San Pedro de Macoris

Four possible origins have been proposed for the name "San Pedro". One is that the name was chosen in honor of Saint Peter (San Pedro); another is that it references San Pedro Beach near the city's port. A third possibility is that it was a tribute to General Pedro Santana, who was president at the time, while another is that the name was chosen to distinguish the city from San Francisco de Macorís, a city in the north. Macorís comes from the previous name of the Higuamo River, which appears in historical documents as the Macorix River. There is debate over whether the name is of Carib, Arawakan, or Ciguayo origin. San Pedro de Macorís has been poetically referred to as "Macorís of the Sea" and the "Sultana of the East". It has also been referred to as the "Capital of the East".

The population on the western bank of the Higuamo River increased after 1822 as refugees from Santo Domingo fled during the Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo. The Dominican Senate declared the region (Macorix) to be a military post in 1846 at the request of the inhabitants. At that time, Macorís was part of the Seybo province. After 1840, the inhabitants moved from the western side of the Higuamo River to the eastern side, where the city is located today. Over the years, the population gradually increased and dedicated itself to the production of basic provisions. On October 1, 1856, the first Catholic church in Macorís was founded by Pedro Carrasco Capeller, a priest from San José de los Llanos. The church was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt several times. In 1910, the San Pedro Apóstol cathedral opened. …

San Pedro de Macorís has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with consistently hot temperatures and a dry season from January to March.