The 5th of December, 1492, Cristoph Columbus discovered the island, that the inhabitants commonly called "Haiti" which means "mountainous earth". The island was inhabited by the Taínos, who were dedicated to agriculture, hunting and fishing. They lived in circular or rectangular huts, were polytheists as their religion was related to the natural phenomenas.

The first improvised settlement Colomus established in the North coast, using the rest of the shipwrecked carabel "Santa Maria", and called it "Navidad" ("Christmas") and during his second visit from Spain in 1493 he established a second establishment more towards the east and gave it the name "La Isabela". "Navidad" had been destroyed by the indigenous population which, after an initial friendly welcome, violently responded against the intolerance and abuses of the invaders who showed an excessive interest in the gold of their land.

After trying to establish colonies on the North coast, it was finally decided to establish first firm settlement on the South coast: Santo Domingo. From there on, the whole island carried the name "Santo Domingo" as long as the Spaniards dominated it and it became to be in the first stronghold of the Spanish Empire in the "New World".

Cristoph Colombus and his brother Bartholome were the first governors of the colony. In 1498 Columbus returned from an incursion to Cuba and Jamaica, when Roldán, who had been mayor of La Isabela rebelled and retired to the west of the island together with his followers.

As a result, the Spanish crown named Francisco de Bobadilla as main judge and Royal commissioner in 1499 to 1502. After putting Colombus in prison and sending him to Spain, where Queen Isabel ordered again his liberation, Bobadilla was replaced by Nicholas de Ovando who who assumed his positions from 1502 1509 and Columbus was replaced by Diego, son of the Admiral. (What a confusion!)

It was during the government of Ovando that the development of the island began and because his successful reforms he received the title of "Founder of the Spanish Empire in the Indians".

The system of charges settles down legally in 1503. But it was feudalism, not freedom that governed. It consisted of giving Indians as slaves to civil employees of the colony to work servitude in exchange for religious (catholic) formation. In the long run this caused the diminution of the natives. The Indians were put to work in mines. But in 1515 the gold was believed already exhausted.

In 1519 the extraction of gold had already disappeared. So in 1520 the first sugar production was started. Both, the agricultural part and the industrial part, were acomplished through enslaved manual labor. No wonder that by 1560 the Taino indians had already disappeared because of the mistreat. But another manual labor was on its way to replace them: the enslaved black shipped in from Africa.

In the beginning of the XVII centruy until half of century XIX many land owners started with cattle ranches. The wealthy ranchers had their peones who maintained their category of slaves since the cattle ranch had feudal characteristics.

The rivals of Spain (mainly England and France) organized actions of contraband and armed attacks against the ports and coasts by privateers and pirates. The situation got so bad that the Spanish crown started to abandone the colony.

In 1603 King Felipe III signed the Royal Decree that Governor Osorio had to destroy the cities of Montecristi, Port Silver, Yaguana and Bayajá. Most of the population was concentrated in Monte Plata and Bayaguana. This left the north of the island was at the mercy of the French and English pirates.

From 1610 to 1636, the island Tortuga was the headquarters of the English pirates, whereas the French had their

# buccaneers (hunters),
# filibusteros (pirates) and
# inhabitants Farmers).

In 1638 the whole island was inhabitated by the French. The French government would send prostitutes to pacify the pirates so they would form families. The bucaneers prepared the meat with pepper and orange juice cooked in a furnace, a so-called called "bucan."

In 1697 the Spanish recognized a part of the island as a French colony, in 1777 the border between the two colonies is demarcated and officially confirmed in the treaty of 1795.