Six Years' War

The Six Years' War (Spanish: Guerra de los seis años; 1868–74) was a civil war in the Dominican Republic that "constituted the third war of independence fought by the Dominican people", in this case against the administration of President Buenaventura Báez, which in 1869 negotiated the Dominican Republic's annexation to the United States. According to the Dominican intellectual Pedro Henríquez Ureña, this war was a critical phase in the creation of Dominican national consciousness because, having already differentiated themselves from the Haitians in the first war of independence and the Spaniards in the second, the Dominicans asserted their incompatibility with the United States.[1]

Six Years' War
In 1869, Báez negotiated a treaty of annexation with the United States
Date 1868–1874 Location Dominican Republic Result Liberal victory Overthrow of Báez
Belligerents
Dominican Liberals	Dominican Conservatives
Commanders and leaders
Gregorio Luperón José María Cabral Juan Antonio Polanco	Buenaventura Báez

The war was fought mainly by irregulars (revolutionaries, intellectuals, conservative elements in the military) against the regular Dominican Army loyal to Báez.[1]

According to Hector Avalos, the civil war had a religious dimension, since the predominantly Catholic Dominicans, having already rejected Haitian Vodou, now decisively rejected American Protestantism.[2]

Dominican annexation was successful in the 1870 referendum, but was defeated in the United States Senate.

References

1. Frank Moya Pons, "The Incomplete State: The Dominican Republic, 1844–1961", in S. C. M. Paine (ed.), Nation Building, State Building, and Economic Development: Case Studies and Comparisons (Routledge, 2010), p. 172.
2. Hector Avalos, Introduction to the U.S. Latina and Latino Religious Experience (Brill Academic Publishers, 2004), p. 93.