1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. Today we're 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: going to talk about the Mirabal Sisters, who are a 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: really frequent listener request, including from Magdalena, Chanelle, Sophia or 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: maybe Sophia depending on where she's from, a different Tracy 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: who is not me, Jennifer, and Jamie. These sisters fought 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: against the brutal dictator Raphael Trujillo, who was nicknamed eLife 9 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: or the Chief in the Dominican Republic. There were actually 10 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: four Mirrabal sisters. They were a Minerva Patria, Maria Teresa, 11 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: and did A. Minerva Patria and Maria Teresa were the 12 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: most heavily involved in this fight against Trihio. Dady carried 13 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: on their legacy after they were murdered. Today, the sisters 14 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: are national heroes in the Dominican Republic, but they were 15 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: not really well known elsewhere until starting about twenty or 16 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: so years ago. They became the subject of the historical 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: Her family was involved in the same struggle against Trichillo, 19 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: and they fled the Dominican Republic shortly before the sisters 20 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: were assassinated. That book also was made into a movie 21 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: starring Sanahayak in two thousand one. Today we are going 22 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,119 Speaker 1: to set the stage for all this with a quick 23 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: look at the colonial history of the Dominican Republic and 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: its neighbor Haiti, and that will help put Raphael Trichio's 25 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: rise to power in context. And then it will also 26 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: help us get a sense of exactly what it was 27 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: that these sisters were fighting against. And I also want 28 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: to note that this episode includes a lot of violence, 29 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: particularly violence against women and including sexual violence. So for background, 30 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: Hispaniola is one island that is home to two nations, 31 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic in the east and Haiti in the west. 32 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: In the northern part of the border between these two 33 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: nations is the Dahabone River that has also been called 34 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: historically the Massacre River. It initially had that name after 35 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: a massacre was committed there in seventeen twenty eight, although 36 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: today it is also associated with a later massacre that 37 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: we were going to talk about shortly. Like a lot 38 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: of other islands in the Caribbean and the fifteenth century 39 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: Haspaniola was inhabited by the indigenous Chino people. Christopher Columbus 40 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: landed on Hispaniola during his first voyage in fourteen ninety two, 41 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: and Spain was the first European nation to establish a 42 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: colony there. Spain later seeded the western side of the 43 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: island to France, and then the French side of the 44 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: island became independent after the Haitian Revolution, which ended in 45 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: eighteen o four, and the newly established nation of Haiti 46 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: later annexed the eastern side of the island, which was 47 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 1: unified from eighteen twenty two to eighteen forty four, and 48 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: what's now the Dominican Republic first declared its independence from 49 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: Haiti in eighteen forty four, and then it became independent 50 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,239 Speaker 1: from Spain in eighteen sixty five. At about the same 51 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: time that the Dominican Republic became independent from Spain, the 52 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: United States started to express some interest in controlling the 53 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: whole island, and part because of its strategic location in 54 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: the Caribbean, and after various involvements with both nations, that 55 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: finally started to happen after World War One, first with 56 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: Haiti and then with the Dominican Republic. The US occupation 57 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: of Haiti began after the assassination of Haitian President Jean 58 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: Vilbrun Guillaume Sam on July nineteen fifteen. The United States 59 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: had already been concerned about the nation's overall stability, and 60 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: after the assassination, the US took control, ostensibly to keep 61 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: Haiti from descending into anarchy. Then, the Haitian American Treaty 62 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifteen formalized American control over various aspects of 63 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: the Haitian government and economy. The United States occupied the 64 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic in nineteen sixteen, and a lot of the 65 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: justification for this was really similar. The United States was 66 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: concerned about the increasing presence of German businesses in the 67 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic, as had been the case in Haiti. American 68 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: troops were deployed to the Dominican Republic before that point, 69 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: including seven hundred and fifty marines deployed after the nineteen 70 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,559 Speaker 1: twelve assassination of Dominican President Ramos as Saris. These two 71 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: occupations had a lot of similarities. Both were ostensibly motivated 72 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: by concerns over instability, including presidential assassinations and increasing German 73 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,359 Speaker 1: influence in each nation. Both of them followed years of 74 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:39,359 Speaker 