Colonial Geography

Latin America was a region that like many others was under European power at one time. Before colonization of the West, this part of the world was inhabited by Paleo-Indians. Many years later, groups were divided and became tribes as we know them today. The West was not developed as was Europe and therefore was seen as a land full of resources for the taking. The West was founded by Columbus and colonized by Spain because of its riches. For over 350 years Spain and Portugal conquered and settled on much of Central and South America. They both competed for much of the land throughout the sixteenth century. Among the lands that they conquered and colonized were Santo Domingo (Hispanola) and Mexico.

Santo Domingo is the capitol of the Dominican Republic and is the oldest place inhabited by European decent in the Americas. It was founded in 1498 by Bartholomew Columbus who is Christopher Columbus’ brother. Despite the capitol having been victimized by pirates and overrun by slaves, it still has a fascinating history. Dominicans are very proud to have the oldest European city in the new world. The first governor arrived in Santo Domingo in 1502 and soon the city became the official headquarters for the exploration and conquest of the New World. Bureaucratic offices and courts were set up and thousands of colonists passed through to the New World. In Santo Domingo many important conquests were planned, like the Cuba and Mexico conquests. After the Aztecs and Inca conquests were complete, many colonists preferred to go to Mexico and South America to settle. This left the Dominican Republic weak and a pirate ship with about 700 men took over the region in 1586 by Sir Francis Drake (a pirate). When they heard that Drake was coming, most of the inhabitants fled. Drake stayed on for about a month because he received a ransom of 25,000 ducats for the city. He took all he could with him including the church bells. Santo Domingo took a long time to...