History of the Dominican Republic History of the Dominican Republic The recorded history of the Dominican Republic began when the Genoa-born navigator Christopher Columbus, working for the Spanish Crown, happened upon a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean. It was inhabited by the Taíno, an Arawakan people, who variously called their island Ayiti, Bohio, or Quisqueya (Kiskeya). Columbus promptly claimed the island for the Spanish Crown, naming it La Isla Española ("the Spanish Island"), later Latinized to Hispaniola. What would become the Dominican Republic was the Spanish Captaincy General of Santo Domingo
Culture of the Dominican Republic lower class, black and mixed populations. They can be seen in different regions of Dominican Republic, but with variations. Salsa music has had a great deal of popularity in the country. During the late 1960s Dominican native Johnny Pacheco, creator of the famed Fania All Stars, played a significant role in the music's development and popularization, and is also credited for coining the term "Salsa" to denote the genre. Dominican rock is also popular among younger and not so younger crowds of the Dominican Republic. Dominican rock is influenced by British and American rock, but also has its own sense