Hispaniola is one of the larger islands of the West Indies. Located east of Cuba and west of Puerto Rico. the island is home to two countries, Haiti, which covers the western portion, and the Dominican Republic, which covers the eastern portion. Covered with several mountain ranges, the island has a tropical climate and several rain forests, though it also has some dry forests and savannah. The island forms the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean to the north, and the Caribbean Sea to the south.
The island was home to native Taino settlements when it was discovered by the Spanish in 1492. The Spanish colonized the island, starting on the eastern side of the island, and later imported African slaves. Waning Spanish interest in the island allowed several pirate bases to flourish on the northern and western coasts, and the eventual French claims to the western third of the island in the 1600s.
In 1943, Indiana Jones and George McHale went to Haiti in search of the Heart of Darkness, unaware that their rival, Edwin Gruber, kept a small force of soldiers nearby in the Dominican Republic.