1: American involvement in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, including 75 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: troop deployments, and both occupations were marked by racism, violence, 76 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: and ongoing unrest and uprisings. At the same time, in 77 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: the case of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the 78 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: United States took the opportunity to try to make these 79 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: nations friendlier and more accommodating to the American government and 80 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: to United States and business interests. This included manipulating elections 81 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: to favor candidates that the United States approved of, and 82 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 1: putting pressure on both governments to pass laws that would 83 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: benefit US interests. The United States began withdrawing from the 84 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic in nineteen twenty four and from Haiti in 85 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: ninety nine. Then in the nineteen thirties, President Franklin Delano 86 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: Roosevelt announced his Good Neighbor Policy, which at least in theory, 87 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: stressed non intervention in other nations affairs in Latin America. 88 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: The U S didn't physically occupy the Dominican Republic or 89 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: Haiti after this point, but it did continue to try 90 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: to influence both nations through things like military assistants and loans. 91 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 1: We have really really barely scratched the surface of these 92 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: occupations were just setting the stage for what happened next, 93 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,919 Speaker 1: which is that Harassio Vasquez was elected president of the 94 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic in nine four. That was in an election 95 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: that had been supervised by the United States, But in 96 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty he was overthrown in a coup. During this coup, 97 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 1: General Raphael Leonidas Truchillo Molina kept the Dominican Army from 98 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: becoming involved rather than defending the government. Once the coup 99 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: was successful, Truchio ran for president, but also established a 100 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: police force to assassinate his rivals and their supporters. So 101 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: with nominal interruptions, Truchio had total control over the Dominican 102 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: Republic for the next thirty one years, starting in nineteen thirty. 103 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: And he was a product of the American occupation of 104 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic. He had been trained by the U. S. Marines. 105 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: He had been part of the Constabulary Guard, which was 106 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: a police force that the Marines had established. An incident 107 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: in n seven really illustrates what Truchillo was like as 108 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,160 Speaker 1: a dictator because they had been colonized by two different nations. 109 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: The Dominican Republic and Haiti had totally different languages, cultures, 110 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: and priorities. Often the relationship between the two nations had 111 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: been somewhere on a spectrum between tense and violent, but 112 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: when Trujillo became president in nineteen thirty, the two countries 113 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: had a mostly cordial relationship. The border region between the 114 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: two was in many ways by cultural, with many people 115 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: living there speaking some combination of French, Spanish and Haitian Creole. 116 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: Trio found this bicultural border region to be a really 117 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: unacceptable threat. It was a threat to his regime, it 118 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: was a threat to the Dominican Republic as a whole. 119 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: He also thought the fact that parts of it were 120 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: really remote and not well defined would offer a way 121 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: for rebels and insurgents to escape from the Dominican Republic 122 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: into Haiti. And some of this was also connected to race. 123 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: In general, the population of Haiti had a higher proportion 124 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: of African ancestry and darker skin than the population of 125 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic, so Trihio really wanted the border region 126 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: to look more like the eastern part of the nation 127 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: in terms of culture, economy and race. Truehio toured the 128 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: border region between the two nations in August in September 129 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: of nineteen thirty seven to inspect a highway that was 130 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: being built, and after that he decided that the Haitian 131 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: presence at the border was an urgent problem that needed 132 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: to be dealt with. On October two, nineteen thirty seven, 133 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: he ordered the killing of about three hundred Haitians at 134 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: the border, describing it as a solution to purported thefts 135 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: and infractions committed by Haitians. It was a solution he 136 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: promised would continue. This led to a tremendous massacre in 137 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,559 Speaker 1: which as many as twenty thousand people were killed, most 138 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: of them Haitians or Dominicans of Haitian descent. Dominican troops 139 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: and conscripted civilians mostly used machetes so this would look 140 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 1: like the military hadn't been involved. This is known as 141 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: the peede heel or Parsley massacre because, according to some accounts, 142 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: the Spanish word for parsley was used to try to 143 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: separate dark skinned Dominicans from Haitians. If the person couldn't 144 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: roll the r in pede heel very well, they were 145 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: assumed to be Haitian and killed. This is just one 146 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: example of what was going on in Truchio's dictatorship. In 147 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: the years before the massacre. He had placed the Dominican 148 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: Republic under martial law and renamed the capital after himself. 