Since the 18th century, the region was occupied by fishermen and people who came here to cut trees. When Toussaint L'Ouverture took the eastern part of the Hispaniola island in the name of France, he gave the order to create the town of Barahona in 1802 as part of the Ozama Department. After the Independence in 1844, Barahona was a military post of the Azua Province. In 1858, Barahona was elevated to the category of municipality. When the province was created in 1881, Barahona was made its head municipality.
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Barahona has a tropical savanna climate. Temperatures tend to remains steady throughout the year, with mean temperatures ranging from a low of in January to a high of in July. In terms of dry and wet seasons, Barahona has two distinctive wet seasons with a peak in precipitation from May to June followed by drought-like conditions in July and August and another peak in precipitation from September to October. This precipitation pattern is due to the movement and the position of the Azores high throughout the year. The dry season mainly runs through December to April. Even in the drier months, precipitation can still occur with February receiving just under. Sunshine is abundant throughout the year, averaging over 3200 hours.
Economy
The main economic activity of the province is agriculture; the main product in the municipality is a very good coffee, grown in the mountains of Eastern Bahoruco. There are also some important industries, mainly to produce textiles to send to other countries, and sugar in the Ingenio Barahona.
Transport
Although Barahona does not have a highly developed transportation system, the city has a sea port, which receives many ferries from different points in the Caribbean, and an airport, which has been reactivated with many flights a week to Punta Cana via Santo Domingo. Authorities provided the airport with a fuel station park, allowing facilities to the airliners that could operate in the airport in the future. The airport is the well known Maria Montez International Airport located about 10 minutes from the city center. The port is located about 5 minutes away from the city center.
