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
Crime in the Dominican Republic Crime in the Dominican Republic Crime in the Dominican Republic is investigated by the Dominican Republic National Police. In 2012, the Dominican Republic had a murder rate of 22.1 per 100,000 population. There were a total of 2,268 murders in the Dominican Republic in 2012. By 2017, the murder rate had significantly declined. There were 1,198 murders in 2017, a rate of 14.9 per 100,000. The Dominican Republic has become a trans-shipment point for Colombian drugs destined to Europe as well as the United States and Canada. Money laundering via the Dominican Republic is favored by Colombian drug cartels for