149 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: After the massacre, he continued to stoke anti Haitian sentiments 150 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: and policy. He continued to have political opponents murdered as 151 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: he had leading up to his own election. He arranged 152 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: monopolies and kick back so that he could personally benefit 153 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:34,079 Speaker 1: from Dominican business. He controlled virtually every aspect of life, 154 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: including the press, the mail, passports, and air travel. So 155 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: this is who the Mirabal sisters were fighting against, and 156 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: we will talk more about them after a sponsor break. 157 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: Evenuted earlier, there were four Mirabal sisters. The oldest was 158 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: Patria Mirabeal born on February. She was named Patria because 159 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: she was born on Dominican Independence Day. The next was 160 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: Belgica Adela Mirrorbal, who was known as Daday, born on 161 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:13,079 Speaker 1: March one nine. The third sister was Minerva Mirabal born 162 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: March twelfth, ninety six, and the youngest was Maria Tresa 163 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,839 Speaker 1: Mirrabal born on October fifteenth, nineteen thirty five. They were 164 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: born and grew up in ojoda, Agua, in the northern 165 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: part of the Dominican Republic. The family was relatively well off, 166 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,679 Speaker 1: and the girls attended a Catholic boarding school. Their upbringing 167 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: was fairly conventional for their social class, and all four 168 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: women married respectable men and had children. Patria was the 169 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,439 Speaker 1: first to marry in nineteen forty one, becoming Patria mirabald 170 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: di Gonzalez. After Patria had gotten married, but before any 171 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: of the younger sisters had, the Mirabal sisters caught the 172 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: attention of President Trujillo. Truchillo's relationship with women was predatory. 173 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: He had a squad of beauty scouts who traveled through 174 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic to find a track to young women 175 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: and girls to bring back to him. Some of these 176 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: girls were still in school. The women were essentially kidnapped 177 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 1: and raped and forced to either spend a night with 178 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: Truillo or to stay with him for a much longer stretch. 179 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: When Truhio traveled himself, families typically tried to hide their 180 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: female members to keep them away from him. The mirror 181 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,960 Speaker 1: Balls were invited to a party at Trujillo's estate in 182 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: San Cristo Ball, not far from the Dominican capital. Invitations 183 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,680 Speaker 1: like this were really not something that could be turned down, 184 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: and so they all went, and while they were there, 185 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:39,119 Speaker 1: Minerva Mirraball in particular, caught Trujillo's attention. There's some disagreement 186 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: about exactly what happened. Some witnesses say they heard or 187 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,400 Speaker 1: saw Nerva slapped Trullio across the face after their conversation 188 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: became heated. Members of her family later said that there 189 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: had been a very loud argument, but there wasn't a 190 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 1: physical slap. Regardless, Raphael Trujillo had made advances on Minerva 191 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: Mirraball and she had spurned him. Not only had she 192 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 1: done that, but she had done it in front of 193 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: other people, and this launched a personal revenge campaign against 194 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: the mirror Balls in general and Minerva specifically, and that 195 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: went on for years. Past podcast guest Jason Poorath has 196 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 1: a rejected Princess's entry about the sisters, and he describes 197 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: Truchio as quote a man for whom no slight was 198 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: too small, no grudge too big. The sister's father sent 199 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: repeated letters of apology to President Truhio, but he was 200 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: ultimately imprisoned. Minerva and her mother were also held under 201 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: house arrest in a hotel until Minerva agreed to meet 202 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: with Trhio again. He tried to coerce her into having 203 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: sex with him in order to secure her father's release, 204 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: but she refused. Although her father was ultimately let out 205 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 1: of prison, he died not long after he was finally released. 