Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
in
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, bordered by
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
to the north, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
to the east,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
Managua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
is the country's capital and largest city. , it was estimated to be the
second largest city in Central America. Nicaragua's multiethnic population of six million includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European and African heritage. The main language is Spanish. Indigenous tribes on the
Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
speak their own languages and English.
Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the
Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Fr ...
of the 1960s and 1970s and the
Contra War
The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza family, Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista Nationa ...
of the 1980s.
The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, particularly the latter, given the literary contributions of Nicaraguan poets and writers such as
Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...
. Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes",
Nicaragua is also home to the
Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest rainforest of the Americas. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular
tourist destination
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that Tourism, tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of ...
. Nicaragua is a founding member of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, joined the
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
early,
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
,
ALBA
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...
and the
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
.
Etymology
There are two prevailing theories on how the name "Nicaragua" came to be. The first is that the name was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name
Nicarao,
who was the chieftain or
cacique
A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...
of a powerful indigenous tribe encountered by the Spanish
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
Gil González Dávila
Gil González Dávila or Gil González de Ávila (b. 1480 – 21 April 1526) was a Spanish conquistador and the first European to explore present-day Nicaragua.
Early career
González Dávila first appears in historical records in 1508, when he ...
during his entry into southwestern Nicaragua in 1522. This theory holds that the name Nicaragua was formed from Nicarao and ''agua'' (Spanish for "water"), to reference the fact that there are two large lakes and several other bodies of water within the country.
However, as of 2002, it was determined that the cacique's real name was Macuilmiquiztli, which meant "Five Deaths" in the
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
language, rather than Nicarao.
The second theory is that the country's name comes from any of the following Nahuatl words: ''nic-anahuac'', which meant "
Anahuac reached this far", or "the
Nahuas
The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
came this far", or "those who come from Anahuac came this far"; ''nican-nahua'', which meant "here are the Nahuas"; or ''nic-atl-nahuac'', which meant "here by the water" or "surrounded by water".
History
Pre-Columbian history
Paleo-Americans first inhabited what is now known as Nicaragua as far back as 12,000 BCE.
In later
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
times, Nicaragua's
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
were part of the
Intermediate Area
The Intermediate Area is an archaeological geographical area of the Americas that was defined in its clearest form by Gordon R. Willey in his 1971 book ''An Introduction to American Archaeology, Vol. 2: South America'' (Prentice Hall: Englewood ...
,
between the
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n and
Andean
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
cultural regions, and within the influence of the
Isthmo-Colombian Area
The Isthmo-Colombian Area is defined as a cultural area encompassing those territories occupied predominantly by speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact. It includes portions of the Central American isthmus like eastern E ...
. Nicaragua's central region and its Caribbean coast were inhabited by
Macro-Chibchan language
Macro-Chibchan is a proposed grouping of the languages of the Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan families into a single large phylum (macrofamily).
History
The Lencan and Misumalpan languages were once included in the Chibchan family proper, but ...
ethnic groups such as the
Miskito Miskito may refer to:
* Miskito people, ethnic group in Honduras and Nicaragua
** Miskito Sambu, branch of Miskito people with African admixture
** Tawira Miskito, branch of Miskito people of largely indigenous origin
* Miskito language, original ...
,
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
,
Mayangna
The Mayangna (also known as Sumu or Sumo) are a people who live on the eastern coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras, an area commonly known as the Mosquito Coast. Their preferred autonym is Mayangna, as the name "Sumo" is a derogatory name historicall ...
, and
Matagalpas.
They had coalesced in Central America and migrated both to and from present-day northern Colombia and nearby areas. Their food came primarily from hunting and gathering, but also fishing and
slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...
agriculture.
At the end of the 15th century, western Nicaragua was inhabited by several indigenous peoples related by culture to the Mesoamerican civilizations of the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
and
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
, and by language to the
Mesoamerican language area The Mesoamerican language area is a ''sprachbund'' containing many of the languages natively spoken in the cultural area of Mesoamerica. This sprachbund is defined by an array of syntactic, lexical and phonological traits as well as a number of ethn ...
.
[, interpretation of statement: "the native peoples were linguistically and culturally similar to the Aztec and the Maya"] The Chorotegas were
Mangue language
Mangue, also known as Chorotega,Daniel G. Brinton. 1886. Notes on the Mangue; An Extinct Dialect Formerly Spoken in Nicaragua Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society , Vol. 23, No. 122 (Apr., 1886), pp. 238-257 is an extinct Oto-Mangue ...
ethnic groups who had arrived in Nicaragua from what is now the Mexican state of
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
sometime around 800 CE.
