| Bánica | |
| Official Name: | San Francisco de Bánica |
| Pushpin Map: | Dominican Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Bánica in the Dominican Republic |
| Coordinates: | 19.0833°N -112°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Dominican Republic |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Elías Piña |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1504 |
| Established Title2: | Municipality since |
| Established Date2: | 1844 |
| Area Total Km2: | 265.98 |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 287 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 7856 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Demonym |
| Population Blank1: | Baniquero(a) |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Blank Name: | Distance to – Santo Domingo |
| Blank Info: | 266 km |
| Blank1 Name: | Municipalities |
| Blank1 Info: | 2 |
San Francisco de Bánica, or simply Bánica, is a town and municipality in the northwest region of Dominican Republic in the Elías Piña province. It is located on the border with Haiti near the Artibonite river. The name Bánica comes from the Taíno name of the region, Banique ("land of ebony").
The town was founded in 1504 by Diego Velázquez, who later went to conquest the island of Cuba, on the left side of the River Artibonite. It was an important town in those years but later it lost its importance. In the 18th century, the Spanish government moved the city to its present place, away from the river, and brought families from the Canary Islands to live there.
During the slave revolts of the Haitian Revolution, many people left to other places in the island. When the Haitians occupied the eastern part of the island (the present Dominican Republic), they administered the town as part of the Department of Artibonite.[4]
After the Independence in 1844, the town was elevated by the Dominican government to the category of municipality of the Azua province. But again the town was abandoned by its inhabitants. After the "Restoration War" (1863–1865), some families from other towns close to the Haitian border came to live in Bánica. Bánica was the first place where Dominican President Rafael Trujillo implemented his campaign against the Haitians, later known as the Parsley Massacre.
Bánica was made a municipality of the San Juan province in 1938 and then, in 1942, of the new province of Elías Piña.
The main economic activity of the municipality is agriculture. Commerce with Haiti is also an important economic activity in the city. According to the last Population and Housing Census, the municipality has a total population of 7,272, of whom 3,802 were men and 3,470 women. The urban population of the municipality was only 20.05%.