1861-03-00: (The Dominican Republic Voluntarily Reverts to Spanish Colonial Rule, Placing a European Colonial Power Back on Hispaniola for the First Time Sin…

1861-03-00: (The Dominican Republic Voluntarily Reverts to Spanish Colonial Rule, Placing a European Colonial Power Back on Hispaniola for the First Time Since 1822, a Development That Alarmed Geffrard and Vindicated Every Haitian Fear About the Vulnerability of the Eastern Border): In March 1861, the Dominican government voluntarily agreed to revert the nation’s political status to that of a Spanish colony, an act of geopolitical submission that placed a European colonial power back on the island of Hispaniola for the first time since Boyer had expelled the Spanish in 1822. The reappearance of Spain alarmed Geffrard, who understood that any European presence on the island posed a potential threat to Haitian sovereignty. His fears were not paranoid: France had demanded a ransom for recognizing Haitian independence, and no European power had ever accepted the legitimacy of a Black republic without qualification. Geffrard, however, refused to support the Dominican independence movement that erupted in 1863, calculating that direct confrontation with Spain was too dangerous. His caution was strategically rational and politically costly. When the Dominican Republic declared independence again in 1865, the new Dominican government resented Haiti’s failure to assist, adding another layer of mistrust to the island’s already poisoned bilateral relations.