206 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: Trujillo's retaliation against the Mirrorball family went on and on, 207 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: and it drove them into financial ruin. He was so 208 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: public about it that people refused to do business with 209 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: the Mirror Balls. The family was under constant surveillance by 210 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: the Dominican Military Intelligence Service, who was always willing to 211 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: hear tips about how the Mirror Balls had misbehaved or 212 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: been disloyal. Minerva in particular, was reported for everything from 213 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: refusing to toast the dictator's good health to telling a 214 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: car salesman that true he has owning a particular model 215 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: was a reason for her not to buy it. People 216 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: who associated with the Mirror Balls were taken in for questioning, 217 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:38,439 Speaker 1: and that questioning often involved imprisonment or torture. This vendetta 218 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: against Minerva Mirraball also affected her ability to study and 219 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,319 Speaker 1: practice law. First, she was denied enrollment for her second 220 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: year of law school until she gave a public speech 221 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 1: in praise of the dictator. Then, once she actually finished 222 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: law school, she was refused a license to practice, even 223 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: though she had graduated at the top of her class. 224 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: After all this ongoing harassment, abuse, and retel creation, it's 225 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: not surprising that several of the Miraballs became involved in 226 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: a revolutionary movement to try to unseat Raphael Trujillo in 227 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties. By this point, all four sisters had married, 228 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: and Patria Minerva and Maria Theresa's husbands were also involved 229 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: in the movement. But this wasn't just about their own 230 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: family's experiences. The sisters wanted the Dominican Republic to have 231 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: peace and democracy. By the late nineteen fifties, several organizations 232 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 1: had formed to try to resist President Trujillo, and on 233 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: June fourteenth, nineteen fifty nine, exiled Dominicans returned to the 234 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: island of Hispaniola to try to overthrow him. Many of 235 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: these exiled Dominicans had trained in Cuba and had been 236 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: part of the Cuban Revolution. The Dominican military put down 237 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: this uprising and most of the participants were killed. This 238 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: incident inspired the name for the revolutionary organization that the 239 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: Mirabal sisters and their husbands helped found. This was called 240 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: the Fourteenth of June Movement. It it was formally established 241 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,960 Speaker 1: on January tenth, nineteen sixty, in the home of Patria 242 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: Mirabal and her husband, Pedro Gonzalez. Within the movement, the 243 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: sisters were known as Las Mariposas or the Butterflies. In 244 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: January of nineteen sixty, the Fourteenth of June Movement formulated 245 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: a plan to assassinate Trichillo with a bomb at a 246 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: cattle fair. There are stories of Patria and her husband 247 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: and children dismantling firecrackers to make bombs around their kitchen table. 248 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: But the day before this planned assassination, most of the 249 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: members of the Fourteenth of June Movement were arrested, and 250 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: this included Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal, their husband's and 251 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: Patria's husband, although Patria herself was not jailed. Then, in 252 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: July of nineteen sixty, with anti Trichio activities going on 253 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: in the Dominican Republic, Trichillo attempted to have Venezuelan President 254 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: Romulo Bettencourt assassinated using a car that was filled with dynamite. 255 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: He had repeatedly criticized Trahio, and although Trichio had already 256 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: been involved in other plots to assassinate him, this was 257 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: the one that drew international attention. The Organization of American 258 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: States unanimously voted to condemn Trhio's actions and to implement sanctions. 259 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: The nation's condemning Trujillo's actions included the United States, which 260 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: until this point had taken a relatively tolerant stance of 261 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 1: his dictatorship because he denounced communism. But after this assassination attempt, 262 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 1: the United States withdrew its ambassador and closed its embassy, 263 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: facing widespread criticism and an international fact finding mission into 264 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: what was happening in the Dominican Republic. Trihio freed several 265 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: women from Dominican prisons, including Minerva and Maria Theresa miraball 266 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: their husbands, though remained incarcerated. Eventually, the Mirabal sisters husbands 267 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: were transferred to a prison in Porto Plata on the 268 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: Dominican coast. Getting there from Oho to Agua required a 269 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: drive over a relatively isolated mount range. The Mirrable sisters 270 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,880 Speaker 1: made at least two trips to visit their husbands there 271 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 1: without any trouble. They had to get official permission to 272 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,160 Speaker 1: make these visits, so they knew that they were probably 273 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: being monitored and that they were making this trip at 274 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: a great risk to their own lives. They were trying 275 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 1: to work out a way to rent a house in 276 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,200 Speaker 1: Puerto Plata so that they could be nearer to their husbands, 277 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,080 Speaker 1: but on November, while returning home from a visit, they 278 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: were overtaken by Truchio's agents. Patria Mirrabald managed to flag 279 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: down a passing truck and tell the driver to please 280 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,880 Speaker 1: send word to their family and ohod Agua to tell 281 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 