Haiti and the Dominican Republic: One Island, Two Worlds Questions

1. Write one or two paragraphs in which you explain how the physical geography of Hispaniola favors the Dominican Republic (DR) over Haiti? Your explanation should include the terms: Trade winds, leeward, precipitation, mountains, rivers, valleys, soils.

2. Because this is an abridged version of Diamond’s chapter, it is choppy. Beneath “Social and political differences” Diamond points out that a profitable agricultural economy emerged earlier in Haiti than the DR. How was this a problem?

3. Write one or two paragraphs in which you explain how the policies of France and Spain determined the different economic developments and demographics and environmental modifications of Haiti and the DR? Use the term population density in your answer.

4. Why was the DR more appealing to European migrants and investors than Haiti?

5. How did post-Colonial relationships with their former European masters vary between Haiti and the DR?

6. How did post-Colonial patterns of land ownership and land-use on Haiti make its economy very different than that of the DR?

7. How did the development of energy resources differ on Haiti and the DR? And, how did these different paths produce very different forest cover?