Colonial History

Cristóbal Colón led a group of nearly 500 men to explore the interior of Hispaniola. The purpose of this expedition was to find gold which proved unsuccessful, but natives brought gold to trade. Colón established a fort in what would become Jánico in March of 1494 named Santo Tomás. Santo Tomás served as a trading post and base to continue prospecting. Pedro Margarite, a noble from Aragón was put in command of the fort upon Colón's return north to la Isabela. The following month in April, Colón sent Alonso de Ojeda with 350 soldiers to relive Margarite in Santo Tomás so that Margarite could continue the hunt for resources. On the way to Santo Tomás, Ojeda reached a river crossing controlled by a friendly tribe and there arrested the caicque and others with the allegation that they stole clothes from a previous expedition. He cut off the ears of one prisoner and sent the rest back to la Isabela in chains. Following this brutality, the locals turned against the Spainsh and upon Ojeda's arrival to Santo Tomás, Maragrite refused to follow the orders given by Cristóbal Colón and remained in the fort with his men. Soon Margarite returned to Spain angered at the chaos and the mistreatment of the natives.

Modern Foundation

The area of la Sierra was under the jurisdiction of Santiago until San José de las Matas split off in 1810. La Hermita de Santo Tomás de Jánico was a part of the parish of San José de las Matas and many baptisms, marriages, and deaths from the area of Jánico were recorded in San José de las Matas. On March 29, 1881, the town of Jánico officially split from San José de las Matas and formed its own municipality. The founding document was signed by these men:

• Nicolás Adames

• Perfecto Collado

• José Collado

• Francisco Luna

• Andrés Díaz

• Juan Collado

• José Báez

• Buenaventura Collado

• Lino Báez

• Nazario Collado

• Rafael Jerez

Death of Gerónima Gutiérrez, wife of José Fernández. Buried in la Hermita de Janico.

September 8, 1818, San José de las Matas