independence day
On this day in 1844, the Dominican Republic announced its independence from Haiti. Back in January I mentioned one of the main players involved in the revolt for independence, Juan Pablo Duarte.
He and a few others are remembered for spending their own money buying weapons to lead the rebellion, but they were eventually exiled from Hispaniola and died on foreign turf. The celebration on 26 January commemorates Duarte’s birth while today celebrates the signing of the declaration of independence. That, unfortunately, wasn’t the end of the story for Dominicans as they had to put up with another couple of dictators until as recently as a couple of decades ago.
Anyway, despite the stories of bloodshed, exile and dictatorships, I have been given the day off and I intend to make the most of it.
Today’s Dominican flag
While reasearching all this, I came across some interesting information about the evolution of the Dominican flag.
It all started during the French revolution when the tricolour flag (red, white and blue) was adopted in 1789 as a sign of revolution for human rights, civil rights, and democracy. This flag found its way to Hispaniola (which I believe was a French colony at the time) and was used as a symbol of oppression. When the Haitians gained their independence they used the French flag as a model for their own but removed the white stripe, symbolising the abolition of the white man’s control. The red and blue bands were placed horizontally instead of vertically.
Haitian Flag
When the Dominican’s began their own fight for freedom, the first version of the Dominican flag was born. Juan Pablo Duarte modified the Haitian flag by superimposing a white cross over it. This design consisted of two blue upper quadrants and two red lower quadrants with a white cross in the middle dividing them all. It flew for the first time on the day of Dominican independence, February 27, 1844.
First incarnation of the Dominican flag
These days the blue and red quadrants are placed in alternating positions and each of the colours in the flag has its own significance. The blue symbolizes the expansive sky; the red symbolizes the blood spilled by the heroes who gave their lives fighting for the freedom of their country, and the white represents the dedication and dignity of the Dominican people.
