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54-539: Higüey ( Spanish pronunciation: [iˈɣwej] ), or in full Salvaleón de Higüey , is the capital city of the eastern La Altagracia Province , in the Dominican Republic , and has 415,084 inhabitants, according to the 2022 census. The Yuma River flows through the urban areas of Higüey. Higüey is also the name of a former native chiefdom in Hispaniola's easternmost end when Christopher Columbus arrived. It

108-649: A Coat of Arms by Royal Privilege, which granted it limited self-government. During the Spanish colonial period, Higüey remained a Parish of El Seibo county. Then in 1801, a decade after the Haitian Revolution began, and after Napoleon deposed the Spanish king, Toussaint Louverture briefly captured the Spanish portion of Hispaniola. Spain had ceded Hispaniola to France under the Treaty of Basel in 1795, and did not regain control until 1809. During this and French rule, Higüey

162-566: A bell tower with 45 bronze bells. La Altagracia is the second largest province in the country with an extension of 3,010.34 km (1,162.30 sq mi). This province limits to the north with the Atlantic Ocean , to the south with the Caribbean Sea , to the east with the Mona channel and to the west with the provinces of La Romana and El Seibo . The most important river in the province

216-463: A cross of diamonds and two solid gold angels. The painting itself has a gold and silver frame, inlaid by precious stones including an emerald donated by Pope Pius X to Archbishop Adolfo Alejandro Nouel to commemorate his election as President of the Republic in 1912 (shortly before the first American occupation ended his term and he donated it to the miraculous image). The cathedral's treasury also holds

270-618: A crucifix, two chalices and cups, six sticks for the canopy used on feast days and other special occasions, a cross and parochial candlesticks, candelabras and flower vases. Punta Cana International Airport (IATA: PUJ, ICAO: MDPC) is a privately owned commercial airport in Punta Cana, eastern Dominican Republic. The airport is built in a traditional Dominican style with open-air terminals with their roofs covered in palm fronds. A number of scheduled and charter airlines fly to Punta Cana. The airport handled more than 1 million visitors in 2002, making it

324-576: A gigantic intricate colonial golden monstrance , as well as an elegant silver throne (with golden inlays and chimes), which was used in 1811 during the painting's transfer from the Church of San Dionisio. Another silver chalice dates from 1737, gift of the President of the Real Audience of Saint . Other precious objects include gold and silver walking canes, as well as many precious antique silver items including

378-458: A notable economic activity based on extensive cattle ranching and agriculture. It is estimated that it has around 775,000 hectares of the province are dedicated to cattle ranching, which places it as the second province in the largest number of cattle. Agricultural activity comes hand in hand with the production of sugar cane and rice, as well as the production of corn, beans, and different foods such as cassava, plantain, yams and sweet potato. Fishing

432-628: A town, calling it Salvaleón de Higuey. Years later, by Royal Privilege dispatched from Seville on December 7, 1508, this town was awarded the coat of arms. During the Spanish colonial period, Higüey remained as the Parish of the Seibo party. When the Republic was proclaimed in 1844, the Central Government Board designated it as a common part of the Department of El Seibo . It was not until 1959, during

486-677: A year. The town's patroness is the Virgin of La Altagracia, a painting brought to the island by Spanish missionaries and now displayed in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of La Altagracia . Every year on her feast day (January 21), thousands of Dominicans gather to venerate the miraculous image at what might be the earliest Marian shrine in the Americas. The Spanish National Library in Madrid has a letter from Can. Lic. Luis Jerónimo of Alcocer, born on Hispaniola, mentioning

540-523: Is a refuge for migratory ducks. Tourism is one of the main economic activities in the province. It has first-class international hotel complexes, which places it in one of the main tourist destinations in the Caribbean and the entire Latin America region, which represent a very important source of income for the province, the destinations of Bávaro and Punta Cana being especially well known. The province also has

