
Núñez de Cáceres headed a provisional government and issued a constitutive act modelled on the Spanish American republics. The new state kept slavery and the existing social hierarchy, which alienated many black and mulatto Dominicans, and some frontier towns declared for Haiti instead. Bolívar's government never replied to the request for union.
Decline and legacy
Jean-Pierre Boyer, president of the Republic of Haiti, marched east with an army, and Santo Domingo surrendered without resistance on 9 February 1822. The whole island was united under Haiti until 1844, and the period is remembered in the Dominican Republic as the 'Ephemeral Independence'.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Republic of Spanish Haiti was part of Gran Colombia1821 CE – 1822 CE
- Republic of Spanish Haiti was conquered by Republic of Haiti (1806-1849)1822 CE
More states of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Republic of Spanish Haiti. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-spanish-haiti
- MLA
- “Republic of Spanish Haiti.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-spanish-haiti. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Republic of Spanish Haiti.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-spanish-haiti.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Republic of Spanish Haiti’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-spanish-haiti (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