The Dominican Republic and Haiti are two countries that share an island. The difficulties of two ethnic groups sharing an island bring out conflicts that derive from the colonial period. Race, economics, politics, and stigma all play a role in the ethnic conflict between these conquered cultures that have very different views of their roots. Prejudice, cultural identity issues and resentment towards Haitians are the reasons why Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo massacred thousands of unarmed Haitians. This is why the two cultures still clash today. The history of the colonization of the Americas is written in blood. Hispaniola is no exception, and the conflict is still visible today. In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed west. In doing so, he discovered the American continents and, with that, a whole new world. In December 1492, Columbus and his three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria landed on an island called Haiti/Quisqueya (the original Taino name for Hispaniola). This set off a chain of events that would eventually change every aspect of the world as everyone knew it. The justification for Columbus's voyages was supposedly to convert the savage populations he encountered when he reached the island. His ultimate goal was to find gold and spices that he could claim for the Spanish crown, of which he had been promised 10%. December 12 marked the founding of a temporary settlement called La Concepcion in the northeastern part of the island. After exploring the island and meeting the Taino chiefs of Hispaniola, Columbus decided to return to Spain, bringing with him samples depicting life in the New World. Along with objects such as tobacco, pineapples, hammocks and peppers, Christopher Columbus also took a group of Taino Indians and put them on display... in the center of a sheet of paper... they were Francisco del Rosario Sanchez and Ramon Matias Mella who together in Duarte they are known as the ancestors of the Dominican Republic. On 16 January 1844 the Trinitarian manifesto in favor of independence was published, thus starting the struggle for independence. Thanks to the work of La Trinitaria, many battles and many carnage, the Dominican Republic was born on February 27, 1844, which claimed independence from Haiti with a declaration at the Puerta del Conde. Small battles with the Haitian army continued throughout the island. As continuing evidence of the Hispanic ideology supported by the Dominicans, Pedro Santana, the first president of the Dominican Republic, swore allegiance to the Spanish crown and in 1861 annexed the Dominican Republic to Spain. This was the stage for the mass cultural denial and animosity towards Haitians faced in the Dominican Republic to this day.