![Wilson [probably Cabarete's next Mayor] fetching coconuts for us](http://photos.travelblog.net/151464/472155/s/4727500-wilson_-probably_cabarete-s_next_mayor-_fetching_coconuts_for_us-0.jpg "Wilson [probably Cabarete's next Mayor] fetching coconuts for us")
Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the islan...more history