Dominican Republic, Invasion of
1855 CE to 1856 CE
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Faustin Soulouque had crowned himself Emperor Faustin I of Haiti a year after taking office.
Perhaps fear of foreigners prompts renewed attacks on the Dominican Republic.
Both of his incursions sre defeated, however, and they contribute to his overthrow by General Nicholas Geffrard.
Soulouque is the last Haitian leader to have been a slave.
Renewed annexation talks between the Dominican and United States governments arouses the concern of Haitian emperor Soulouque.
Motivated at least in part by a desire to prevent the acquisition of any portion of Hispaniola by the slaveholding United States, Soulouque launches a new invasion in November 1855.
However, Dominican forces decisively defeat the Haitians in a number of engagements and force them back across the border by January 1856.
The final crisis of Santana's second term also originates in the foreign policy sphere.
Shortly after the Haitian campaign, the Dominican and United States governments sign a commercial treaty that provides for the lease of a small tract in Samana for use as a coaling station.
Although Santana delays implementation of the lease, its negotiation provides his opponents—including baecistas and the government of Spain—the opportunity to decry Yankee imperialism and demand the president's ouster.
Pressure builds to such an extent that Santana feels compelled to resign on May 26, 1856, in favor of his vice president, Manuel de la Regla Mota.
Regla Mota's rule in the Dominican Republic lasts almost five months.
An empty treasury forces the new president to discharge most of the army.
Thus deprived of the Dominican rulers' traditional source of power, his government all but invites the return of Buenaventura Báez.
With the support of the Spanish, Báez is named vice president by Regla Mota, who now resigns in Báez's favor.
Not a forgiving man by nature, Baez loses little time in denouncing ex-president Santana and expelling him from the country.
Once again, Baez purges santanistas from the government and replaces them with his own men.