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I don't know many people video youtube clips of various countries that they like, but I routinely see compilations of machete fights coming out of the Dominican Republic.
Guns are expensive and hard to come by. Have you ever been to the DR? Very poor country. They do the same in the poorer sections in Brazil, Columbia and Mexico. ( just to name few). Machetes.. are abundant and easy to obtain.
They are often called Collins (which in Spanish sounds as colín), mostly because the American company made a lot of money during the beginning of the last century in that country.
Machetes have always been used in the countryside, which until the last fourth of the 20th century made up over 80% of Dominicans. It was how the country was defended from invaders through out the 1800’s. They also used to make parades where they include men on horseback and a machete on one hand, usually moving it from side to side so it would shine in the sun. They were suppose to represents the monteros that lived in the countryside and defended the country with their machetes.
Although it is disappearing, the machete was also used by the men in the countryside for everything (from peeling an orange to, well, fighting). It was rare to find a man from the countryside without their machete tugged between their pants and their belt.
It is believed the first machetes were introduce by the Spanish back in the 1490’s. Its suppose to be an evolution of sorts from the Spanish blade. In the early 20th century an American company entered the DR during the first invasion of the American army and became the number one supplier. From that moment the machetes have been called colín, the Spanish name for The Collin Company.
You can check out the DR in Google Street View if you want. Most people live urban areas in the Santo Domingo and in the central Cibao Valley areas.
Guns are expensive and hard to come by. Have you ever been to the DR? Very poor country. They do the same in the poorer sections in Brazil, Columbia and Mexico. ( just to name few). Machetes.. are abundant and easy to obtain.
It's true. But they could use knives or any other kind of weapon. It makes me think it could be something with Colonial origins or something inherited from the Spanish/Iberians.
Now that I think of it, several folk dances I've witnessed, use machetes as part of their coreography..
It's true. But they could use knives or any other kind of weapon. It makes me think it could be something with Colonial origins or something inherited from the Spanish/Iberians.
Now that I think of it, several folk dances I've witnessed, use machetes as part of their coreography..
Don't they used them in chopping sugar cane in the fields?
Now that I think of it, they do use it to cut sugar cane too.
Speaking of sugar cane, there was only two eras when sugar was important, with the second era taking precedence.
The first was in the first half of the 1500’s. In fact, it was the first place where sugar cane was introduced in all of America. The first stalk arrived with the Spanish from the Canary Islands. They used to plant it once and that was it to produce for many years, mostly because the soil was new. They also discovered one of the world’s deepest top soil in much of the eastern Cibao Valley (even today its relatively easy to grow most things in that valley). With that said, the main sugar producing area was close to Santo Domingo in the San Cristóbal area and around Azua, which until the middle of the 1700’s was by the coast and its ruins are still visible. In fact, Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico, was first an escribano in this town. He had two houses in modern DR, one in Santo Domingo which is still standing and now is the French embassy and the second one in Azua which was destroyed along with the town due to an earthquake and a tsunami in the 1740’s.
After the first half of the 1500’s sugar cane was a minor crop and used mostly for local consumption. Originally most was taken to Spain. Diego Columbus, the son of Christopher Columbus, once had a sugar cane plantation near modern San Cristóbal (there was no town there at that time) and you can still see some of the ruins.
The second sugar era started at the end of the 1870’s when mostly Americans moved out of Cuba due to a war that was ravaging that country. They found the DR as virgin territory (most of the country and the east was covered in a thick tropical forest, just how the Spanish conquistadors found it in the 1490’s). The east in particular had a plain in mostly virgin territory and it is the largest plain in the Caribbean islands outside of Cuba. At that time El Seibo was the main town of the east and Higüey was second, many other towns were too small and too spares. Most of the eastern population lived around those two cities and most were light skin.
The mostly Americans bought land outside of San Pedro de Macorís, which basically didn’t exist back then. They cut down the forest and built sugar cane plantations. The same thing that the Spanish found in Azua during the 1500’s was also “discovered” by the Americans in the east, mostly that planting required once because of the newness of the soil.