The
Nicarao people
The Nicarao people were a Nahuat-speaking Mesoamerican people who migrated from central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 CE onwards. Around 1200 CE, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved i ...
were a branch of
Nahuas
The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
who spoke the
Nawat
Nawat (academically Pipil, also known as Nicarao) is a Nahuan language native to Central America. It is the southernmost extant member of the Uto-Aztecan family. It was spoken in several parts of present-day Central America before the Spanish c ...
dialect and also came from Chiapas, around 1200 CE.
Prior to that, the Nicaraos had been associated with the
Toltec
The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...
civilization.
Both Chorotegas and Nicaraos originated in Mexico's
Cholula valley,
and migrated south.
A third group, the
Subtiaba
Subtiaba is an extinct Oto-Manguean language which was spoken on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua, especially in the Subtiaba district of León. Edward Sapir established a connection between Subtiaba and Tlapanec. When Lehmann wrote about it in ...
s, were an
Oto-Manguean
The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the ...
people who migrated from the Mexican state of
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
around 1200 CE.
Additionally, there were trade-related colonies in Nicaragua set up by the Aztecs starting in the 14th century.
Spanish era (1523–1821)
![06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/06.Plaza_de_la_Independencia_de_Granada.JPG)
In 1502, on his fourth voyage,
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
.
Columbus explored the
Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua but did not encounter any indigenous people. 20 years later, the Spaniards returned to Nicaragua, this time to its southwestern part. The first attempt to conquer Nicaragua was by the conquistador
Gil González Dávila
Gil González Dávila or Gil González de Ávila (b. 1480 – 21 April 1526) was a Spanish conquistador and the first European to explore present-day Nicaragua.
Early career
González Dávila first appears in historical records in 1508, when he ...
,
who had arrived in Panama in January 1520. In 1522, González Dávila ventured to the area that later became the
Rivas Department
Rivas () is a department of the Republic of Nicaragua. It covers an area of 2,162 km2 and has a population of 183,611 (2021 estimate). The department's capital is the city of Rivas.
Overview
Rivas is known for its fertile soil and beautif ...
of Nicaragua.
There he encountered an indigenous Nahua tribe led by chief Macuilmiquiztli, whose name has sometimes been erroneously referred to as "
Nicarao" or "Nicaragua". The tribe's capital was Quauhcapolca.
González Dávila conversed with Macuilmiquiztli thanks to two indigenous interpreters who had learned Spanish, whom he had brought along.
After exploring and gathering gold
in the fertile western valleys, González Dávila and his men were attacked and driven off by the Chorotega, led by chief
Diriangén.
The Spanish tried to convert the tribes to Christianity; Macuilmiquiztli's tribe was baptized,
but Diriangén was openly hostile to the Spaniards. Western Nicaragua, at the Pacific Coast, became a port and shipbuilding facility for the Galleons plying the waters between Manila, Philippines and Acapulco, Mexico.
The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524.
[ That year, the conquistador ]Francisco Hernández de Córdoba Francisco Hernández de Córdoba may refer to:
* Francisco Hernández de Córdoba (Yucatán conquistador) (died 1517)
* Francisco Hernández de Córdoba (founder of Nicaragua) (died 1526)
{{hndis, name=Hernandez de Cordoba, Francisco ...
founded two of Nicaragua's main cities: Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
on Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...
, and then León, west of Lake Managua
Lake Managua ( es, Lago de Managua, ), also known as Lake Xolotlán (), is a lake in Nicaragua. At 1,042 km², it is approximately long and wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its other name comes from the Nahuatl language, possi ...
. Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors. Córdoba was later publicly beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...
for having defied his superior, Pedro Arias Dávila
Pedro Arias de Ávila (1440 – March 6, 1531) (often Pedrarias Dávila) was a Spanish soldier and colonial administrator. He led the first great Spanish expedition to the mainland of the New World. There he served as governor of Panama (1514 ...
. Córdoba's tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo.
The clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the "War of the Captains". Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner; although he lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and established his base in León. In 1527, León became the capital of the colony. Through diplomacy, Arias Dávila became the colony's first governor.[
Without women in their parties,] the Spanish conquerors took Nahua and Chorotega wives and partners, beginning the multiethnic mix of indigenous and European stock now known as "''mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
''", which constitutes the great majority of the population in western Nicaragua.[ Many indigenous people were killed by European ]infectious disease
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
s, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence.[ Many other indigenous peoples were captured and transported as slaves to Panama and Peru between 1526 and 1540.]
