Most of the Samaná Americans are descendants ofAfrican Americans who, beginning in 1824, immigrated toHispaniola—then underHaitian occupation—benefiting from theHaitian emigration policy facilitated, in part, by the mulatto presidentJean Pierre Boyer.Jonathas Granville traveled to the U.S. in May–June 1824 in response to a letter thatLoring D. Dewey had sent to Boyer. While in the U.S., Granville met with otherabolitionists, likeRichard Allen,Samuel Cornish, andBenjamin Lundy to organize the campaign for what was coined theHaitian emigration. The result was successful, as more than 6,000 emigrants responded in less than a year. After that, however, the settlements met with multiple problems and many returned. However, many stayed, and between the 1840s and 1860s, they even joined the Dominican independence struggles against Haiti and Spain in theIndependence andRestoration wars, respectively.[2] Additionally, among those who stayed, enclaves in Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo were clearly evident by the time ofFrederick Douglass's visit in 1871. But the most distinct of all the enclaves was the one in Samaná, which has survived until today. They constitute a recognizable and sizable cultural enclave and a few of its members are nativeSamaná English speakers. Aware of its distinctive heritage, the community, whose peculiar culture distinguishes them from the rest of Dominicans, refers to itself as Samaná Americans, and is referred to by fellow Dominicans aslos americanos de Samaná.[3]
Crucially, they maintain many elements of 19th-century African American culture, such astheir variety of African American English, cuisine, games, and community services associations. Cultural exchanges with other groups in the area, like the Samaná Haitian communities and the Spanish-speaking majority, have been inevitable. But for most of its history, the English-speaking enclave has kept to itself, favoring, instead, intermarriages and reciprocal relations with other Black immigrant groups that are also Protestant and English-speakers, like the so-calledcocolos. This is due to the relative isolation of the community, which until the 20th century was accessible only by boat due to the lack of roads connecting them to the rest of the island. Most follow theAfrican Methodist Episcopal andWesleyan denominations that their ancestors brought with them to the island.[4]
While it is difficult to estimate the number of Samaná Americans today due toexogamy and emigration from the peninsula, the number ofSamaná English speakers was once estimated to be around 8,000.[5] Such numbers have decreased considerably as the linguists doing research in the community relate; a difficulty in finding SE speakers even among the elderly.[6] No monolingual English speakers remain; all Samaná Americans who speak English also speak Spanish. As a result of the influence of mainstream Dominican culture (including compulsory Spanish-language education), many markers of their culture appear to be in decline.[7]
