Puerto Plata Province

Puerto Plata (Spanish pronunciation: [pweɾtoˈplata], Silver Port) is one of the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. The area has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction since the late 1990s mainly due to its fine beaches. It borders the Septentrional mountain range to the north (which separates it from Laguna Salada).

This article is about the Dominican province. For its capital, whose shortened form is also "Puerto Plata", see San Felipe de Puerto Plata.
Puerto Plata
Province
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic downtown area.
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic downtown area.
Flag of Puerto Plata
Flag
Coat of arms of Puerto Plata
Coat of arms
Location of the Puerto Plata Province
Location of the Puerto Plata Province
Coordinates: 19°44′12″N 70°46′12″W
Country Dominican Republic
Province since1850
CapitalSan Felipe de Puerto Plata
Government
 • TypeSubdivisions
 • Body9 municipalities
12 municipal districts
 • Congresspersons1 Senator
6 Deputies
Area
 • Total1,852.90 km2 (715.41 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)
 • Total470,839
 • Density250/km2 (660/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
Area code1-809 1-829 1-849
ISO 3166-2DO-18
Postal Code57000
Puerto Plata

Created from the Santiago Province in 1867 as a "maritime district", it became a province in 1907, when maritime districts were suppressed by a new Dominican constitution.

History

In 1493, La Isabela was founded by Christopher Columbus, being the first European town in the Americas. For its part, Puerto Plata was founded by Nicolás de Ovando at the beginning of the Hispanic colonization, around 1502. One of the first inhabitants in the years 1509 of the "Villa de Puerto de Plata" was Gaspar Briceño, a native of Arévalo del Reino from Castilla y León, who arrived on the island as a servant of Juan de Berlanga, treasurer of the Mayor's Office of the city of Santo Domingo, on the island of Hispaniola. He held the position of "field bailiff" of the Villa de Santiago that belonged to the Villa de Concepción de la Vega and this corresponded to the Mayor's Office of the City of Santo Domingo. His name appears in the "Colón-Solís" trial, where the encomendero of the Villa de Santiago, Francisco de Solís, murdered two naborías Indians. The field bailiff was in charge of capturing the Indians or blacks who escaped from the parcels. It was one of the cities devastated in 1606 and was not repopulated until after 1736. The advent of republican times favored the development of the city, which over time became the main port of Cibao, especially for exporting the regional tobacco.[1]

By Resolution of the National Congress dated July 6, 1847, Puerto Plata was elevated from common to Maritime District. It became a province in the year 1850. In 1879 it was the seat of the government of Gregorio Luperón and served as the internal capital of the Republic.[2]

Municipalities and municipal districts
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Tunnel in Altamira, Dominican Republic connecting the province of Puerto Plata to Santiago.

The province is divided into the following municipalities (municipios) and municipal districts (distrito municipal - D.M.) within them:[3]

Municipalities of Puerto Plata Province

The following is a sortable table of the municipalities with population figures as of the 2012 census (the last national census). Urban population are those living in the seats (cabeceras literally heads) of municipalities or of municipal districts. Rural population are those living in the districts (Secciones literally sections) and neighborhoods (Parajes literally places) outside of them.[4]

Name Total populationUrban populationRural population
Altamira 26,0567,88918,167
Guananico 8,9543,0255,929
Imbert 30,51414,58915,925
Los Hidalgos 14,5893,02211,567
Luperón 20,2594,98915,270
San Felipe de Puerto Plata 286,558247,56938,989
Sosúa 69,88519,33850,547
Villa Isabela 14,8891,05813,831
Villa Montellano 19,0299,00910,020
Puerto Plata province 490,733310,488180,245

For comparison with the municipalities and municipal districts of other provinces see the list of municipalities and municipal districts of the Dominican Republic.

Notable People

See also

References
  1. Manuel Gilbert. "Puerto Plata, su historia y riqueza" (in Spanish). Listin Diario.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  2. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 757-225 TC-GEN Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  3. Oficina Nacional de Estadistica, Departamento de Cartografia, Division de Limites y Linderos. "Listado de Codigos de Provincias, Municipio y Distritos Municipales, Actualizada a Junio 20 del 2006" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-01-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Consejo Nacional de Población y Familia. "Censos y Proyecciones de la Población Dominicana por Regiones, Provincias, Municipios y Distritos Municipales, 2012" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-10-11.
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