The history of the Dominican Republic started in 500 BCE when the Tainos, an ancient indigenous tribe, first settled. Then in 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on the island and named it Hisipalona, modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Columbus established English settlements and Spain colonized Hispaniola until France took control of the western part, Haiti. Santo Domingo had many ongoing fights for independence, both Spain and Haiti took control of the land. In the 1830s Juan Pablo Duarte formed a secret organization to fight for freedom, the country achieved this in 1844. After independence, the country had an unstable government and was eventually sold off. In 1860 President Santana led the country into bankruptcy and sold it to Spain saying that they were its rightful owner. The people rebelled against Spain, which became known as the Restoration. With the help of Haiti by 1864 the Dominican nationalists had occupied most of the Dominican Republic and in 1865 Spain withdrew, marking the end of the Restoration. Around the 1900s the US grew commercial interest in the Dominican Republic. As a result, Europe became a trading partner but the country went into bankruptcy letting the US control the government until 1924, this time is known as the US intervention. In 1930 President Rafael Trujillo came into power stopping the shaky government. Trujillo’s rule was a dictatorship and lasted 31 years. Trujillo used his secret police to control and get rid of competitors. But the secret police weren’t able to stop the resistance and  Trujillo was killed, ending his cruel reign. From 1966 to 1996, President Balaguer reigned, except for a short time in 1978 to 1986 when the PRD, Partido Revolucionario Dominicano, won. Under President Guzman of PRD, there was political liberation however he committed suicide leaving low export prices, rising inflation, diminished US aid, and corruption. Balaguer took power once again, he worked on public works and prestige projects to regain power. While he was not as cruel as Trujillo, Balaguer did get rid of opponents and his work mainly benefited the wealthy. Today the President of the Dominican Republic is Luis Abinader, President Abinader won the 2024 election on May nineteenth. He promised to develop, reform, and fight corruption and crime.