2. Geography
The island of Hispaniola is the second largest island in the
Caribbean with approximately 18,704 square miles. This is
about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire together.
Hispaniola is the only island in the Caribbean that contains 2
separate countries. The Dominican Republic claims about
2/3 of the eastern part of the island while Haiti occupies the
western 1/3. The north coast of the island is flanked by the
Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Ocean flanks the south
coast.
(hispaniola.com,
Dave’s Photos)
3. Geography
The Dominican Republic has
a diverse geography ranging
from arid semi-desert plains
to valleys of tropical rain
forests. There are 3
mountain ranges that run
parallel to each other in an
east/west direction with the
highest mountain peak of
over 10,000 feet. There are
870 miles of coastline
beaches that boast pristine
soft sand and great surf.
(dominicanrepublic.com,
Dave’s photos)
4. People
• The original natives of the
island of Hispaniola were
called Tainos. 73% of
modern Dominicans are a
mixed race; the product of
the Spanish and European
conquerors mixed with
their African slaves. The
majority of Dominicans
live in urban and city areas.
The 2009 population
census was 9.65 million
people with about 2 million
living within the greater
Santo Domingo area.
(dominicanrepublic.com,
state.gov, Dave’s photos)
5. Most Dominicans work in the
People service industry, which includes
tourism, transportation, banking,
retail, etc. Others work in
manufacturing, construction,
agriculture, and mining. Those
who work in agriculture produce
some of the world’s best cocoa
and coffee beans as well as their
superior tobacco. Although
repeatedly destroyed by
hurricanes, the Dominican
farmers are experts in cultivating
and nourishing their crops. The
major language spoken is
Spanish and almost all
Dominicans are Roman Catholics
although all religions are
welcome in the Dominican
Republic. School is required for
all children through grade 6 and
the literacy rate is 84.7%.
(www.state.gov, www.nationsencyclopedia.com, Dave’s Photos,)
6. The capitol of the
Culture
Dominican Republic, Santo
Domingo, was called the
first city of the Americas.
Modern Dominican’s live
very diverse lifestyles.
Basic infrastructure of
clean water, plumbing,
electricity, roads and health
care are seriously lacking
just outside the luxury
tourist resorts. Most live in
poverty and appreciate
foreign assistance by
church missionaries and
health professionals.
(dominicanrepublic.com, Dave’s photos)
7. Culture
• Dominican male children
know that American
baseball could be their
ticket out of poverty.
Baseball is a huge spectator
sport on the island and the
Dominican Republic has
several professional teams.
Many American Major
League Baseball clubs have
built sports centers there
and have farm teams to tap
into the talent rich
Dominican players.
(usatoday.com, Dave’s photos)
8. History
The island of Hispaniola has a checkered history of
conquering and ceding from different governments. After
discovery by Columbus in 1492, the island was occupied by
the French and the Spanish; was eventually split to form the
2 separate countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic;
was conquered by Haiti in 1822 until the Dominican
Republic forces returned it to an independent state in 1844.
Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire in
1861 until independence was once again restored in 1865.
Many difficulties led to a U.S. occupation from 1916 – 1924
when a democratically elected government was established.
(www.state.gov)
9. History
The Dominican Republic has
since gone through decades of
corrupt government leaders but
the political conditions seem to
have improved with a new
constitution that was ratified in
1994 and changed again during
the 2000 – 2004 presidency.
The current government is a
system almost identical to the
U.S. and the newly elected
president Leonel Fernandez
Reyna has established a strong
relationship with the United
States
(state.gov, consuladordmiami.org )
10. Sources
www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/location
www.dominicanrepublic.com
www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35639.htm
www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Dominican-
Republic-AGRICULTURE.html
www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-04-29-
2778253130_x.htm
http://www.consuladordmiami.org/images/leonel
.jpg
http://en.18dao.net/images/e/ec/Map-
Dominican_Republic.jpg
Dr. David Schumacher’s personal photos
12. The Beisbol Craze
• The people of the Dominican Republic are crazy about
beisbol. Beisbol is not a national pastime it’s a national
passion. The Dominican Republic has 6 professional
teams in its baseball league dating back to 1907.
caribbean-dominican-republic.com & Dave’s photos
13. Boys learn very quickly that
Cultural Influence baseball could be their ticket
out of poverty and off the
island. Since most students do
not attend school past the 6th
grade, becoming a baseball
player is the teenager’s life
ambition. Those 16 or 17-
year-old prospects that are
good enough are picked to
enter one of the American
training camp programs and
paid $800.00 a month. Years
later they may show up in the
team’s farm system and then in
the big leagues. Many of the
club’s academic and
community outreach programs
will be coordinated with the
assistance of students from the
San Diego State University
usatoday.com, sandiego. padres.mlb.com,
& newscenter.sdsu.edu
sports program.
