Six Years' War

Lore & Background

The war began with the first fight at Boca de Cachón, where a small group of patriots was defeated. Unintimidated, Generals Timoteo and Andrés Ogando Encarnación, counting on the support of Generals Gregorio Luperón and José María Cabral, launched a new offensive. They seized Las Matas de Farfán, Neiba and other southern towns. By the end of 1871 they had overthrown the Báez government, and Cabral took the presidency in January 1872.

Reader's Guide

The Six Years' War is significant as a critical phase in the creation of Dominican national consciousness. According to Dominican intellectual Pedro Henríquez Ureña, having already differentiated themselves from the Haitians in the first war of independence and the Spaniards in the second, the Dominicans asserted their incompatibility with the United States. The war also had a religious dimension, as the predominantly Catholic Dominicans, having already rejected Haitian Vodou, now decisively rejected American Protestantism. Although the Dominican annexation was successful in the 1870 referendum, it was defeated in the United States Senate, underscoring the war's role in preserving Dominican sovereignty.

Did You Know?

• The war lasted from 2 May 1868 to the overthrow of Báez by the end of 1871.
• It was fought mainly by irregulars against the regular Dominican Army loyal to President Buenaventura Báez.
• The first fight was at Boca de Cachón, where the rebels were defeated.
• The U.S. Senate rejected the annexation treaty in 1871, not 1870, and Báez returned to power later in 1874.