The Dominican Republic was explored by Chistopher Columbus during his first voyage in 1492. He named the island la "Española". Columbus' son, Diego, became its first viceroy. Founded in 1645, Santo Domingo, the capital city, is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere.

The island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865.

President Buenaventura Báez, faced with an economy in shambles, attempted to have the country annexed to the U.S. in 1870, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty of annexation. Troubles continued until the didactorship of Ulíses Heureux; in 1916, when chaos broke out again, the U.S. sent in a contingent of marines, who remained until 1924.

A sergeant of the Dominican army trained by the US Marines, Rafaél Leonides Trujillo Molina, overthrew Horacio Vásquez in 1930 and established a dictatorship that lasted until his assassination in 1961, 31 years later. In 1962, Juan Bosch of the leftist Dominican Revolutionary Party, became the first democratically elected president in four decades.

In 1963, a military coup ousted Bosch and installed a civilian triumvirate. Leftists rebelled against the new regime in April 1965, and then U.S. President Lyndon Johnson sent in Marines and troops. After a cease-fire in May, Hector Garcia-Godoy became provisional president. In 1966, right-wing candidate Joaquin Balaguer won the free elections against Bosch, and U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew.

In 1978 the army suspended the counting of ballots when Balaguer trailed in a fourth-term bid. After a warning from President Jimmy Carter of the USA, Balaguer acknowledged the victory of Antonio Guzmán of the Dominican Revolutionary Party. In 1982 elections, Salvador Jorge Blanco of the Dominican Revolutionary Party defeated Balaguer and Bosch. Balaguer was again elected president in May 1986 and remained in office for the following ten years.

In 1996, U.S.-raised Leonel Fernández secured more than 51% of the vote through an allinace with Balaguer. The first item on the President's agenda was the partial sale of some state-owned enterprises. Fernández was praised for ending decades of isolationism and improving ties with other Carribean countries, but he was criticized for not fighting corruption or alleviating the poverty that affects 60% of the population.

In Aug. 2000 the center-left Hipólito Mejía was elected president amid popular discontent over frequent power outages in the recently privatized power industry. He was defeated four years later by former president Leonel Fernández (1996-2000). Fernández instituted austerity measures to help the country get out of recession, and in the first half of 2006, the economy grew 11,7%.

On May 16, 2008, incumbent president Leonel Fernández was reelected; he defeated Miguel Vargas of the Dominican Revolutionary Party.

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