Captaincy General of Santo Domingo

Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
(1535–1821)
Province of Santo Domingo
(1861–1865)
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo; (1535–1821); Province of Santo Domingo; (1861–1865)
1493–1865
	Flag Coat of Arms
	Anthem: Marcha Real; ("Royal March")
	Spanish Caribbean around 1600. The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo in the center.
Status	General Captaincy; (1535–1821); Spanish Overseas Province; (1861–1865)
Capital	Santo Domingo
Common languages	Spanish
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Demonym(s)	Dominican
Government	Monarchy
King
• 1493–1516	Ferdinand II; and Isabella I (first)
• 1861–1865	Queen Isabella the ll (last)
Governor
• 1493–1500	Christopher Columbus (first)
• 1788–1795	Joaquín García y Moreno (last)
History
• Human settlement	Before 1493
• European settlement	1493–1865
• Treaty of Ryswick, ceded western portion to France	1697
• Peace of Basel, ceded eastern portion to France	1795
Currency	Santo Domingo real
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Columbian Viceroyalty
Saint-Domingue
Era de Francia
Today part of	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]