1: them what was happening. Then Truchio's agents beat all three 282 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: of the sisters and their driver, strangled them and put 283 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: their bodies back into the jeep that they had been 284 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 1: traveling in, and the jeep was pushed off the side 285 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: of the mountain to try to make it look like 286 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: it was an accident. We'll talk about the aftermath of 287 00:17:54,640 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: this assassination. After another quick sponsor break, President Trujillo had 288 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 1: made it clear that he thought the Mirrorbal Sisters were 289 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: the source of a lot of his problems. He was 290 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 1: facing international condemnation over the assassination attempt of the Venezuelan president, 291 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 1: and unrest was ongoing in the Dominican Republic, even though 292 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,800 Speaker 1: at this point most of the male leaders of the 293 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: Fourteenth of June movement were still in prison. On November two, 294 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,680 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty, he had remarked that his two remaining problems 295 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: were the Catholic Church and the Mirrorbal Sisters. So it's 296 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 1: really clear that he thought that killing them was the 297 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: solution and would fix all these problems he was having. 298 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:43,399 Speaker 1: But their assassinations had the opposite effect, and today that 299 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 1: action is regarded as the beginning of the end for 300 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: Truchillo's reign. Nobody bought the idea that their deaths were 301 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 1: an accident, apart from Patria's effort to raise the alarm. 302 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: When their bodies were recovered, there were clear finger marks 303 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: on their necks from where they had been strangled. The 304 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: deaths of Minerva Patria and Maria Theresa Mirabal got attention 305 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 1: in a way that all of Trhio's prior crimes really hadn't. 306 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,680 Speaker 1: They were young, attractive women. Patrio was thirty six, Minerva 307 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:16,160 Speaker 1: was thirty four, and Maria Theresa was twenty four. All 308 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 1: of them had children. Trahillo started to lose the support 309 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,120 Speaker 1: of the army and elites that had previously backed his rule. 310 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: Maria therese husband Leandro Gooseman, described it as quote they 311 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: fertilized the earth with their blood to bring about Trhillo's end. 312 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: Six months later, on May nineteen sixty one, Raphael Trujillo 313 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: was killed in an ambush. Some of the people involved 314 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 1: were members of the Dominican Army. Although Trujillo's son rounded 315 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,119 Speaker 1: up most of them and had them executed, at least 316 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: one survived. In the Dominican Republic, Today, the killing of 317 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: Truchillo is generally regarded as justice being done rather than 318 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: as an assassination. In nineteen sixty two, the about sister's 319 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: assassins were put on trial, and this televised trial began 320 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:08,439 Speaker 1: on June that year. Although the men were convicted and 321 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: sentenced to twenty to thirty years of hard labor, they 322 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: escaped from prison in nineteen sixty five. During the Dominican Crisis, 323 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:18,160 Speaker 1: which is also known as the Dominican Civil War, they 324 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:22,199 Speaker 1: weren't apprehended after that war was over. The assassination of 325 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: Raphael Trujillo unfortunately did not put an end to unrest, violence, 326 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: or dictatorial control over the Dominican Republic. Trujillo's successor was 327 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 1: Juan Bosh, who intended to reform the government, but was 328 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,880 Speaker 1: overthrown in a military coup in nineteen sixty three. This 329 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 1: led to the civil war that we mentioned a moment ago. 330 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,480 Speaker 1: As several factions tried to take control of the country. 331 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 1: The United States intervened out of fear that the results 332 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: would be a communist dictator, basically what was called another Cuba. 333 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: More than twenty two thousand troops were deployed, and they 334 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: arrived on April nineteen sixty five. In the end, the 335 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic's next president was Joaquin Belagaire, who was elected 336 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: in another election that was overseen by the United States. 337 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: He had been sure he was vice president, and he 338 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,640 Speaker 1: remained in power for much of the next thirty years 339 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 1: until nine. He definitely didn't have nearly the tyrannical reputation 340 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: that Raphael Tracio did, but his later terms in office 341 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: in particular, faced allegations of human rights abuses and electoral fraud. 