Dominican Republic Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands

The land of today's Dominican Republic appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 4 different states, among them Dominican Republic, Taino, Hispaniola (Spain), Spain.

Dominican Republic

Explore the history of Dominican Republic in the interactive map

Compare 1000 with today

Who ruled the land of Dominican Republic, map by map

Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.

Historic cities in Dominican Republic

• Santo Domingo

Famous people of Dominican Republic

Questions

Which empires and states ruled the territory of Dominican Republic?

On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Dominican Republic belonged to Dominican Republic, Taino, Hispaniola (Spain), Spain.

What was Dominican Republic part of in 1000?

On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Dominican Republic lay within Taino.

What was Dominican Republic part of in 1900?

On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Dominican Republic lay within Dominican Republic.

Further reading

• History of Dominican Republic in Encyclopaedia Britannica
• History of Dominican Republic on Wikipedia

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.