In 1610, the Momotombo
Momotombo is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, not far from the city of León. It stands on the shores of Lago de Managua. An eruption of the volcano in 1610 forced inhabitants of the Spanish city of León to relocate about west. The ruins of thi ...
volcano erupted, destroying the city of León. The city was rebuilt northwest of the original, which is now known as the ruins of León Viejo. During the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, Central America was subject to conflict between Britain and Spain. British navy admiral Horatio Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
led expeditions in the Battle of San Fernando de Omoa
The Battle of San Fernando de Omoa was a short siege and battle between British and Spanish forces fought not long after Spain entered the American Revolutionary War on the American side. On the 16 October 1779, following a brief attempt at siege, ...
in 1779 and on the San Juan River in 1780, the latter of which had temporary success before being abandoned due to disease.
Independent Nicaragua from 1821 to 1909
The Act of Independence of Central America
The Act of Independence of Central America ( es, Acta de Independencia Centroamericana), also known as the Act of Independence of Guatemala, is the legal document by which the Provincial Council of the Province of Guatemala proclaimed the indepe ...
dissolved the Captaincy General of Guatemala
The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central A ...
in September 1821, and Nicaragua soon became part of the First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...
. In July 1823, after the overthrow of the Mexican monarchy in March of the same year, Nicaragua joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America
The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...
, country later known as the Federal Republic of Central America. Nicaragua definitively became an independent republic in 1838.
The early years of independence were characterized by rivalry between the Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
elite of León and the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
elite of Granada, which often degenerated into civil war, particularly during the 1840s and 1850s. Managua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
rose to undisputed preeminence as the nation's capital in 1852 to allay the rivalry between the two feuding cities. Following the start (1848) of the California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
, Nicaragua provided a route for travelers from the eastern United States to journey to California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
by sea, via the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua. Invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, the American adventurer and filibuster
A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
William Walker set himself up as President of Nicaragua
The president of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de Nicaragua), officially known as the president of the Republic of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua), is the head of state and head of government of Nicaragua. The office was ...
after conducting a farcical election in 1856; his presidency lasted less than a year. Military forces from Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua itself united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua in 1857, bringing three decades of Conservative rule.
Great Britain, which had claimed the Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
as a protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
since 1655, delegated the area to Honduras in 1859 before transferring it to Nicaragua in 1860. The Mosquito Coast remained an autonomous area
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...
until 1894. José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya López (1 November 1853 in Managua – 17 May 1919 in New York City) was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909.
Early life
He was a son of José María Zelaya Irigoyen, who was originally from ...
, President of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1909, negotiated the integration of the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua. In his honor, the region became "Zelaya Department
Zelaya is a former department in Nicaragua. The department was located along the Mosquito Coast bordering the Caribbean Sea and was named after former President of Nicaragua José Santos Zelaya, who conquered the region for Nicaragua from the ...
".
Throughout the late 19th-century, the United States and several European powers considered various schemes to link the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic by building a canal across Nicaragua.
United States occupation (1909–1933)
In 1909, the United States supported the conservative-led forces rebelling against President Zelaya. U.S. motives included differences over the proposed Nicaragua Canal
The Nicaraguan Canal ( es, Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) was a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect th ...
, Nicaragua's potential to destabilize the region, and Zelaya's attempts to regulate foreign access to Nicaraguan natural resources. On November 18, 1909, U.S. warships were sent to the area after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) were executed by order of Zelaya. The U.S. justified the intervention by claiming to protect U.S. lives and property. Zelaya resigned later that year.
In August 1912, the President of Nicaragua, Adolfo Díaz
Adolfo Díaz Recinos (15 July 1875 in Alajuela, Costa Rica – 29 January 1964 in San José, Costa Rica) served as the President of Nicaragua between 9 May 1911 and 1 January 1917 and again between 14 November 1926 and 1 January 1929. Born in C ...
, requested the secretary of war, General Luis Mena, to resign for fear he was leading an insurrection. Mena fled Managua with his brother, the chief of police of Managua, to start an insurrection. After Mena's troops captured steam boats of an American company, the U.S. delegation asked President Díaz to ensure the safety of American citizens and property during the insurrection. He replied he could not, and asked the U.S. to intervene in the conflict.
