Samana Bay Company of Santo Domingo
| Samana Bay Company of Santo Domingo Dominio de Samana | |
|---|---|
| Territory of United States | |
| 1872–1874 | |
 Map of the US domain of Samana (1871) | |
| Demonym | Samanenses |
| Government | |
| • Type | Commanders |
| President | |
• 1869–1873 | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Commander | |
• 1869–1870 | William Leslie Cazneau |
| History | |
• Established | December 28, 1872 1872 |
• Disestablished | 1874 |
| Today part of | Samana |
The Samana Bay Company of Santo Domingo was a company established in the mid-19th century with the aim of developing the Samaná Peninsula in the Dominican Republic.
History
Following the failed annexation of Santo Domingo by the United States,[1] the company, which was based in New York City,[2] was granted a concession by the Dominican government to develop the area, including building infrastructure and attracting settlers. The agreement, which was signed on December 28, 1872 and ratified by the Senate of the Dominican Republic on February 19, 1873,[1] also granted the Company complete corporate sovereignty over Samaná Bay and the surrounding land.[2]
Following the signing of the agreement, American investment increased significantly in the Dominican Republic, and there was an influx of planters of both sugar and tobacco from the United States, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, and sugar production especially increased dramatically.[2]
In January 1874, however, President Buenaventura Báez was overthrown,[3] and the new government under Ignacio María González subsequently cancelled the concession and seized the Company's assets[4][5][6] due to the Company's non-payment of their $150,000 annual lease (equivalent to $3,815,000 in 2023).[7]
References
- ^ a b "United States Presence". Dominicana Online. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c Bryan, Patrick (1978). "The Transition to Plantation Agriculture in the Dominican Republic, 1870-84". The Journal of Caribbean History. 10: 82–105. ProQuest 1302738513.
- ^ Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (2001). Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-8444-1044-9.[page needed]
- ^ Samana Bay Company of Santo Domingo; Samana Bay Company of Santo Domingo (1873). Report of the commissioners who negotiated the convention with the Dominican Republic. New York: Printing House of J. Polhemus. OCLC 1435135629.[page needed]
- ^ "The Samana Bay Company". The New York Times. January 25, 1873.
- ^ "Frederick Douglass Papers: Subject File, 1845-1939; Samana Bay Co. of Santo Domingo v. Dominican Government, 1889; 1 of 2". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
- ^ MacMichael, David Charles (1964). The United States and the Dominican Republic, 1871-1940: a cycle in Caribbean diplomacy (Thesis). OCLC 760516046. ProQuest 302155152.[page needed]