La Trinitaria - The Dominican Republic owes its existence as a country to a secret society known as La Trinitaria, or The Trinity, founded in July 1838. The island of Hispaniola had been under Haitian rule since 1822. The Spanish-speaking westerners weren’t entirely keen on being ruled by the French-speaking Haitians on the east of the island.
The desire for independence found its leader in Juan Pablo Duarte, sometimes called the father of the Dominican Republic.Duarte, along with eight comrades, founded La Trinitaria at age 25. The organization aimed to educate people and spread nationalist sentiment. Duarte wrote an oath for members of the group, under which members declared they would “swear and promise, by my honor and my conscience, in the hands of our President, Juan Pablo Duarte, to cooperate with my person, life and goods in the definitive separation from the Haitian government and to plant a free, sovereign and independent republic, free from all foreign domination, that will be called the Dominican Republic.”
The group did all they could to hide their existence from authorities. Duarte created a cryptic alphabet for secret communication. Members used pseudonyms and operated in small cells of just three people. The group also worked with rebels in the east who hoped to overthrow the government for their own reasons.In 1843, they attempted a revolution—and it failed. Several Trinitarians were jailed, and Duarte fled to Venezuela. Yet the group had done their work well, and a second uprising the following year led to Dominican independence being declared on February 27, 1844. Duarte returned to become president, but he faced a military coup before he could take office. Duarte was exiled from the country he’d created. He died overseas in 1864.
The desire for independence found its leader in Juan Pablo Duarte, sometimes called the father of the Dominican Republic.Duarte, along with eight comrades, founded La Trinitaria at age 25. The organization aimed to educate people and spread nationalist sentiment. Duarte wrote an oath for members of the group, under which members declared they would “swear and promise, by my honor and my conscience, in the hands of our President, Juan Pablo Duarte, to cooperate with my person, life and goods in the definitive separation from the Haitian government and to plant a free, sovereign and independent republic, free from all foreign domination, that will be called the Dominican Republic.”
The group did all they could to hide their existence from authorities. Duarte created a cryptic alphabet for secret communication. Members used pseudonyms and operated in small cells of just three people. The group also worked with rebels in the east who hoped to overthrow the government for their own reasons.In 1843, they attempted a revolution—and it failed. Several Trinitarians were jailed, and Duarte fled to Venezuela. Yet the group had done their work well, and a second uprising the following year led to Dominican independence being declared on February 27, 1844. Duarte returned to become president, but he faced a military coup before he could take office. Duarte was exiled from the country he’d created. He died overseas in 1864.
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