U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933, except for a nine-month period beginning in 1925. In 1914, the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty
The Bryan–Chamorro Treaty was signed between Nicaragua and the United States on August 5, 1914. It gave the United States full rights over any future canal built through Nicaragua. The Wilson administration changed the treaty by adding a prov ...
was signed, giving the U.S. control over a proposed canal through Nicaragua, as well as leases for potential canal defenses. After the U.S. Marines left, another violent conflict
War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...
between Liberals and Conservatives in 1926, resulted in the return of U.S. Marines.
From 1927 to 1933, rebel general Augusto César Sandino
Augusto C. Sandino (; May 18, 1895 February 21, 1934), full name Augusto Nicolás Calderón de Sandino y José de María Sandino, was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the United States occupati ...
led a sustained guerrilla war against the Conservative regime and then against the U.S. Marines, whom he fought for over five years. When the Americans left in 1933, they set up the '' Guardia Nacional'' (national guard), a combined military and police force trained and equipped by the Americans and designed to be loyal to U.S. interests.
After the U.S. Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly elected administration of President Juan Bautista Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa (21 December 1874 in León, Nicaragua – 17 April 1946 in Los Angeles, California) was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa and Ángela Sacasa Cuadra, the form ...
reached an agreement that Sandino would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a land grant for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year. However, due to a growing hostility between Sandino and National Guard director Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1937 until his assassination in 1956. He was only officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 19 ...
and a fear of armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza García ordered his assassination.[ Sacasa invited Sandino for dinner and to sign a peace treaty at the Presidential House on the night of February 21, 1934. After leaving the Presidential House, Sandino's car was stopped by National Guard soldiers and they kidnapped him. Later that night, Sandino was assassinated by National Guard soldiers. Later, hundreds of men, women, and children from Sandino's agricultural colony were murdered.]
Somoza dynasty (1927–1979)
Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships, the longest being the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family
The Somoza family ( es, Familia Somoza) is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza D ...
, who ruled for 43 nonconsecutive years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the ''Guardia Nacional'' to replace the marines who had long reigned in the country. Somoza García slowly eliminated officers in the national guard who might have stood in his way, and then deposed Sacasa and became president on January 1, 1937, in a rigged election
Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
.[
In 1941, during the Second World War, Nicaragua declared war on ]Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(8 December), Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(11 December), Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(11 December), Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
(19 December), Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
(19 December) and Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(19 December). Only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Nicaragua on the same day (19 December 1941). No soldiers were sent to the war, but Somoza García confiscated properties held by German Nicaraguan residents. In 1945, Nicaragua was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Charter.
On September 29, 1956, Somoza García was shot to death by Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez (May 13, 1929 – September 21, 1956) was a Nicaraguan poet, artist and composer. He assassinated Anastasio Somoza García, the longtime dictator of Nicaragua.
On September 21, 1981, 25 years after his death, the Sandin ...
, a 27-year-old Liberal Nicaraguan poet. Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle (18 November 1922 – 13 April 1967) was the 26th President of Nicaragua from 21 September 1956 to 1 May 1963.
Somoza Debayle was born in León. At the age of 14, he and his younger brother Anastasio attended Sa ...
, the eldest son of the late president, was appointed president by the congress and officially took charge of the country.[ He is remembered by some as moderate, but after only a few years in power died of a heart attack. His successor as president was ]René Schick Gutiérrez
René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus.
René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the feminin ...
, whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet of the Somozas". Somoza García's youngest son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was ''de facto'' ruler of ...
, often referred to simply as "Somoza", became president in 1967.
An earthquake in 1972 destroyed nearly 90% of Managua, including much of its infrastructure. Instead of helping to rebuild the city, Somoza siphoned off relief money. The mishandling of relief money also prompted Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
star Roberto Clemente
Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...
to personally fly to Managua on December 31, 1972, but he died ''en route'' in an airplane accident. Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza, as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation.
The Somoza family was among a few families or groups of influential firms which reaped most of the benefits of the country's growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. When Somoza was deposed by the Sandinistas in 1979, the family's worth was estimated to be between $500 million and $1.5 billion.
Nicaraguan Revolution (1960s–1990)
In 1961, Carlos Fonseca looked back to the historical figure of Sandino, and along with two other people (one of whom was believed to be Casimiro Sotelo, who was later assassinated), founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...
