Santo Domingo.- A statement from the Spanish Embassy in Haiti has stirred historical controversy by claiming that the Spanish first arrived in the Americas through Haiti, challenging the long-standing consensus that the Dominican Republic was the site of Spain’s first settlement. The embassy commemorated the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival on December 5, 1492, by asserting that the first settlement, El Fuerte Navidad, was established on Haiti’s northern coast using the remains of the ship Santa María.
This claim contrasts with widely accepted historical accounts that place Columbus’s landing in the Dominican Republic, where La Isabela, the first permanent European settlement, was founded in 1493. The Dominican Republic has long celebrated its role as the epicenter of Spanish colonization in the New World, particularly during the 1992 Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of America, which included international events and monuments like the Columbus Lighthouse in Santo Domingo.
The Spanish Embassy’s position highlights ongoing tensions in the historical narratives between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. While Haiti emphasizes its revolutionary legacy as the first independent nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic continues to assert its prominence as the cradle of European colonization. Critics view the embassy’s statement as a potential diplomatic move to strengthen ties with Haiti, possibly at the expense of Dominican historical identity.