The Caribbean island of Hispaniola was colonized by the Spaniards in the 1490’s, back when Christopher Columbus was yachting around the world trying to find India and thinking the next island he landed on would probably be it. Columbus, Columbus, Columbus. I already told you. NEVER TRUST WAZE. And so the Spanish crown established the first ever European settlement in the New World, Santo Domingo being the oldest European city in Latin America. Hooray? And then the French came to join the fun.