(FSLN).[ After the 1972 earthquake and Somoza's apparent corruption, the ranks of the Sandinistas were flooded with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.]
In December 1974, a group of the FSLN, in an attempt to kidnap U.S. ambassador Turner Shelton, held some Managuan partygoers hostage (after killing the host, former agriculture minister, Jose Maria Castillo), until the Somozan government met their demands for a large ransom and free transport to Cuba. Somoza granted this, then subsequently sent his national guard out into the countryside to look for the kidnappers, described by opponents of the kidnapping as "terrorists".
On January 10, 1978, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal
Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (23 September 1924 – 10 January 1978) was a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher. He was the editor of ''La Prensa'', the only significant opposition newspaper to the long rule of the Somoza family. He is a 19 ...
, the editor of the national newspaper ''La Prensa ''La Prensa'' ("The Press") is a frequently used name for newspapers in the Spanish-speaking world. It may refer to:
Argentina
* ''La Prensa'' (Buenos Aires)
* , a current publication of Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz
Bolivia
* ''La Prensa'' (La Paz ...
'' and ardent opponent of Somoza, was assassinated. It is alleged that the planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime.[
The Sandinistas forcefully took power in July 1979, ousting Somoza, and prompting the exodus of the majority of Nicaragua's middle class, wealthy landowners, and professionals, many of whom settled in the United States. The Carter administration decided to work with the new government, while attaching a provision for aid forfeiture if it was found to be assisting insurgencies in neighboring countries. Somoza fled the country and eventually ended up in ]Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
, where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
.
In 1980, the Carter administration provided $60 million in aid to Nicaragua under the Sandinistas, but the aid was suspended when the administration obtained evidence of Nicaraguan shipment of arms to El Salvadoran rebels. Most people sided with Nicaragua against the Sandinistas. In response to the coming to power of the Sandinistas, various rebel groups collectively known as the "Contras
The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...
" were formed to oppose the new government. The Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
administration authorized the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
to help the Contra rebels with funding, weapons and training. The Contras operated from camps in the neighboring countries of Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south.[
]
They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among rural Nicaraguans to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. Several historians have criticized the Contra campaign and the Reagan administration's support for the Contras, citing the brutality and numerous human rights violations of the Contras. LaRamee and Polakoff, for example, describe the destruction of health centers, schools, and cooperatives at the hands of the rebels, and others have contended that murder, rape, and torture occurred on a large scale in Contra-dominated areas. The U.S. also carried out a campaign of economic sabotage, and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's port of Corinto, an action condemned
Condemned or The Condemned may refer to:
Legal
* Persons awaiting execution
* A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons
* A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain
...
by the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
as illegal. The court also found that the U.S. encouraged acts contrary to humanitarian law by producing the manual ''Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
'' and disseminating it to the Contras. The manual, among other things, advised on how to rationalize killings of civilians.["In the case of shooting "a citizen who was trying to leave the town or city in which the guerrillas are carrying out armed propaganda or political proselytism," the manual suggests that the Contras "...explain that if that citizen had managed to escape, he would have alerted the enemy." As seen at: Sklar 1988, p. 179] The U.S. also sought to place economic pressure on the Sandinistas, and the Reagan administration imposed a full trade embargo.
The Sandinistas were also accused of human rights abuses including torture, disappearances and mass executions. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'', ...
investigated abuses by Sandinista forces, including an execution of 35 to 40 Miskitos
The Miskitos are a native people in Central America. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande de Matagalpa, Nicaragua, along the Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. Their population is estimated at 700,000 ...
in December 1981, and an execution of 75 people in November 1984.
In the Nicaraguan general elections of 1984, which were judged by at least one visiting 30-person delegation of NGO representatives to have been free and fair, the Sandinistas won the parliamentary election and their leader Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
won the presidential election. The Reagan administration criticized the elections as a "sham" based on the claim that Arturo Cruz
Arturo José Cruz Porras (December 18, 1923 – July 9, 2013), sometimes called Arturo Cruz Sr. to distinguish him from his son, was a Nicaraguan banker and technocrat. He became prominent in politics during the Sandinista (FSLN) era. After repeate ...
, the candidate nominated by the Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense The Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense (''Democratic Coordinating Committee'', CDN) was a coalition of three right-wing Nicaraguan parties which boycotted the 1984 Nicaraguan general election. The parties were the Social Christians, the (right- ...
