The Dominican–British Treaty (1850) (Spanish: Tratado Dominico–Británico de 1850) was an agreement between the Dominican Republic and the United Kingdom. Signed on March 6, 1850, this was the first international treaty of the Dominican Republic, which gave it historical importance. Furthermore, it served as a model for subsequent treaties between the independent Dominican state and other nations during the remainder of the 19th century. But the most important thing was that with its signature, the Dominican Republic received the first recognition as a State sovereign and nothing less than the most powerful nation in the world at that time: Great Britain, the “Queen of the Seas.” Its effects, both internal and external, were a great importance to its diplomatic relations as this took place in the midst of the Dominican War of Independence.
Background Attempt at recognition from the United States The First Dominican Republic was proclaimed on February 27, 1844, and strengthened by the battles won against the Haitians, such as the Battle of Azua and the Battle of Santiago, on March 19 and 30 of that same year, respectively, the new Dominican authorities sought to consolidate it both internally and externally. The internal was a priority, since it consisted of the defense of the country against Haiti's attempts to reverse independence and keep the island united under its control. Also the organization of the new State was of great importance in the first years of Independence. The Constitution of San Cristóbal, passed on November 6, 1844, gave structure legal to the new nation.
Externally, there was an early project to obtain France the recognition and granting of a protectorate, promoted by the French group within the Central Government Board, whose main managers were Buenaventura Báez and Tomás Bobadilla. None of these goals were achieved because the French Government was reluctant to have more problems with Haiti than those it had at that time, when the payment of the debt assumed by Haitians was not resolved. These plans were halted further due to fears of local resistance to such projects, such as the coup d'état led by Generals Juan Pablo Duarte and José Joaquín Puello on June 9, 1844.
If France recognized Dominican Independence, renounced recovering the portion of the island from which it had ruled previously between 1795 and 1809 and would reduce the possibility to fully collect that debt. Regarding the protectorate, the French Foreign Ministry ruled it out, despite the insistence of its Consul in Santo Domingo, Eustache Juchereau de Saint-Denys. French diplomacy was very emphatic on that point, reiterating it on several occasions to the Dominican Government, through letters from the Chancellor to Consul Saint-Denys, in which France was not interested in the protectorate, as he noted in one of them, on November 20, 1844:
While plans for protectorate ceased, French rejected a recognition of the new state. Thus, the next step was to go turn to the United States. The government chaired by Pedro Santana, recently installed after the promulgation of the Constitution of San Cristóbal of November 1844, decided to send an emissary to Washington. It was José María Caminero, who had been a member of the Central Government Board, (Government Dominican Provisional between March and November 1844) and the Constituent Assembly. Caminero arrived in Washington in December of that same year, carrying a letter of introduction from President Santana to American President John Tyler. He was received by the Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, in January 1845, to whom he subjected a Memorandum summarizing what happened after the proclamation of the Dominican Republic and formally requesting its recognition as an independent nation.
The United States Government welcomed the Dominican proposal, but before making a decision, it sent a person to Santo Domingo to learn about the situation. The envoy was John Hogan, who visited the country between February and October 1845, meeting with several Dominican officials, Archbishop Tomás de Portes e Infante, some merchants from his country residing in the Dominican capital and a Protestant Pastor. All gave favorable written opinions to the new Republic Commissioner Hogan returned to Washington and presented a long report to his Government, which concluded with these sentences:
But even so, the United States Government was not willing to recognize the new State that emerged on the island of Hispaniola. Perhaps due to the ongoing war on the island, American diplomats were uncertain if the Dominican Republic would emerge triumphant against the Haitian invasions. Several years passed without a decision from the Government of Washington, until, in 1846, he decided to send Navy Lieutenant David Dixon Porter, with the mission of investigating the Dominican situation. Lieutenant Porter passed several months in the country and gave a long and detailed report to his government, full of racist comments and statistics, which concluded with the opinion that the Dominican Republic should be recognized by the United States. Among his conclusions, he said of the Dominicans:
It turns out, however, that at that time, the United States was at war with neighboring Mexico to seize large portions of territory in the present-day states of Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico and the Dominican issue was not a priority. Therefore, despite the recommendations of Commissioner Hogan and Lieutenant Porter, the Dominicans attempt to have their independence recognized by the United States ended with no result.
