Process of definition and development of the Haitian-Dominican borderland

The borderline that currently divides the island of Hispaniola has undergone a complicated process of definition. Since colonial times, central authorities have claimed the area while contradictorily ignoring the societies that developed in the region. It was not until the first decades of the twentieth century that the two countries were officially divided and a borderline was enforced. The massacre of approximately 15,000 Haitians ordered by the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1937 is the event that brought attention to the border nationalization process. In my research I argue that the conflict between the two countries had both an economic and a racial base and that the closure and definition of the border was intended to separate two societies perceived as different by the Dominican authorities, but that in reality constituted a bicultural world.The Tinker Foundation and the University of New MexicoLatin American StudiesMastersUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Latin American StudiesBieber, JudyHall, LindaGonzalez, Moise