The First Dominican Republic, was a predecessor of the currently existing Dominican Republic, and began on 27 February 1844 with the proclamation of the Dominican Republic, and culminated on 18 March 1861 with the annexation of the country to Spain. During these 17 years the nation was economically and politically unstable due to prior war against Haiti and internal conflicts. There were 8 governments.

The Reintegration of Santo Domingo was a brief period of Spanish reintegration of the Dominican Republic. In 1861, Dominican general Pedro Santana suggested retaking control of the Dominican Republic to Queen Isabella II of Spain, after a period of 17 years of Dominican sovereignty. The newly independent Dominican Republic was recovering economically from the recently ended Dominican War of Independence (1844–1856), when the Dominican Republic had won its independence against Haiti. The Spanish Crown and authorities, which scorned and rejected the peace treaties signed after the dismantling of some of its colonies in the Spanish West Indies some 50 years prior, welcomed his proposal and set to reestablish the Capitancy.