Nicaragua History

From Indigenous To Independent (Pre-Columbian–Ad 1838) . Before the arrival of the Spanish, three distinct cultural groups inhabited the territory known today as Nicaragua: the Niquirano , the Chorotega , and the Chontal . Columbus was the first European to visit, coasting by in 1502. In 1524, the rival towns of Granada and León were founded, marking the beginning of permanent Spanish settlement. The Spaniards also gave Nicaragua its name, likely after powerful Niquirano chief Nicarao. Great Britain entered the scene in 1655 when it claimed authority over the Caribbean-facing Mosquito Coast (named both for the local Miskito tribe and for the pesky blood-sucking insects). Nicaragua remained a Spanish colony until 1821, when a wave of revolutions swept through Central America. It was then that Nicaragua joined the United Provinces of Central America. Only with the collapse of that union in 1838 did Nicaragua gain full autonomy.

Anglo-American Adventuring (1838–1857) . After the Spanish departed, British and American influence grew in Nicaragua. In 1847, American transportation magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt established the Accessory Transit Company, which carried thousands of prospectors through Nicaragua to California during the Gold Rush of the 1850s. In 1855, American freebooter William Walker took advantage of domestic Nicaraguan strife. Invited by liberals in León to help capture the conservative capital at Granada, Walker decided to stick around. Soon, he had taken control of the national army and declared himself president. But in 1857 when Walker drew Vanderbilt’s ire by seizing property from the transit company, the combined forces of the British Navy and four Central American governments expelled him from Nicaragua.

Autocrats And Assassinations (1857–1979) . The city of Managua, a geographic compromise between León and Granada, was selected as the capital after Walker’s forced departure. Conservatives held power in Managua until an 1893 liberal revolt installed dictator José Santos Zelaya in power. Zelaya’s actions included driving the British out of the Mosquito Coast and offering Japan canal-building rights in Nicaragua, drawing the ire of the US government, which proceeded to consequently sponsor the first of many rebellions in 1909 to overthrow Zelaya. US Marines remained in the country from 1912 until 1933, when they departed after a gruesome six-year struggle against revolutionaries under General Augusto Sandino. In their wake, they left the brutal US-trained militia, the Guardia Nacional, in the hands of Anastasio Somoza García (a.k.a. “Tacho”), who had Sandino assassinated in 1934 and promptly assumed dictatorial power. The Somoza family ruled brutally for the next half century, repressing their opposition through torture, murder, and “disappearances.” In 1972, a major earthquake struck, killing some 10,000 Nicaraguans and destroying 90% of Managua. Sadly, the ruling Somoza dictator, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, embezzled most the international aid dollars: his estimated worth rose to US$400 million as his country sunk further into poverty. Finally, in 1979, a popular revolution against the Somozas began in earnest. The revolt was led by the socialist Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), which took its name after the assassinated Sandino. By the time the Sandinistas took the capital on July 19, 1979, the revolution had cost around 50,000 lives and left 500,000 homeless.

Sandinistas And Contras (1979–1990) . In the depths of Cold War anxiety, US President Ronald Reagan envisaged communist trouble lurking behind the Sandinista government. US money and CIA expertise began pouring in to assist the actions of counter-revolutionary groups, known as the Contras , against the leftist Sandinistas. The struggle plunged Nicaragua back into chaos. Over 30,000 were killed amid rampant human-rights violations, food and supply shortages, and staggering 30,000% inflation. Despite more than US$100 million of US aid and CIA agents mining Nicaraguan harbors, the Contras failed to overthrow the government. The election of opposition candidate Violeta Chamorro in 1990 over incumbent Daniel Ortega ended Sandinista rule democratically, and the majority of the Contras disbanded.