European recognition Afterwards, Dominican officials soon shifted its gaze towards European powers: Spain, United Kingdom and again France. This was a serious and considered effort, with the sending, in May 1846, of an important Mission to those nations, which was composed of the outstanding characters of the new Buenaventura Báez, José María Medrano and Juan Esteban Aybar. However, due to an illness, Medrano was replaced shortly after by Pedro Bobea. The missionaries had precise instructions to present them in Madrid, Paris and London and for this they were given credentials and instructions.
What was sought was the formal recognition of the new nation and the signing of Recognition, Peace, Trade and Navigation Treaties. The Recognition of Independence was more urgent, since it would constitute a very important element in the face of Haitian efforts to recover what they call “the eastern part,” which they had lost in February 1844. These instructions were given in a document, dated from May 26, 1846, and in them the commissioners were required to conclude with those three countries, Treaties whose points essential were that:
It started with going to Spain. Despite being well received, the Spanish attitude was lukewarm. That country was going through a situation very unstable politics and gave little importance to the Dominican topic. Furthermore, recognizing the independence of the Dominican Republic would mean giving up their rights towards it, since the Spanish still aspired to recover their oldest colony in the New World, which had previously detached itself from Spain in 1821. Therefore, the commissioners left Spain discouraged. From Madrid they went to Paris. The management there was at the beginning encouraging but in the end it was equally ineffective, because France was also going through a great political crisis. When the Mission arrived in Paris, in November 1847, it encountered an explosive situation, which culminated three months later with the deposition of King Louis Philippe I and the establishment of a provisional republican regime and in those circumstances, no negotiation was possible. However, the Dominican Government understood that it was easier to negotiate with a republic than with a monarchy and this was indicated by his Cabinet to Congress, in his message of February 27, 1848.
Therefore, it was months later when the French political situation, negotiations resumed which culminated, on October 22, 1848, with the signing of a Recognition treaty. This treaty was ratified by the Dominican Congress, on April 3, 1849, but the French National Assembly did not validate it and, consequently, it was ineffective. (It was years later that, in 1852, a new Treaty was negotiated and ratified by the Legislative Branch of both countries, in May of that year).
The Dominican Commissioners traveled to their last destination, London, from whose Government they expected better treatment. In August 1848 negotiations began with the governmental authorities of Her Britannic Majesty. Contrary to France and Spain, Great Britain enjoyed a great political stability and enviable economic prosperity. Great Britain was referred as The Queen of the Seas, because its war and trade ships crossed all the oceans. It had colonies in the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Oceania. (The British did not aspire to more possessions in the Caribbean Sea, since Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other small islands were enough). British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston immediately became interested in learning about this Mission and the nation it represented. In February 1848, a British citizen residing in Santo Domingo, named Hendricks, had already suggested to the Government of London the appointment of a consul in the new Republic that had emerged on the island. In his letter to Lord Palmerston he indicated that France already had a consul there and the United States a Commercial Agent. He explained that this new country was an exporter of wood, tobacco, leather and other items towards Britain and therefore an official representative would be a great convenience for commerce.Letter of H. Hendricks to the British chancellor John Henry Temple. Santo Domingo, February 1848. Foreign Office, Londres. Documentos del Archivo de Bernardo Vega donados al Archivo de la Nación.
Shortly after, in response to that request and before start negotiations with the Dominican Commissioners, the British Government appointed a Consul in Santo Domingo. The importance that the British gave to the new Republic was evident with that designation, since it fell to an eminent scientist from Germany who had recently been ennobled by Queen Queen Victoria with the title of Knight: Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk; character who played a very important role in the Dominican Republic in subsequent years. He was also the person whom the British Government commissioned to carry out the negotiation of the Treaty with the Dominican Mission. There was no need, as in the case of the United States, to send a reconnaissance mission. The British already knew a lot about the new country, from reports from their subjects residing in Santo Domingo and Cibao who advocated the establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations.
Treaty The Dominican mission that traveled to London, included in the instructions it received the list of matters that had to be included in the treaty: the formal recognition of the Dominican Independence; the search for solutions to put an end to Haitian aggression; the appointment of consuls between both nations; an agreement on free trade, and the pact not to impose higher tariffs than those required to other nations. The British, in turn, were interested in other clauses, such as that of religious freedom and equality in the payment of trade licenses with the same tax as imposed on the Dominicans.