Santo Domingo's independence from Haiti will be…

Santo Domingo's independence from Haiti will be followed by decades of complex interactions among Dominican governing groups, opposition movements, Haitian authorities, and representatives of France, Britain, Spain, and the United States.

Duarte and the liberal merchants who had led the initial independence effort are soon swept out of office and into exile, and the independent tobacco growers and merchants of the northern Cibao valley, who tended to favor national independence, are unable to consolidate control of the center.

Government revolves largely around a small number of caudillo strongmen, particularly Pedro Santana Familias and Buenaventura Báez Mendez (allies who become rivals), and their intrigues involving foreign powers in defense against Haiti and for personal gain.

All these factors mean that neither a coherent central state nor a strong sense of nationhood can develop during this period.