The First Dominican Republic[1] of the Dominican Republic 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 (3 of which corresponded to Pedro Santana and 2 to Buenaventura Báez).