, comprising three right wing political parties, did not participate in the elections. However, the administration privately argued against Cruz's participation for fear that his involvement would legitimize the elections, and thus weaken the case for American aid to the Contras. According to Martin Kriele, the results of the election were rigged.
In 1983 the U.S. Congress prohibited federal funding of the Contras, but the Reagan administration illegally continued to back them by covertly selling arms to Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and channeling the proceeds to the Contras in the Iran–Contra affair
The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...
, for which several members of the Reagan administration were convicted of felonies. The International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
, in regard to the case of Nicaragua v. United States
''The Republic of Nicaragua v. The United States of America'' (1986) was a case where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that the U.S. had violated international law by supporting the Contras in their rebellion against the Sandinista ...
in 1986, found, "the United States of America was under an obligation to make reparation to the Republic of Nicaragua for all injury caused to Nicaragua by certain breaches of obligations under customary international law and treaty-law committed by the United States of America". During the war between the Contras and the Sandinistas, 30,000 people were killed.
Post-war (1990–present)
In the Nicaraguan general election, 1990
General elections were held in Nicaragua on 25 February 1990 to elect the President and the members of the National Assembly. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p489 The result was a victory for the Na ...
, a coalition of anti-Sandinista parties (from the left and right of the political spectrum) led by Violeta Chamorro
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua.
Born into ...
, the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, defeated the Sandinistas. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas, who had expected to win.
Exit polls of Nicaraguans reported Chamorro's victory over Ortega was achieved with a 55% majority. Chamorro was the first woman president of Nicaragua. Ortega vowed he would govern ''desde abajo'' (from below). Chamorro came to office with an economy in ruins, primarily because of the financial and social costs of the Contra War with the Sandinista-led government. In the next election, the Nicaraguan general election, 1996
General elections were held in Nicaragua on 20 October 1996 to elect the President and the members of the National Assembly. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p489 Arnoldo Alemán of the Liberal Alli ...
, Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas of the FSLN lost again, this time to Arnoldo Alemán
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo (born 23 January 1946) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 81st president of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002. In 2003, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to a 20-year prison term; ...
of the Constitutional Liberal Party
The Constitutionalist Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Constitucionalista, PLC) is a political party in Nicaragua. At the Nicaraguan general election of 5 November 2006, the party won 25 of 92 seats in the National Assembly. However, the pa ...
(PLC).
In the 2001 elections, the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Alemán's Vice President Enrique Bolaños
Enrique José Bolaños Geyer (; 13 May 1928 – 14 June 2021) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007.
From 1997 to 2002, Bolaños served as vice president under Arnoldo Alem ...
succeeding him as president. However, Alemán was convicted and sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement
Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
, money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
, and corruption; liberal and Sandinista parliament members combined to strip the presidential powers of President Bolaños and his ministers, calling for his resignation and threatening impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
. The Sandinistas said they no longer supported Bolaños after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
told Bolaños to distance from the FSLN. This "slow motion ''coup d'état''" was averted partially by pressure from the Central American presidents, who vowed not to recognize any movement that removed Bolaños; the U.S., the OAS, and the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
also opposed the action.
Before the general elections on November 5, 2006, the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
passed a bill further restricting abortion in Nicaragua
Abortion in Nicaragua is completely illegal. Prior to a change in the law, which took effect on 18 November 2006, the law allowed pregnancies to be terminated for "therapeutic" reasons, but this clause is no longer in effect.
Abortion law in Nicar ...
. As a result, Nicaragua is one of five countries in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions. Legislative and presidential elections took place on November 5, 2006. Ortega returned to the presidency with 37.99% of the vote. This percentage was enough to win the presidency outright, because of a change in electoral law which lowered the percentage requiring a runoff election from 45% to 35% (with a 5% margin of victory). Nicaragua's 2011 general election resulted in re-election of Ortega, with a landslide victory and 62.46% of the vote. In 2014 the National Assembly approved changes to the constitution allowing Ortega to run for a third successive term.
In November 2016, Ortega was elected for his third consecutive term (his fourth overall). International monitoring of the elections was initially prohibited, and as a result the validity of the elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
has been disputed, but observation by the OAS
OAS or Oas may refer to:
Chemistry
* O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis
Computers
* Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards
* OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...
was announced in October. Ortega was reported by Nicaraguan election officials as having received 72% of the vote. However the Broad Front for Democracy
The Broad Front for Democracy ( es, link=no, Frente Amplio por la Democracia) was a Panamanian political party originally founded in 2013.
