Santiago de los Caballeros

Santiago de los Caballeros, city, northern Dominican Republic. It is situated on the Yaque del Norte River, in the heart of the fertile Cibao Valley, and is known as the capital of the Cibao region.

Santiago de los Caballeros is the country’s second largest city and is more traditional than the national capital, Santo Domingo. Whether founded in 1494 by Christopher Columbus (as some historians claim) or in 1495 by his brother Bartholomew Columbus, Santiago was among the first European settlements in the Americas. In 1504, 30 caballeros (gentlemen) of the Order of St. James (Santiago) moved from nearby La Isabela to Santiago, henceforth known as Santiago de los Caballeros. After being destroyed by an earthquake in 1562, the city was rebuilt a few miles away, where Nibaje Stream meets the Yaque; ruins of the old city are still visible in the city’s San Francisco de Jacagua district. Santiago survived numerous earthquakes and fires to serve repeatedly as the republic’s capital.

The city’s economy long depended mainly on the production of cigarettes, rum, furniture, pharmaceuticals, soaps, leather articles, and processed foods, including cacao, milled rice, and dairy produce. Services, including tourism, have become increasingly important, however. Santiago is on the main highway linking Santo Domingo (85 miles [137 km] southeast) with Monte Cristi in the extreme northwest. A regional international airport opened there in 2002. Pop. (2002) urban area, 507,418; (2010) urban area, 550,753.

Notable landmarks include the San Luis Fort (now a museum), the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration, various palaces, and the Cathedral of Santiago el Mayor situated opposite the city park (Parque Duarte). Institutions of higher learning include the Pontificia Católica Madre y Maestra University, established in 1962, and a technological university founded in 1974.