594-472: Is also common on the coastal areas, not only as a traditional economic activity, but also as a tourist and sports activity. In the 2010 census, La Altagracia had a population of 273,210 inhabitants, of which 143,010 were men and 130,200 women. Of the total population, 77.8% of the people corresponded to the urban population and 22.2% to the rural population. The most populated city is Higüey with an urban population of 147,978 inhabitants, which represents 54.2% of

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648-443: Is divided into more than 50 sectors, some of them are: Higüey features a trade-wind tropical rainforest climate , with consistently high temperatures and substantial rainfall throughout the year. The city has drier periods, with January to March being the driest months, but like other cities and towns with this climate, there is no dry season , and the city experiences an average of more than 55 inches or 1,400 millimetres of rainfall

702-503: Is now one of the country's economically fastest-developing cities, sometimes nicknamed the Capital of Dominican Tourism or the Capital of Stockbreeding . As of 2006, over 150,000 people lived in Higüey. The city thrives chiefly on tourism, with many of its inhabitants employed in the hotel complexes of Punta Cana a few kilometers away, or selling tourist products. The most important monuments in

756-619: Is the Yuma, other rivers of consideration are in Duey, Maimon, Chavon , Anamuya, Sanate and Yonu. La Altagracia is part of the coastal plains of the Caribbean, so the southern part of the province presents a relatively flat relief in contrast to other regions of the country. Towards the north are the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera, where the Old Hill rises, which with its 736 meters (2,415 ft) high

810-621: Is the highest in the province. In the province there are three protected areas: the Eastern National Park, the Bávaro lagoon, and the Maimón lagoon. The National Park of the East (also known as Cotubanamá National Park ) is the habitat of a varied terrestrial, marine and bird biodiversity, of which 112 species have been recorded, eight of which are endemic to the country and eleven to the Caribbean. Among

864-560: The Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo . The local economy sputtered under military rule and land expropriations, although slavery did end under both Haitian control and British naval enforcement throughout the Caribbean of antislavery policies advocated by William Wilberforce . When the Dominican Republic was proclaimed in 1844 through the efforts of La Trinitaria , the new Governmental Central Meeting placed Higüey under administration of

918-577: The Indigenous people of the Americas ("native Caribbean Indians"). They forbade the slavery of the indigenous people and endorsed their conversion to Catholicism. The laws were created following the conquest and Spanish colonization of the Americas in the West Indies , where the common law of Castile was not fully applicable. Friars and Spanish academics pressured King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his daughter, Queen regnant , Joanna of Castile , to pass

972-613: The Laws of Burgos of 1512. However, the law arrived late and by 1519 the Taíno of the Higüey region were already for the most part enslaved, and their numbers had declined to only 1,189 individuals. The Spanish then brought in African slaves to replace the natives. Nevertheless, the Laws of Burgos would help mitigate such behaviour in the territories yet to be conquered. On December 7, 1508, Spanish trade authorities at Seville authorized Higüey to display

1026-548: The Laws of the Indies , to encompass the Papal bull and all edicts. Generally, these laws are considered to be precursors of the declaration of human rights and international law, although some scholars criticize their lack of implementation and some of its policies. Cardinal Archbishop Domingo de Mendoza of Seville heard reports of the abuse of the Americas' Indians and sent a group of Dominican missionaries to Hispaniola to stop

1080-553: The 15th century. The painting was previously kept in the similarly 500-year-old church of San Dionisio, which remains in religious use. Every year on Virgin of La Altagracia Day, which is a national holiday on January 21, tens of thousands of pilgrims visit the cathedral. When European settlers invaded Hispaniola, this eastern section belonged to the Caíçimu-Higüey kingdom of Taíno Indians. Leaders included Caciques Cotubanamá  [ es ] and Cayacoa  [ es ] ,

1134-601: The Christians; and that they should receive wages, not paid in money, but in clothes and furniture for their cottages. In total there were 35 laws promulgated by the Burgos document in 1512, summarized as follows: Amendments were added to the Laws of Burgos on 28 July 1513. Bartolomé de Las Casas believed that the New World was granted to Spain and Portugal solely for the conversion of

