Haitian President Boyer decided to prepare for a rumored military advancement by Spain in the Haitian republic due to repetitive rumors that the French and the Spanish were going to invade the vulnerable east side of the island. In 1820, Boyer sent Colonel Dezir Dalmassi to nearby towns such as Las Matas, San Juan de la Maguana and Azua to convince locals to join a Republic that would provide them with jobs and great benefits. Instead of waiting for Dalmassi's return to Haiti, Boyer decided to invade the eastern part of the Island before Jose Nuñez de Caceres could finalize his intent to join Gran Colombia. Haiti had been offering protection under the Haitian government in form of jobs, lands, abolition of taxes in the exportation of livestock, in return of accepting the political unification of the two territories. On December 1, 1821, a constitutive act was ordered to petition the union of Spanish Haiti with Gran Colombia. The state of the Republic of Spanish Haiti was not supported by the population of slaves and servants who were wary of the rule of pure whites, and preferred to unite with French Haiti, because of their abolition of slavery. In late 1821 and early 1822, Haiti sent emissaries to the central and northern Spanish Haiti to promote the accession of the country to Haiti, and the people began to raise the Haitian flag on public buildings and plazas, among them Hincha, but also in another large cities like Puerto Plata, Dajabón, Santiago and La Vega, whereas other forces which opposed unification with Haiti formally declared independence from Spain on December 1, 1821.
Independence (1821–1822)
On December 30, 1821 at 11:30 p.m. the tropas de morenos, led by Pablo Ali and José Núñez de Cáceres, surprised the Fortaleza Ozama's guards and jailed Governor Pascual Real in the Torre de Homenaje of Santo Domingo. The next morning, at 6:00 a.m., the cannon fire signalled the political change taking place. A group of politicians and military officers continued to favor uniting the new nation with Haiti, as various elite families sought for political stability under Haitian presidentJean-Pierre Boyer. A large faction based in the northern Cibao region were opposed to the union with Gran Colombia and also sided with Haitian president Boyer. Boyer, on the other hand, sought to protect his country from the possibility of France's or Spain's retaking Spanish Haiti and attacking or even re-conquering Haiti. He sought not only to maintain Haitian independence, but to maintain the freedom of its former slaves, as well as to liberate the remaining slaves in Spanish Haiti. After promising his protection to the government of Núñez de Cáceres, Boyer entered with a force of 12,000 soldiers in February 1822, after most cities and towns proclaimed its annexation to the Republic of Haiti between November 1821 and January 1822, including Puerto Plata and Santiago. On February 9, 1822, Boyer formally entered the capital city, Santo Domingo, where he was met with enthusiasm and received by Núñez de Cáceres who offered to him the keys of the Palace. Boyer rejected the offer saying: "I have not come into this city as a conqueror but by the will of its inhabitants". The island was thus united from "Cape Tiburon to Cape Samana in possession of one government."
Political reforms
The first public act of Boyer was to enact the abolition of slavery and promise lands to all freed men so they could freely dedicate their lives to agriculture in acres donated by the State. In Haiti, the French system of private land ownership guaranteed by the State was the norm, while the Spanish section the predominant system was communal grounds and a hierarchy of tenancy that clashed. By June 15, Boyer was still promising nationally donated land. In order to donate this land, the Haitian administration prohibited ownership of land by white Dominicans, depriving the main popular families of the country of their lands. The portion of freed slaves who did not wish to keep working with their former masters had little option but to join the military, which formed the Batallon 22, which joined the 'morenos libres' under Colonel Pablo Ali constituted the principal military force to the East of the island. Other cultural changes were the restriction of the Spanish language and traditional customs like cock fights were eliminated. Boyer enacted a Rural Code which was “designed to force yeomen into large-scale production of export crops. The nation, however, lacked the wherewithal, the enthusiasm, and the discipline to enforce the code”. Haitian rule in the island lasted 22 years. It wasn't until 1844 that independence was possible due to a young Dominican man, Juan Pablo Duarte y Díez. Eventually the Haitian government became very unpopular, due to the severe economic crisis that hit the country after paying a huge indemnity to France, and gave rise to many anti-Haitian plots. It lasted until 1844, when the independent nation of the Dominican Republic was established.
