The Dominican Racial Setting: Frame of Reference for the Understanding of Cultural Diversity in the Dominican Republic. Occasional Paper No. 38

This paper examines racial composition in the Dominican Republic from the pre-Columbian period, conquest, and colonization to the formation of the Dominican nation. Even in the prehistoric era, the culture of the area that was to become the Dominican Republic was diverse, with a variety of dialects among the native peoples. With the arrival of the Spanish to the New World, a link was added. African slaves added further to the diversity of the population of Santo Domingo, bringing a new cultural heritage and new farming techniques. Immigrants from the Canary Islands and Sephardic Jews arrived to contribute to the island culture, as did Puerto Ricans and Cubans who came in colonial times. English speaking Caribbean immigrants came at the end of the 19th century, and Chinese migration completed the cultural and racial picture of the Dominican Republic in the 20th century. With this diversity of racial groups, it is possible to speak of a hybrid national culture. By understanding this racial complexity, it becomes possible to understand the turbulent social history of this small nation. This background also permits the understanding of the Dominican educational system in terms of its historical framework without making a mistake in comparing it to the analogous educational system of the Americas. (SLD)