Una batalla de papel. La injerencia extranjera en la República Dominicana vista por la prensa (1854-1858)

Zusammenfassung

The numerous meddlings of several powers in the domestic politics of the Dominican Republic, frequent from the very beginning of its existence as an independent state, intensified as a result of the negotiations aimed at the signing of a treaty between this country and the United States. The Spanish consul was the one who took this interference the furthest, to the point of openly supporting the opposition group to President Santana, by registering its members as Spanish citizens in the consular registry. This controversial measure caused a diplomatic conflict, the fall of Santana, the abandonment of his draft treaty with the United States, and the replacement of the Spanish consul. To these struggles for power we must add the ethnic factor, not always adequately considered by historiography.The role played by the press allows us to know some issues from a complementary perspective to that provided by archival documents and existing bibliography. The growing presence of news on the political situation in the Dominican Republic, as well as on its relations with Haiti and other countries interested in the island of Hispaniola, reflects greater attention by the newspapers in response to the bourgeois demand for such information in the mid-19th century.