Economics of U.S. Santo Domingo

Japhy

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The Wiki article on the Annexation Debate for those who need some reading on the How? part.

A question I have been pondering for sometime:

If the United States annexes the modern Dominican Republic between 1869 and 1873, how would the territory shape up long term? That is to say, would it be possible as a territory or as a state to raise the standard of living and economic power of the island up to a level comparable with the United States (Even the lagging standards of the Reconstruction/Post-Reconstruction American South), or would any Colony/State/Territory be perpetually bound to be in a situation similar to what has happened IOTL where the Dominican Republic drastically lags behind the United States in all economic standards?

TL;DR: Is an American Santo Domingo bound to do no better then Puerto Rico economically under the United States or could it reach US levels as far as standard of living and economic power (compared to other states at least) go?
 
I don't know if Santo Domingo would do as good as the continental United States, but it would definitely do a lot better than Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico has the same problem of all other small island states - size and isolation. Santo Domingo would be over five times the size and a much larger population. It would probably have several large cities instead of just one for Puerto Rico. It's also big enough for a more diversified economy. It would have local agriculture and mining which would support light manufacturing and local financing.

Santo Domingo would also be the most likely recipient of most of the US investment that went into Cuba IOTL. It would also benefit from typical US emphasis on the rule of law, stable business environment, primary education, and infrastructure investment.

I expect Santo Domingo would lag behind the US for a while, but starting in WWII or its equivalent there would be a huge boom as the government began investing in it for anti-submarine operations and military defense followed by a bigger economic boom once air conditioning became available. Assuming that racial problems would not disrupt things, Santo Domingo could very well catch up to American standards by the 1990s.
 

Deleted member 67076

It depends on what happens next. I suspect that in the long term the Dominican Republic would be in better economic shape than in OTL and by today would be at least at a similar level to the states. This is because the rebellions, civil war and political instability would not take place, as such investment would be much greater, for example tourism would be better than OTL. Not to mention, the islands strategic location would attract a similar investment similar to Hawaii. Also it would never rack up such a huge debt.

By the 60s I'd say it'd be at the states level at the worst case scenario.
 
I also imagine this might have an effect on Puerto Rico, resulting in it getting slightly more attention and development than OTL.

The real question is, what happens to Haiti in this world?
 

Deleted member 67076

I also imagine this might have an effect on Puerto Rico, resulting in it getting slightly more attention and development than OTL.

The real question is, what happens to Haiti in this world?
Its likely they may get annexed as well. It wouldn't be that much of a burden to modernize them. Remember, Haiti was no where near as poor (relatively speaking) as today in the 1800s.

Its likely Haiti will be richer as well from trade, but expect, like today, alot of illegal Haitian immigration at the Dominican frontier if that country stays poor.
 
Haiti would never be annexed by the United States. A majority black country that speaks Creole would not be attractive to the United States.

Now the development in Santo Domingo might help boost the Haitian economy, and if Haiti has financial problems and defaults to European creditors like IOTL, the US occupation period might end with Haiti being some kind of informal protectorate with various ties to the US, but it'll never become a territory or a state. Assuming US businesses, especially those based in Santo Domingo, invest heavily in Haiti, Haiti might be similar to Panama IOTL where US influence was huge and decisive for many years.

The US and Haiti would also have various pacts or concords as it relates to managing the island of Hispaniola as a whole. Trans-island highways, power generation use, water rights on rivers that cross borders, and common use of fisheries would be items that would be discussed and agreed on. The end result might be Haiti becoming part of a customs union to the United States.

If we assume political developments as IOTL, we would see a lot of basic common policy imposed by the US on Haiti pre-WWII, a breakdown of that consensus and partial Haitian rejection of it in the 1960s and 1970s, and then Haiti agreeing to expand cooperation in the 1990s and beyond as a more equal negotiating partner.
 
Haiti will be a sticking point if only because of resource depletion on their side of the border. The US might gobble it up for security reasons or because we would intervene for debt purposes anyway.

The other interesting point will be Cuba. If US interests in the area already have a large island base to depart from we might see Puerto Rico stay Spanish for a lot longer while Cuba becomes independent of its own accord in the early 1900s. Without the American influence being so overwhelming there might be no Castro or Communist-dominated island, it might be an independent country with a standard of living akin to Sonora or Nuevo Leon in Mexico. Not sure what would become of the Philippines either, maybe Japan or Germany buys them?
 
Assuming that the United States has a major outpost in the Caribbean, I'm not persuaded that it would be uninterested in further acquisitions. I could see Cuba and Puerto Rico being eyed for no other reason than guaranteeing security and expanded economic interests in the region.

What exactly are the products and economic opportunities of Santo Domingo in the 19th century? What was the agricultural product? Tobacco? Sugar? Cotton? Hardwood? What further or additional trade opportunities were opened up?
 
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What exactly are the products and economic opportunities of Santo Domingo in the 19th century? What was the agricultural product? Tobacco? Sugar? Cotton? Hardwood? What further or additional trade opportunities were opened up?

I'd assume a combination of what Cuba's and Puerto Rico's economies were also producing.
 

Deleted member 67076

What exactly are the products and economic opportunities of Santo Domingo in the 19th century? What was the agricultural product? Tobacco? Sugar? Cotton? Hardwood? What further or additional trade opportunities were opened up?
Mainly Sugar. Timber is also attractive and so is ranching. Basically its an Eastern Hawaii for the US.

Potentially some light manufacturing can be done there as well as a tourist industry later down the line.
 
Potentially some light manufacturing can be done there as well as a tourist industry later down the line.

Hmm, could it be attractive as a regional centre for, say, something akin to "Operación Manos a la Obra" but with an agricultural complement?
 

Deleted member 67076

Hmm, could it be attractive as a regional centre for, say, something akin to "Operación Manos a la Obra" but with an agricultural complement?
Yes. It'd probably be the same, if not better level of success than in Puerto Rico

Also have we mentioned that the former Dominican Republic will likely be a hotspot for Black migrations in the coming years?
 
Iotl, arkansas has an unofficial slogan, ' thank god for mississippi', keeping arkansas from being last in the country in several measures.

Ittl, mississippi might say 'thank god for santo domingo' for the same reason.
 
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