Hispaniola

Hispaniola is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the region's second largest in area, after the island of Cuba. The 76,192-square-kilometre island is divided into two separate nations: the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic to the east and the French/Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti to the west. The only other divided island in the Caribbean is Saint Martin, which is shared between France and the Netherlands. Hispaniola is the site of one of the first European settlements in the Americas, La Navidad, as well as the first proper town, La Isabela, and the first permanent settlement, the current capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. These settlements were founded successively during each of Christopher Columbus's first three voyages.