Question 1

True or false: Hispaniola is the largest island in the Caribbean.

Accepted Answer

False. Cuba is the largest Caribbean island by area. Hispaniola is the second largest.

Question 2

True or false: The official language of Hispaniola is French.

Accepted Answer

False. Hispaniola has two sovereign nations: the Dominican Republic (official language Spanish) and Haiti (official languages French and Haitian Creole).

Question 3

True or false: Hispaniola is home to Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean.

Accepted Answer

True. Pico Duarte, in the Dominican Republic on Hispaniola, rises to 3,098 meters (10,164 ft), the highest peak in the Caribbean.

Question 4

True or false: Hispaniola is home to the oldest cathedral in the Americas, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.

Accepted Answer

True. Construction of the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo Domingo began in 1512, making it the oldest cathedral in the Americas.

Question 5

True or false: The entire island of Hispaniola was once a single French colony.

Accepted Answer

False. The eastern part (now Dominican Republic) was a Spanish colony; only the western third (Haiti) was French, known as Saint-Domingue.

Question 6

True or false: Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the Caribbean by area.

Accepted Answer

True. Cuba is the largest Caribbean island, followed by Hispaniola, which covers about 76,000 square kilometers.

Question 7

True or false: Hispaniola was the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas.

Accepted Answer

True. Christopher Columbus founded the colony of La Isabela on Hispaniola in 1493, the first lasting European settlement in the New World.

Question 8

True or false: Hispaniola contains an active volcano.

Accepted Answer

False. Active volcanoes in the Caribbean are on islands like Montserrat, St. Vincent, and Guadeloupe. Hispaniola has no active volcanoes.

Hispaniola Trivia Questions