342 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: After her sister's deaths Dade Maraball helped raise her nieces 343 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,119 Speaker 1: and nephews, and she protected her sister's legacy. She became 344 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: known as Dona de Day, founding the Mirrabal Sisters Foundation 345 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen and the Mirrabal Sisters Museum in nineteen ninety four. 346 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: She also wrote a book whose title translates to Alive 347 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: in Their Garden, which was about her sisters and their work. 348 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: Dada died from natural causes on February one, fourteen, at 349 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: the age of eight. Members of the Marrable family have 350 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: gone on to be part of the Dominican government. After 351 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen nineties six election, Dada's son, Jamie Davide Fernandez Mirrabal, 352 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: became Vice President and he has served in other roles 353 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: in the government as well. Minerva's daughter, known as Menu, 354 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:16,199 Speaker 1: became the Deputy Foreign Minister. Her father and Minerva's husband, 355 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,679 Speaker 1: Manuel Tabaris Eusto, continued to be involved in the movement 356 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: after Minerva's death. He was assassinated by former Trucheio generals 357 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty three. Today, there are memorials to the 358 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: Mirrabal Sisters all over the Dominican Republic, Virtually every town 359 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,919 Speaker 1: has something to commemorate them, whether that is a street, 360 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,120 Speaker 1: a school, a plaque, or some other monument. On March eighth, nine, 361 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,360 Speaker 1: an obelisk that Truchillo had built in honor of himself 362 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: was painted with a mural depicting the Mirabal Sisters. In 363 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: two thousand seven, the Dominican Republic Salceto Province was renamed 364 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: Harmona's Mirabal Province. The museum that data Mirabal established is 365 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: in the last house that the sisters lived in, and 366 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,800 Speaker 1: on November twenty, two thousand, the sisters remains were exhumed, 367 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: along with those of Minerva's husband, and they were all 368 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:11,919 Speaker 1: reinterred on the museum grounds. In the United Nations General 369 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: Assembly issued a resolution naming November twenty five the International 370 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in commemoration 371 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,120 Speaker 1: of the Marrable Sisters. The day had been similarly observed 372 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: in Latin America and the Caribbean since nine that is 373 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: the Marrable Sisters. And before we move on to listener Mail, 374 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: I'd like to give a shout out to Eve's Jeff Coat. 375 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 1: She did some research for the episode of this Day 376 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: in history class that was about the Parsley massacre, and 377 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: I picked up that research for this episode during the 378 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 1: context setting part of the beginning. So you mentioned you 379 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: had listener mail, I do. It's it's not exactly our 380 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: traditional listener mail. It is a throwback to our previous 381 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: Hosts episode on the War of the Worlds, which was 382 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: also recently an episode of this day in History class. 383 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 1: And it's not mail from a listener. It is mail. 384 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: It is mail that was sent to me by a 385 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 1: family member that was so cool that I had to 386 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: share it with everyone. We were having a family email 387 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,439 Speaker 1: conversation in which my uncle brought up the War of 388 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 1: the World's when it was originally broadcast, and he sent 389 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,680 Speaker 1: along a scan of my great grandfather's journal. My great 390 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 1: grandfather was a minister, and his journal entry from October 391 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: lists the three different sermons he gave that day. It 392 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: was a Sunday, he worked a lot. And then it 393 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: goes on to say when we arrived home from church, 394 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: a number of people were there who had been greatly 395 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: frightened because of a radio program which had depicted a 396 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,359 Speaker 1: visitation from the planet Mars, and a number of great 397 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,560 Speaker 1: warriors that were destroying the world, and I just thought 398 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,480 Speaker 1: that was incredibly cool, especially because there has been some 399 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: discussion in more recent years about whether people really were 400 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 1: panicked hearing this radio program, and here we have a 401 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: first person source, a primary document from my family suggesting yes, 402 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: it definitely did cause some people to panic. So I'd 403 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: like to thank my uncle for sending that to everyone. 404 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: It was a super cool thing. Um, It's not very 405 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:23,439 Speaker 1: typical that I get email from family members that is 406 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: relevant to my job in that way, So thank you, 407 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: my uncle. Tal. If you would like to write to 408 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: us there about this or any other podcast where history 409 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: podcasts at how stuffworks dot com. We're also all over 410 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: social media at missed in History. That's where you'll find 411 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,879 Speaker 1: our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Interest. You can come to 412 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,160 Speaker 1: our website at mist in history dot com to find 413 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: show notes for all the episodes Holly and I have 414 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: ever worked on together, and a searchable archive of every 415 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: episode ever uh and you can find and subscribe to 416 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: our podcast on Apple podcast, I Heart Radio app wherever 417 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 1: else you get your podcasts. For more on this and 418 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:13,159 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics, visit how staff works dot com. 419 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 1: M