Quisqueyanos | Dominican Republic

This postcard is from Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana) is a sovereign state occupying the eastern five-eighths of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western three-eighths of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two countries. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) at 48,445 square kilometers (18,705 sq mi), and 3rd by population with approximately 10 million people, of which approximately three million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

For most of its history (up until independence), the country was known as Santo Domingo — the name of its present capital and patron saint, Saint Dominic—and continued to be commonly known as such in English until the early 20th century. The residents were called Dominicanos (Dominicans), which is the adjective form of "Domingo," and the revolutionaries named their newly independent country La República Dominicana.

In the national anthem of the Dominican Republic (Himno Nacional) the term "Dominican" never appears. The author of its lyrics, Emilio Prud' Homme, consistently uses the poetic term Quisqueyanos, that is, "Quisqueyans." The word "Quisqueya" derives from a native tongue of the Taino Indians and means, "Mother of all Lands." It is often used in songs as another name for the country. The name of the country is often shortened to "the D.R."