Captaincy General of Santo Domingo

Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
(1521-1821)
Province of Santo Domingo
(1861-1865)
*Capitania General de Santo Domingo* (Spanish)
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo; (1521-1821); Province of Santo Domingo; (1861-1865) Capitania General de Santo Domingo (Spanish)
1521–1865
	coat of arms of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
	Motto: Plus Ultra; "Further Beyond"
	Anthem: Marcha Real; "Royal March"; (1775–1821);
	Left: Flag of Spain (18): first national flag of Spain; Right: Flag of the Province of Santo Domingo);
	Map of the Captaincy of Santo Domingo
Status	Captaincy General of the Spanish Empire; (1521-1821); Province of the Spanish Empire; (1861-1865)
Capital	Santo Domingo
Official languages	Spanish
Religion	Roman Catholicism ; (official)
King
• 1492-1504	Isabella I of Castile (first)
• 1861-1865	Isabella II (last)
Governor
• 1492-1499	Christopher Columbus (first)
• 1864-1865	José de la Gándara y Navarro (Last)
Legislature	Council of the Indies; Ministry of Overseas (Spain)
Historical era	Colonial era
• Discovery of the Island	1492
• Captaincy created	13 August 1521
• Santo Domingo annexed to France	1795
• Santo Domingo returned to Spain	1815
• Unrecognized independence	1821
• Reincorporated into Spain as a Province of Spain	1861
• Disestablished	1865
Currency	Spanish colonial real
	Succeeded by
Era de Francia
Spanish West Indies
Dominican Republic

The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (Spanish: Capitanía General de Santo Domingo pronounced [kapitaˈni.a xeneˈɾal de ˈsanto ðoˈmiŋɡo] ^ⓘ) was the first Capitancy in the New World, established by Spain in 1492 on the island of Hispaniola. The Capitancy, under the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, was granted administrative powers over the Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and most of its mainland coasts, making Santo Domingo the principal political entity of the early colonial period.^[1]

Due to its strategic location, the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo served as headquarters for Spanish conquistadors on their way to the mainland and was important in the establishment of other European colonies in the Western Hemisphere. It is the site of the first European city in the Americas, Santo Domingo, and of the oldest castle, fortress, cathedral, and monastery in the region. The colony was a meeting point of European explorers, soldiers, and settlers who brought with them the culture, architecture, laws, and traditions of the Old World.

The colony remained a military stronghold of the Spanish Empire for over a century, successfully defending against British, Dutch, and French expeditions into the region until the early 17th century. After pirates working for the French colonial empire took over part of the west coast, French settlers arrived and decades of armed conflict ensued. Spain finally ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France in the 1697 Peace of Ryswick, thus establishing the basis for the future nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

^ Spain (1680). Recopilación de las Leyes de Indias. Titulo Quince. De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias. Madrid. Spanish-language facsimile of the original.

[1] Spain (1680). Recopilación de las Leyes de Indias. Titulo Quince. De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias. Madrid. Spanish-language facsimile of the original.

[1]