15/11/2025
The Arrival of the Indigenous Army from the Western Part of the Island of Kiskeya – February 1822
On February 9, 1822, at seven o’clock in the morning, the Indigenous Army from the western part of the island of Kiskeya, under the leadership of President Jean-Pierre Boyer, entered the eastern region of the island, then known as Santo Domingo. At the Puerta del Conde, they were greeted by members of the cabildo (the municipal council), who escorted them to the town hall, where official honors were rendered.
At that time, the population in the Spanish-speaking part of the island did not exceed 120,000 inhabitants and had very limited military or defensive resources. The western part of Kiskeya, by contrast, had about 600,000 inhabitants and a seasoned, well-organized Indigenous Army that had taken shape since independence in 1804.
The march of the Indigenous Army had begun several days earlier under the command of General Guy Joseph Bonnet, who divided his columns in two directions: one toward the North and the other toward the South of the island. Their mission was to ensure the unification of the island into one state — the Kiskeyan State.
The entry into Santo Domingo took place without any major confrontation. The inhabitants, many of whom were weary of internal conflicts and political instability, received the soldiers with curiosity and at times caution. Boyer’s forces settled in the city and assumed administrative control of the territory.
According to documents from the period, the transition was relatively peaceful: there was no armed resistance and no reprisals. Dominican representatives worked with the officers of the Indigenous Army to maintain public order and preserve local institutions.
For Boyer, the creation of the Kiskeyan State represented the logical outcome of the independence process initiated by Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines. He viewed the unity of the entire island as a way to consolidate the freedom of formerly enslaved people and prevent any European attempt at reconquest.
In the months that followed, the new administration abolished slavery definitively in the eastern part of the island and implemented a political and fiscal system common to the entire unified territory. However, over the years, cultural, linguistic, and economic differences deepened the divide between the two peoples.
This period of Kiskeyan unity, which lasted 22 years, ended in 1844 with the proclamation of Dominican independence.
Today, it remains a complex and often debated chapter in the shared history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic — a moment of unity but also of tension, one that profoundly shaped the memory of both nations.
