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fter Dominican independence was declared on February 27, 1844, the country’s diplomatic efforts
were focused on two conflicting, yet complementary—for the time—goals: the recognition of the
newly formed nation and its annexation by imperial powers, or failing that, the United States.
Between 1844 and the late 1850s, England and France replaced Spain and Portugal as the hegemonic
imperial powers in the Caribbean and Latin America. Dominance was then established through commerce,
something the English and French empires achieved by flooding the regional markets with their products.
It was in that process of colonial emancipation and the intrusion of European—and later, American—cap-
ital that Dominican Republic history was written. The winds of liberty swept through Latin America, though
they came much later and more slowly to the insular Caribbean. Interestingly, the islands of the Greater
Antilles, predominantly represented by the Hispanic Caribbean, all had very different timelines and destinies.
Cuba achieved its independence in the early 1900s, while Puerto Rico became the domain of the United States.
The Dominican Republic, for all its highs and lows, achieved independence in 1844. Haiti, of course, achieved
independence in 1804, yet it was not until August 1962 that Jamaica did the same.
Once the eastern part of Hispaniola gained its independence from Haiti and its first constitutional gov-
ernment was established, securing outside support became imperative. The more conservative members of
government wished for the annexation or protection of the country by some foreign power: France, England,
or the United States. Spain was at the bottom of that hierarchy, though it was the only power to respond fa-
vorably to the conservative proposal.
In the Dominican Republic’s early years, Italy did not form part of the diplomatic landscape. The diplomat-
ic delegations organized by the republic’s first constitutional president, General Pedro Santana, were destined
for the United States, France, England, and Spain.
However, once investors and adventurers began coming into the country, Italy became a contender for
the attention of Dominican leaders and politicians. Scholars of Dominican diplomacy agree that Juan Bautista
Cambiaso was responsible for building relations with Italy. Cambiaso was an admiral, merchant, and politician
of Italian origin. He was born in Genoa in 1820 and died in Santo Domingo in 1886. He was one of the first
Italian immigrants to arrive on the island, reaching the city of Santo Domingo during the Haitian occupation.
Throughout the twelve-year war between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Cambiaso fought as a frontline
defender of the Republic. He led the insular army to victory in every battle where the Dominican Navy was
under his command, such as the Battles of Azua (1844), Beler (1845), and Las Carreras (1849). He was likewise
responsible for organizing the Battle of Tortuguero, which took place on April 15, 1844 and which was the first
major naval battle of the Dominican War of Independence. Cambiaso’s fleet was victorious, as described in
CHAPTER 13
Diplomatic Relations between
Italy and the Dominican Republic
PART ONE
. Notes for a Chronology: 1844-2017
By Mu-Kien Adriana Sang Ben
Director of the Department of Education, History, and professor at PUCMM
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