They imported mostly Puerto Ricans because from the start they couldn’t get the Dominicans for working at those wages. Then in the 1880’s they switch to blacks of the eastern English Caribbean. The islands had a problem with unemployment plus the men spoke English like the owners of the sugar cane fields. They spread mostly along the southern part of the island. The eastern plains, the area around Santo Domingo, the area between San Cristóbal and Baní, the area around Azua, and the area around Barahona was filled with mostly American-owned sugar cane fields. In the northern part of the island only around Puerto Plata was sugar cane grown. In the 1920’s the English black went to a strike due to low wages, so the mostly American owners of the sugar cane plantations switch to Haitians and left most of the English blacks to fend for themselves. The population centers switch to the coast with San Pedro taking the lead and the region became darker and blacker. You can rent a car and notice that in the El Seibo area, for example, the average person is much lighter than in San Pedro where most of the people are either blacks or dark skin mulattoes. San Pedro is the center of the Cocolo (blacks from the eastern English Caribbean, you can notice it by the English last names of much of the people), Puerto Ricans (you can even see the club they created), and the Arabs (mostly Lebanese christians) in the DR.
By the late 1800’s and early 1900’s San Pedro had become one of the richest towns in the Caribbean and you can still see evidence of the wealth in the old part of town with many of the buildings. A seaplane used to land on the mouth of the Higüamo River from the USA.
The South Porto Rico (with that spelling) company needed to expand from Puerto Rico (most of the sugar was distilled in the Central Guánica), but most of that island was already taken up. They decided to buy land around La Romana, which hardly exist back then. They created a new sugar cane field and shipped out the sugar to Guánica, Puerto Rico. They also discovered that in PR they needed to constantly plant the sugar while in the DR they only planted once and produced for many years. In the 1910’s or 1920’s they inaugurated the largest sugar mill in the world called Central Romana near La Romana. They also changed their name to Central Romana Corporation, which to this day owns most of the sugar cane plantations in the east (from Punta Cana some tours take tourist to their plantations). They use mostly Haitian labor and are the reason why there are so many Haitians in the east. They also own the La Romana Intl Airport and Casa de Campo, including Altos de Chavón which was a gift from the American Charles Bludhorn to his daughter Dominique. The owners are now a Cuban-American family, but for many decades was created and owned by an American.
The owners live in palatial mansions near NYC and in south Florida. The owners of the Central Romana also owns Florida Crystal in south Florida. One brother donates to Democrats while the other brother donates to Republicans. Americans also pay more than the world’s market for their sugar mostly to the quota given to the DR. They became billionaires sticking their hands twice in the cookie jar and having American politicians in their pocket, both in Florida and in Washington DC. Last I heard, the owner of Central Romana has the phone number to the White House and every US president is suppose to drop what they are doing to take the call from the brothers of Florida.
The DR doesn’t depends on sugar cane anymore. The economy has changed and become more diversified, but the sugar cane plantations are still there making millions for their owners. I think Central Romana owns enough land that in the USA it would cover half of the state of Connecticut or something lije that. You can see their sugar fields while landing at Punta Cana.
Most people that visit the DR (something like 80%) go to Punta Cana and are completely unaware of this. In fact, they hardly know the DR and only go by what they see in Punta Cana and surrounding areas. Namely the tourist development along the coast and a poor countryside nearby and they think the whole country is like this. Most even think most or all of the country is flat. lol
Now that I think of it, they do use it to cut sugar cane too.
Speaking of sugar cane, there was only two eras when sugar was important, with the second era taking precedence.
The first was in the first half of the 1500’s. In fact, it was the first place where sugar cane was introduced in all of America. The first stalk arrived with the Spanish from the Canary Islands. They used to plant it once and that was it to produce for many years, mostly because the soil was new. They also discovered one of the world’s deepest top soil in much of the eastern Cibao Valley (even today its relatively easy to grow most things in that valley). With that said, the main sugar producing area was close to Santo Domingo in the San Cristóbal area and around Azua, which until the middle of the 1700’s was by the coast and its ruins are still visible. In fact, Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico, was first an escribano in this town. He had two houses in modern DR, one in Santo Domingo which is still standing and now is the French embassy and the second one in Azua which was destroyed along with the town due to an earthquake and a tsunami in the 1740’s.
After the first half of the 1500’s sugar cane was a minor crop and used mostly for local consumption. Originally most was taken to Spain. Diego Columbus, the son of Christopher Columbus, once had a sugar cane plantation near modern San Cristóbal (there was no town there at that time) and you can still see some of the ruins.
