Dominican Republic - Research Article from Encyclopedia of Religious Practices

This encyclopedia article consists of approximately 10 pages of information about Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic - Research Article from Encyclopedia of Religious Practices

This encyclopedia article consists of approximately 10 pages of information about Dominican Republic.
This section contains 2,839 words
(approx. 10 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the Dominican Republic Encyclopedia Article

POPULATION 8,721,594
ROMAN CATHOLIC 89.3 percent
PROTESTANT 8.1 percent
OTHER 2.6 percent

Dominican Republic

Country Overview

Introduction

The Dominican Republic, located in the West Indies, consists of the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola and several small islands. Haiti occupies the western third of Hispaniola, with the Atlantic Ocean lying to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. The capital is Santo Domingo.

Christopher Columbus first reached Hispaniola in 1492, and Santo Domingo became the first European colony in the New World. From the beginning efforts were undertaken to convert the native Taino to Roman Catholicism, but they were decimated by warfare and disease. Aspects of the Taino heritage have been retained, particularly in the southwest, which was their political and ceremonial center. As early as 1502 Christian slaves of African origin arrived from Spain, and shortly thereafter slaves were introduced directly from Africa. The Spanish blacks established religious brotherhoods (cofrad...

(read more)

This section contains 2,839 words
(approx. 10 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy the Dominican Republic Encyclopedia Article
Copyrights
Gale
Dominican Republic from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.