Ever since Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492, Haiti's history has been brutal.

ECONOMIST: Rebuilding Haiti

In 1821, The Dominican Republic, comprising the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, declared independence from Spain.

CNN: Tuesday

Of course, the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

NPR: Hurricanes Wreak Havoc In Haiti And Cuba

In 1495, during his second voyage across the Atlantic, he brought four jacks and two jenny donkeys to the island of Hispaniola.

ECONOMIST: New uses for an old pastime

What made this neighbourly gesture remarkable was that the two countries that share the island of Hispaniola have long been divided by mutual suspicion.

ECONOMIST: A break in a history of mistrust

Haiti - which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic - is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.

BBC: Haitians protest against President Martelly

The center of the storm is expected to move across the northeastern Caribbean Sea Monday night and approach the island of Hispaniola Tuesday night and Wednesday.

CNN: Tropical Storm Emily forms in the Caribbean

The poorer, more crowded third of the island of Hispaniola, it was once the heart of the world's richest sugar colony, providing France with a quarter of its wealth in the late 18th century.

ECONOMIST: The earthquake in Haiti

If there is a mass flight of refugees from Haiti, many are also likely to try to cross into the Dominican Republic which occupies the remaining two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola exacerbating the economic and political crisis there.

ECONOMIST: Two centuries of misery, continued | The

Although the unprecedented urban displacement provoked by the earthquake has not led to a stampede of Haitians attempting to cross the border to the western side of the island of Hispaniola, it has exposed migrants, particularly women, to new situations of vulnerability which may lead to human trafficking.

UNESCO: Social and Human Sciences