José Núñez de Cáceres declared the eastern part of Hispaniola independent from Spain as the Estado Independiente del Haití Español (often called Independencia efímera). The move sought a new political future but lacked the capacity to resist external pressure.
Haitian president Jean-Pierre Boyer formally entered Santo Domingo, consolidating Haitian control over the eastern side of the island and beginning a long occupation that reshaped institutions, landholding, and politics in the east.
Juan Pablo Duarte and collaborators founded La Trinitaria as a clandestine organization to organize resistance to Haitian rule and prepare for separation and state formation.
Dominican leaders issued the Manifesto of January 16, 1844, outlining the rationale and intentions for separating from Haitian rule and proclaiming a Dominican state, helping unify key factions behind independence.
Dominican independence was proclaimed in Santo Domingo on February 27, 1844, marking the start of the Dominican Republic and triggering immediate military conflict with Haiti.
Dominican forces under Pedro Santana (with Antonio Duvergé among key commanders) defeated a larger Haitian army at Azua, strengthening the new republic’s position in the south early in the war.
Dominican defenders under José María Imbert repelled Haitian forces at Santiago, securing the north and reinforcing the viability of the newly proclaimed state.
Dominican schooners under Juan Bautista Cambiaso defeated Haitian naval vessels at Tortuguero, helping establish Dominican control at sea during the independence struggle.
The Constitution of San Cristóbal became the first constitution of the Dominican Republic, creating a formal constitutional framework for the new state during wartime.
Pedro Santana took the constitutional oath and began governing under the new constitutional order, consolidating conservative, militarized leadership during continued external threat.
Dominican forces defeated Haitian troops near Baní at Las Carreras, a major engagement that checked another Haitian invasion attempt and bolstered Dominican claims to durable sovereignty.
At Sabana Larga, Dominican forces defeated a large Haitian army, one of the decisive late-war victories associated with ending repeated Haitian offensives against the Dominican Republic.
Pedro Santana announced the Dominican Republic’s reincorporation into Spain, ending the First Dominican Republic and reestablishing Spanish colonial authority amid internal instability and external-security fears.
Dominican insurgents initiated the Grito de Capotillo, widely treated as the opening of the Dominican Restoration War against Spanish rule and the annexation regime.
Rebel forces besieged Spanish positions in Santiago in early September 1863; the struggle for the city became a major early turning point, expanding the restoration movement across the Cibao region.
Queen Isabella II authorized Spain’s withdrawal from Santo Domingo, effectively ending the annexation project and setting the stage for the restoration of Dominican sovereignty.
The final Spanish forces departed, bringing the Restoration War to a close and enabling the reestablishment of an independent Dominican republic (often termed the Second Republic).
Dominican independence, annexation and restoration wars (1821–1865)
