structural:expansion
The Dominican War of Independence was a war of independence that began when the Dominican Republic declared independence from the Republic of Haiti on February 27, 1844 and ended on January 24, 1856. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united for 22 years when the newly independent nation, previously known as the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, was unified with the Republic of Haiti in 1822. The criollo class within the country overthrew the Spanish crown in 1821 before unifying with Haiti a year later. In March 1844, 30,000 Haitian soldiers invaded the Dominican Republic at the behest of president Charles Rivière-Hérard, but were defeated within a month and forced to retreat back into Haiti. The Haitian campaign of 1845 ended with the retreat of the Haitian army across the Dajabón River. Three years later, Haiti's president Faustin Soulouque launched his first invasion of the Dominican Republic, but his army was beaten back by forces under General Pedro Santana. In late 1849, Dominican naval forces bombarded, sacked and burned several villages on the southern and western coasts of Haiti. In November 1855, Soulouque marched into the Dominican Republic at the head of another army, but the Haitians were decisively defeated and forced back across the border by January 1856.