Independencia (Spanish pronunciation:[indepenˈdensja]) is a province of the Dominican Republic, located in the west, on the border with Haiti. Its capital is Jimani. The province was created in 1948 but was made official in 1950. Before its creation, it was part of the Baoruco Province. The name was given in remembrance of the National Independence of February 27, 1844.
History
The province Independencia was founded in the lands that in previous times belonged to a Cacique called Ximani who was related to the cacicazgo of Xaragua. Little is known of Ximani as the ties with between the natives of Ximani and the Spanish were practically non-existent. The law that created this province, December 29, 1948, had originally assigned the name of "Provincia de Jimaní" to the province. The name was then changed January 28, 1949, to "Provincia Nueva Era". The name was then finally changed to the present one, "Independence", on May 13, 1949.
Municipalities and municipal districts
The province as of June 20, 2006, is divided into the following municipalities (municipios) and municipal districts (distritos municipales - D.M.) within the latter:[1]
The following is a sortable table of the municipalities and municipal districts, with population figures as of the 2012 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.[2]