Review of We Dream Together; Dominican Independence, Haiti and the Fight for Caribbean Freedom

Samuel Martínez

doi:10.32992/erlacs.10498

Abstract

We Dream Together; Dominican Independence, Haiti and the Fight for Caribbean Freedom , by Anne Eller. Duke University Press, 2017

Highlights

While it is treated as more than a footnote in conventional accounts of Dominican history, it is none the less embarrassing to Dominican nationalists that a Dominican President, Pedro Santana, would conspire with Spanish officials to restore Santo Domingo to the Spanish colonial orbit in 1861
In few other places could the origins of the nation be the object of more biased history-writing than in the Dominican Republic
That myth commonly gets historically justified by the Dominican Republic having won its independence from its Haitian neighbour rather than from a European colonizer

Summary

Introduction

While it is treated as more than a footnote in conventional accounts of Dominican history, it is none the less embarrassing to Dominican nationalists that a Dominican President, Pedro Santana, would conspire with Spanish officials to restore Santo Domingo to the Spanish colonial orbit in 1861. – We Dream Together; Dominican Independence, Haiti and the Fight for Caribbean Freedom, by Anne Eller. Anne Eller’s richly researched, intricately built book takes us to the 1844 to 1865 period during which Dominican independence was twice won, first against Haiti and from Spain.

Results

Conclusion