SANTO DOMINGO 
177 
half of the island, and in 1795 obtained by 
treaty the remaining portion. 
In 1809 Spain and France were at war, and 
Spanish rule was again established on the is 
land. The Spanish-speaking section of this 
territory declared its independence of Spain 
in 1821 and in 1822 the Haitians acquired con 
trol of the entire island, governing it until 
1844, when as the result of a rebellion in 1846 
Santo Domingo became independent, remain 
ing so until 1861 when again fearing conquest 
she petitioned Spain to direct her destinies. 
Following a revolution in 1863, Spanish rule 
terminated in 1863, the country since being 
known as the Dominican Republic. Upris 
ings and revolutions followed each other and 
foreign debts accumulated to such an extent 
that European invasion was threatened. In 
1907 the United States undertook to admin 
ister the affairs of the government through 
American officials, cancelling each year from 
the revenues of the country a portion of its 
foreign debt, using another portion for inter 
nal national improvements.