14. Dominican Parks
The Dominican Republic is home to 20 major league
American sponsored baseball training parks. The San
Diego Padres opened their park in April of 2008. The $8
million dollar facility is located in the Najayo community
in San Cristobal. The all inclusive 15 acre park includes
2 regulation size playing fields, a half field, indoor batting
cages, a clubhouse, weight and training rooms, dining
hall,housing for 60 players as well as
coaches and managers, offices
and classrooms to further the
players’ education particularly
in learning English.
sandiego.padres.mlb.com,
goodwillambassablog.com, & Dave’s photos
15. MLB Players
Although the Padres don’t have anyone on their 40 man
roster from the Dominican Republic, there have been 494
Dominicans who have played for Major League Baseball
teams since 1958.
Among the most famous are Sammy Sosa, Alex
Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez, and Manny Ramirez.
baseball-almanac.com & wikimedia.org
18. Trade Exports
In the Dominican Republic agriculture remains one of the
primary occupations and trade exports produce $6.484
billion per year for the island economy. Almost 30% of
the total land area is suitable for crop production and 17%
of the labor force is involved in farming. Despite being
hampered by droughts, hurricanes, slumping world prices,
and child/forced labor issues the value of the agricultural
output has grown an average of 7.1% annually.
nationsencyclopedia.com & ahm-honduras.com
19. Coffee and Sugar
Two of the leading agriculture
exports are coffee and sugar. In
2001, exports of exceptional
Dominican coffee generated $11
million. In 2007, 10,122,000
pounds of coffee was exported.
The unique growing conditions
combining altitude, latitude, rainfall
and soil all add up to a distinctive
coffee described as smooth, bright,
and with medium body. The
Dominican Republic is second only
to Cuba in the Caribbean for their
sugar cane production and is the
largest single supplier of sugar to
the U.S. The State Sugar Council
operates 12 sugar mills and
accounts for more than 1/2 of the
total production which reached
248,000 tons in 2006.
dominicancoffee.com, 3.bp.blogspot.com & samsclub.com
20. Cigars
Cigar aficionados around the world seek to smoke cigars from tobacco
grown in the Dominican Republic. 81 companies are listed on the
Dominican cigar website including the premium labels of Arturo
Fuentes, Ashton, Montecristo, and Hoyo de Monterrey. Dominican
tobacco farmers are masters at cultivating the finest crops. Growing
tobacco starts with planting a seed under straw. When the seed
germinates it is transplanted to a field. The plant grows rapidly and
produces a bud that must be removed in order for the plant to use its
energy to grow lush leaves. The harvesting process is done in 6 phases
and leaves are hung to dry for 6 to 8 weeks before being sorted for
quality. Fermentation can take up to 2 years when the tobacco leaves
are shipped to a factory for hand rolling.
dominicancigars.com & mikescigars.com
21. • Cocoa is another Dominican cash
crop that is traded worldwide.
Cacao trees flourish on the island
and produce a very high quality of
cocoa beans. Large pods about the
Cocoa Beans
size of a football are carefully
harvested by hand using a machete.
Each pod contains between 20 to 50
beans and it takes about 80 beans to
make a typical American chocolate
bar. According to Transfair USA
the farmers see about 1 cent per
candy bar. Another issue with
agriculture is the practice of using
child and forced labor on the farms.
The YACAO Project now grows
many cocoa beans, which is a co-op
of small-scale farmers who ensure
fair and equal salary for work. The
365 Organic Swiss chocolate bar
that can be purchased at Whole
Foods has a no slave labor
guarantee. faircompanies.com, articales.webraydian.com,
wholefoods.com, & nutritiondietshealth.com