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1188-593: The Native residents. The Indians, he believed, should not be used for other purposes, especially not for profit. The only solution was to remove the presence of the Spanish colonists from the Indians, except for practising missionaries. On 28 July 1513, four more laws were added in what is known today as Leyes Complementarias de Valladolid 1513 , three related to Indian women and Indian children and another more related to Indian males. They were operational till 17 November 1526, when

1242-504: The Province of El Seibo. Pedro Santana , although President sporadically during the next decades, actually acted as the country's first dictator. While he ranched near the Haitian border, this eastern province was one of his strongholds. Santana sought to return to Spanish rule, and he got his wish for the four years before his death (although Spanish rule did little to develop the province). After

1296-518: The Spanish slaughtered natives who surrendered after a short but heroic resistance. Men, women, and children were disemboweled alive; many were tortured by having hands and feet cut off as the Spaniards taunted, while others were hanged or knifed to death. Reports of this outraged the people back in Spain, with the royal court and its officials trying to regulate the behaviour of colonists. To do this, they issued

1350-745: The War of Restoration, the second Republic, either because of or in spite of the Monroe Doctrine lasted until 1916, although the countryside remained extremely poor and actually governed by various aristocratic cliques. Guerillas from El Seibo province fought the United States occupation of Santo Domingo from 1916 to 1924. The area experienced a few years of relative prosperity before agricultural prices again crashed and further de facto dictatorships began under Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina . The United States again occupied Santo Domingo from 1965 to 1966 . The city

1404-429: The bells in 1864, and a dozen years later paid for marble to pave the floor. The Sanctuary keeps many votive offerings . Some are of historic value, others are curiosities or reminders of the gold and silver fever that once infected the region. In 1922, to celebrate independence as well as the painting's Canonical and Papal Coronation on August 15, residents donated a beautiful crown of gold and precious stones, topped by

1458-405: The best way to protect their interests was to come together as a group and choose a Franciscan Friar named Alonso de Espinal to present their case to King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his daughter Queen Joanna of Castile , the co-rulers of Spain, and refute Montesinos's accusations. The colonists' plan backfired, though, and Spain was outraged by the cases of maltreatment of the Indians. To solve

1512-429: The busiest airport in the Dominican Republic. In 2007 Punta Cana received more than 3 million passengers. The operators plan to upgrade the airport, including adding another runway. 18°37′N 68°42′W  /  18.617°N 68.700°W  / 18.617; -68.700 La Altagracia Province The name "La Altagracia"' meaning the "High Grace" commemorates a painting, Our Lady of Altagracia , which

1566-559: The city are the Basilica of La Altagracia and the Church of San Dionisio ( Saint Denis ), from the 16th century. The current mayor of the city is Rafael Baron Duluc. According to some authors, GUEY or HUIOU is the sun in the Arawakan language of the island's native Taíno people. Perhaps coincidentally, Higüey is located at the island's eastern end, that is to say, in the region that first receives

1620-455: The dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo , that the province of La Altagracia was officially created, occupying the eastern part of what belonged to the province of La Romana , which at that time was called Altagracia already for in 1945 when Higüey was elevated to a province under the name of Altagracia. The Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia is located in Higüey and is one of

1674-406: The dome they support resembles an orange skin or star, a seashell shape emphasized the altar area. At the center of the high altar, a silver niche highlights the ancient holy painting. The 16th-century artist carved the local mahogany by hand. An ornate silver baldaquin covers the high altar, steps and Sacrarium. The old cathedral has a simple exterior, as does the bell tower. Joaquín Alfáu donated

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1728-422: The estate for a salary, and limited the size of these establishments to between 40 and 150 people. They also established a minutely regulated regime of work, pay, provisioning, living quarters, and diet. Women more than four months pregnant were exempted from heavy labor. The document also prohibited the use of any form of punishment by the encomenderos , reserving it for officials established in each town for

