 The capital of the colony was moved to Santo Domingo in 1496, on the south west coast of the island also in the territory of the present-day Dominican Republic.The Spanish returned to western Hispaniola in 1502, establishing a settlement at Yaguana near modern-day Léogâne.A second settlement was established on the north coast in 1504 called Puerto Real near modern Fort-Liberté – which in 1578 was relocated to a nearby site and renamed Bayaja.