Dominicans (Dominicanos) are people identified with the Dominican Republic. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Dominicans, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Dominican.
"Dominican" was historically the name for the inhabitants of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, the site of the first Spanish settlement in the Western Hemisphere. Majority of Dominicans primarily trace their origin to the Captaincy General's European settlers, with native Taino and African influences.
The majority of Dominicans reside in the Dominican Republic, while there is also a large Dominican diaspora, mainly in the United States and Spain. The total population of the Dominican Republic in 2016 was estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Dominican Republic at 10.2 million, with 9.3 million of those being natives of the country, and the rest being of foreign origin. The country has a right of blood citizenship law.
Historically the Dominican Republic was known as Santo Domingo, the name of its present capital and its patron saint, Saint Dominic. Hence the residents were called "Dominicanos" (Dominicans). The revolutionaries named their newly independent country "La República Dominicana". It was often referred to as the "Republic of San Domingo" in English language 19th century publications.
The first recorded use of the word "Dominican" is found in a letter written by King Phillip IV of Spain in 1625 to the inhabitants of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo. In this letter, which was written before the arrival of French settlers on the Western side of the island, the King congratulates the Dominicans for their heroic efforts in defending the territory from an attack by a Dutch fleet. This letter can be found today in the "Archivo General de Indias" in Seville, Spain.
Another name that is commonly used is "Quisqueyans". In the national anthem of the Dominican Republic the author uses the term Quisqueyans instead of Dominicans.
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