1782-402: The female Caciqua Higuanamá and other leaders, male and female. This area became the last to be conquered by the Spanish. Juan de Esquivel led the conquest in 1503, a year after the brutal Nicolás de Ovando was appointed the new colony's governor. He assigned Esquivél to subjugate the area, justifying the assignment as payback for a Taino attack (led by Cotubanamá) on 8 Spanish sailors, which

1836-510: The following year, 1513. The limited fulfillment of the laws sometimes led to protests and claims. Sometimes they were seen as a legalization of the previously poorer situation, which created momentum for reform, later carried out through the Leyes Nuevas ("New Laws") in 1542, a new set of stricter regulations about life in the New World including the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as

1890-544: The freedom of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and to enforce Indian Reductions rules governing conversions. It declared that the Indians are free people; that they ought to be instructed in the Christian faith; that they might be ordered to work, but so that their working should not hinder their conversion, and should be such as they could endure; that they should have cottages and lands of their own, and time to work for themselves; that they should hold communication with

1944-484: The friars made the case to defend the aboriginal American Indians from becoming serfs or slaves of the new colonists. The friars and other Spanish academics pressured King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his daughter, now the ruling Queen of Castile , Joanna I of Castile , to pass a set of laws to protect the rights of the natives of the New World, which were to become the 1512 Laws of Burgos. In Burgos, on 27 December 1512, thirty-five laws were put into effect to secure

1998-411: The implementation of the laws. It also ordered that the Indians be catechized , outlawed bigamy , and required that the huts and cabins of the Indians be built together with those of the Spanish. It respected, in some ways, the traditional authorities, granting chiefs exemptions from ordinary jobs and granting them various Indians as servants. They were amended and improved in the Laws of Valladolid

2052-414: The maltreatment. They could not legally stop it, but missionaries made complaints and stirred up a debate that the settlers feared would make them lose their property interests; Fray Antonio de Montesinos preached to the colonists that they were sinning and did not have the right to force the Indians to serve them, claiming they should only be converted to Christianity. The colonists disagreed and decided

2106-405: The marine species native to this park are turtles, dolphins, and manatees . The park is located on a peninsula trapezoidal in shape and measures 310 square kilometres (120 sq mi), also incorporating Saona Island . The park has hiking trails that connect to caves and springs . The Bávaro lagoon is the habitat of the cyprinodon nichollsi , a fish that is in danger of extinction, and

2160-470: The moral and legal question, the rulers commissioned a group of theologians and academics to come up with a solution. Dominican Friars , under the sponsorship of Diego de Deza , supported the scientific examination of Christopher Columbus 's claims for exploring the West that Columbus presented to then Queen of Castile , Isabel I of Castile and her husband, King of Aragon Ferdinand II of Aragon . After 1508,

2214-544: The most important religious monuments in the Dominican Republic. It is the place of invocation of the Virgen de la Altagracia. The basilica was inaugurated on January 21, 1971, to replace the old sanctuary built in 1572. On October 12, 1970, it was declared a national monument. This basilica is a large structure in the shape of a Latin cross. The entrance door is made of gold-plated bronze and was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Rome. It has

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2268-468: The municipalities and municipal districts of other provinces see the list of municipalities and municipal districts of the Dominican Republic . Laws of Burgos The Laws of Burgos ( Spanish : Leyes de Burgos ), promulgated on 27 December 1512 in Burgos , Crown of Castile (Spain), was the first codified set of laws governing the behavior of Spaniards in the Americas, particularly with regard to

2322-449: The municipalities and municipal districts with population figures as of the 2014 estimate. Urban population are those living in the seats ( cabeceras literally heads) of municipalities or of municipal districts. Rural population are those living in the districts ( Secciones literally sections) and neighborhoods ( Parajes literally places) outside them. The population figures are from the 2014 population estimate. For comparison with

