Francisco Espaillat y Virol

Francisco Espaillat y Virol (1734 – 1807) was a French-born surgeon, public officer, cattle rancher, and sugar, indigo and tobacco planter in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo. As the largest slaveholder in this Spanish colony, he became one of the wealthiest men there and the ancestor of most of the present-day elite in Santiago, and the Dominican Republic elite in general, as his descendants used to marry with other upper-class families.

Early life Born in Masclat, Duchy of Guyenne (today in Lot), Kingdom of France to a blacksmith (whose name in Spanish documents appears translated as Juan Espaillat) and his wife (Margarita Virol y Lamargot), on 29 May 1734. Espaillat was a surgeon who settled briefly in Cap-Français, then capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue located in Western Hispaniola.

Life in Santo Domingo In 1756, Espaillat migrated eastward to the Spanish side of the island of Hispaniola, settling in Santiago, capital of the Northern region of the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo also known as the Cibao region, invited by Antonio Quiñones;

He became administrator of the Royal Tobacco Factory of Santiago and had a salary of 60 Spanish dollars per month.

Today, his descendants still have economic influence in the Dominican Republic and are core members of the Dominican elite, especially those descended from his grandson Ulises Espaillat.