The second sugar era started at the end of the 1870’s when mostly Americans moved out of Cuba due to a war that was ravaging that country. They found the DR as virgin territory (most of the country and the east was covered in a thick tropical forest, just how the Spanish conquistadors found it in the 1490’s). The east in particular had a plain in mostly virgin territory and it is the largest plain in the Caribbean islands outside of Cuba. At that time El Seibo was the main town of the east and Higüey was second, many other towns were too small and too spares. Most of the eastern population lived around those two cities and most were light skin.
The mostly Americans bought land outside of San Pedro de Macorís, which basically didn’t exist back then. They cut down the forest and built sugar cane plantations. The same thing that the Spanish found in Azua during the 1500’s was also “discovered” by the Americans in the east, mostly that planting required once because of the newness of the soil.
They imported mostly Puerto Ricans because from the start they couldn’t get the Dominicans for working at those wages. Then in the 1880’s they switch to blacks of the eastern English Caribbean. The islands had a problem with unemployment plus the men spoke English like the owners of the sugar cane fields. They spread mostly along the southern part of the island. The eastern plains, the area around Santo Domingo, the area between San Cristóbal and Baní, the area around Azua, and the area around Barahona was filled with mostly American-owned sugar cane fields. In the northern part of the island only around Puerto Plata was sugar cane grown. In the 1920’s the English black went to a strike due to low wages, so the mostly American owners of the sugar cane plantations switch to Haitians and left most of the English blacks to fend for themselves. The population centers switch to the coast with San Pedro taking the lead and the region became darker and blacker. You can rent a car and notice that in the El Seibo area, for example, the average person is much lighter than in San Pedro where most of the people are either blacks or dark skin mulattoes. San Pedro is the center of the Cocolo (blacks from the eastern English Caribbean, you can notice it by the English last names of much of the people), Puerto Ricans (you can even see the club they created), and the Arabs (mostly Lebanese christians) in the DR.
By the late 1800’s and early 1900’s San Pedro had become one of the richest towns in the Caribbean and you can still see evidence of the wealth in the old part of town with many of the buildings. A seaplane used to land on the mouth of the Higüamo River from the USA.
The South Porto Rico (with that spelling) company needed to expand from Puerto Rico (most of the sugar was distilled in the Central Guánica), but most of that island was already taken up. They decided to buy land around La Romana, which hardly exist back then. They created a new sugar cane field and shipped out the sugar to Guánica, Puerto Rico. They also discovered that in PR they needed to constantly plant the sugar while in the DR they only planted once and produced for many years. In the 1910’s or 1920’s they inaugurated the largest sugar mill in the world called Central Romana near La Romana. They also changed their name to Central Romana Corporation, which to this day owns most of the sugar cane plantations in the east (from Punta Cana some tours take tourist to their plantations). They use mostly Haitian labor and are the reason why there are so many Haitians in the east. They also own the La Romana Intl Airport and Casa de Campo, including Altos de Chavón which was a gift from the American Charles Bludhorn to his daughter Dominique. The owners are now a Cuban-American family, but for many decades was created and owned by an American.
The owners live in palatial mansions near NYC and in south Florida. The owners of the Central Romana also owns Florida Crystal in south Florida. One brother donates to Democrats while the other brother donates to Republicans. Americans also pay more than the world’s market for their sugar mostly to the quota given to the DR. They became billionaires sticking their hands twice in the cookie jar and having American politicians in their pocket, both in Florida and in Washington DC. Last I heard, the owner of Central Romana has the phone number to the White House and every US president is suppose to drop what they are doing to take the call from the brothers of Florida.
The DR doesn’t depends on sugar cane anymore. The economy has changed and become more diversified, but the sugar cane plantations are still there making millions for their owners. I think Central Romana owns enough land that in the USA it would cover half of the state of Connecticut or something lije that. You can see their sugar fields while landing at Punta Cana.
Most people that visit the DR (something like 80%) go to Punta Cana and are completely unaware of this. In fact, they hardly know the DR and only go by what they see in Punta Cana and surrounding areas. Namely the tourist development along the coast and a poor countryside nearby and they think the whole country is like this. Most even think most or all of the country is flat. lol
Any examples on what the DR economy has diversified into?
I'm not used to seeing people carry machetes in the DR openly. I've only really seen it in Panama and El Salvador. The older ranchers aren't shy about carrying them everywhere.
There is also GDP (PPP) which takes into account the value of each currency. The comparison with most Latin American countries and it compares 1989 with 2019.
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