2376-416: The rays of the sun. Thus the name Higüey might mean land where the sun is born . The economy of Higüey is based on tropical agriculture ( reed , coffee , tobacco , cacao , rice , and maize ), livestock (cattle and pigs), fishing and tourism on the coast. The main historical attraction in Higüey is the cathedral, which displays the "Virgen de la Altagracia", a painting brought by Spanish missionaries in

2430-415: The set of laws in order to protect the rights of the natives of the New World . The scope of the laws was originally restricted to the island of Hispaniola but was later extended to the islands of Puerto Rico and Santiago, later renamed Jamaica . These laws authorized and legalized the colonial practice of creating encomiendas , where Indians were grouped together to work under a colonial head of

2484-509: The so-called Ordenanzas de Granada 1526 came effective. These new amended laws reflected the theological and political disputes among the Spanish theologians, and the intervention of the Popes including their advisers. They had been under consideration since the creation of the Council of the Indies , March 1523, by king Charles I of Spain , the son of Queen Joanna I of Castile , whose first president

2538-455: The total in the province. This province had an average annual growth rate in the 2002–2010 period of 5.1%, being the province with the highest growth in the country and being above the national growth rate, which was 1.2%. In the previous period (1993–2002), La Altagracia also had the highest population growth in the country. In the 2022 census, La Altagracia had a population of 446,060 inhabitants, of which 222,866 were men and 223,194 women. Of

2592-410: The total population, 76.8% of the people corresponded to the urban population and 23.2% to the rural population. The most populated city is Higüey with an urban population of 327,886 inhabitants. The province as of June 20, 2006, is divided into the following municipalities ( municipios ) and municipal districts ( distrito municipal - M.D.) within them: The following is a sortable table of

2646-425: The veneration as early as 1650. The current Basilica was built to honor the image, which remains displayed in the old Cathedral's Sanctuary, which a corridor now unites to a modern basilica suitable for such large gatherings. Juan de Esquivel , conqueror of the local Taino and later Jamaica, founded the historic village of Salvaleón of Higüey in 1505, and included a parish church. The first Marian sanctuary in America

2700-436: Was Dominican friar Juan Garcia de Loaysa (1478–1546), Cardinal since 1530 and Archbishop of Seville , 1539 – 1546. The later "Ordenanzas de Granada," 1526, were discussed mainly between king Charles I of Spain and "Licenciado" Rodrigo de Figueroa as a consequence of the extensive Institutional Battling promoted by famous Dominican Father Bartolomé de las Casas , an offspring of a merchant family from Seville , dealing in

2754-605: Was a district of the Ozama department. After Spanish forces regained control in the España Boba period, Higüey again became part of the El Seibo región. In 1821, during the brief Spanish Republic of Haiti, the area tried to protect itself from its much larger neighbors by allying with Gran Colombia . However, wars both with Haiti and for independence continued. In 1822, Haitian forces under the command of Jean-Pierre Boyer recaptured Higüey in

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2808-576: Was brought to this area from Spain in the early 16th century. Numerous miracles are attributed to the image. Currently it is the leading province of the country in terms of tourism. This province is serviced by the Punta Cana International Airport , which is the most important airport on the island. By 1505, Juan de Esquivel conquered the Taino chiefdom of Higuey and founded a fortress which he converted in 1506 by order of Ovando into

2862-523: Was emblazoned with a royal shield by order of the King of Spain. The current brick cathedral was started in the middle of the 16th century by Can. Mr. Alonso of Rock with the architectural assistance of Simón Bolívar, fifth grandfather of the Liberator of South America . Despite the region's earthquakes, the solid construction has resisted deterioration. It has a vaulted ceiling of five simple but sturdy arches. While

2916-528: Was in turn revenge for Spaniards who slaughtered the Cacique of nearby Saona for sport, setting a battle Mastiff to attack him as he was loading traded cassava bread on a barge. The First War of Higüey was encouraged by Higuanamá in 1502 and the Second War of Higüey was encouraged by Cotubanamá  [ es ] in 1504. Bartolomé de las Casas participated in and later described the Higüey massacre in which

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