At the 2014 Panamanian general election, the candidate's party was Genaro López for the Presidency
A pr ...
(FAD), having promoted boycotts of the elections, claimed that 70% of voters had abstained (while election officials claimed 65.8% participation).
In April 2018, demonstrations
Demonstration may refer to:
* Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting
* Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought
* Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
opposed a decree increasing taxes and reducing benefits in the country's pension system. Local independent press organizations had documented at least 19 dead and over 100 missing in the ensuing conflict. A reporter from NPR spoke to protestors who explained that while the initial issue was about the pension reform, the uprisings that spread across the country reflected many grievances about the government's time in office, and that the fight is for President Ortega and his vice president wife to step down. April 24, 2018 marked the day of the greatest march in opposition of the Sandinista party. On May 2, 2018, university-student leaders publicly announced that they give the government seven days to set a date and time for a dialogue that was promised to the people due to the recent events of repression. The students also scheduled another march on that same day for a peaceful protest. As of May 2018, estimates of the death toll were as high as 63, many of them student protesters, and the wounded totalled more than 400. Following a working visit from May 17 to 21, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted precautionary measures aimed at protecting members of the student movement and their families after testimonies indicated the majority of them had suffered acts of violence and death threats for their participation. In the last week of May, thousands who accuse Mr. Ortega and his wife of acting like dictators joined in resuming anti-government rallies after attempted peace talks have remained unresolved.
Geography and climate
Nicaragua occupies a landmass of , which makes it slightly larger than England. Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions: the Pacific lowlands – fertile valleys which the Spanish colonists settled, the Amerrisque Mountains
The Amerrisque Mountains ( es, Serranías de Amerrisque, Cordillera de Amerrisque, links=no) are the central spine of Nicaragua and part of the Central American Range which extends throughout central Nicaragua for about from Honduras in the no ...
(North-central highlands), and the Mosquito Coast (Atlantic lowlands/ Caribbean lowlands).
The low plains of the Atlantic Coast are wide in areas. They have long been exploited for their natural resources.
On the Pacific side of Nicaragua are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua
Lake Managua ( es, Lago de Managua, ), also known as Lake Xolotlán (), is a lake in Nicaragua. At 1,042 km², it is approximately long and wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its other name comes from the Nahuatl language, possi ...
and Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...
. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...
of the Gulf of Fonseca
The Gulf of Fonseca ( es, Golfo de Fonseca; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
History
Fonseca Bay was discovered for Europeans in 1522 by Gil González de Ávila, ...
are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
from nearby volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
es of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s contribute to Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
's designation as a biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the co ...
. Nicaragua has made efforts to become less dependent on fossil fuels, and it expects to acquire 90% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. Nicaragua was one of the few countries that did not enter an INDC at COP21
The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Conve ...
. Nicaragua initially chose not to join the Paris Climate Accord because it felt that "much more action is required" by individual countries on restricting global temperature rise. However, in October 2017, Nicaragua made the decision to join the agreement. It ratified this agreement on November 22, 2017.
Nearly one fifth of Nicaragua is designated as protected areas
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
like national parks, nature reserves, and biological reserves. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index
The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 3.63/10, ranking it 146th globally out of 172 countries. Geophysical
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
ly, Nicaragua is surrounded by the Caribbean Plate, an oceanic crust, oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Cocos Plate. Since Central America is a major subduction zone, Nicaragua hosts most of the Central American Volcanic Arc. On 9 June 2021, Nicaragua launched a new volcanic supersite research in strengthening the monitoring and surveillance of the country's 21 active volcanoes.
Pacific lowlands
In the west of the country, these lowlands consist of a broad, hot, fertile plain. Punctuating this plain are several large volcanoes of the Cordillera Los Maribios mountain range, including Mombacho just outside Granada, and Momotombo
Momotombo is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, not far from the city of León. It stands on the shores of Lago de Managua. An eruption of the volcano in 1610 forced inhabitants of the Spanish city of León to relocate about west. The ruins of thi ...
near León. The lowland area runs from the Gulf of Fonseca
The Gulf of Fonseca ( es, Golfo de Fonseca; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
History
Fonseca Bay was discovered for Europeans in 1522 by Gil González de Ávila, ...
to Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...
. Lake Nicaragua is the largest freshwater lake in Central America (20th largest in the world), and is home to some of the world's rare freshwater sharks (bull shark, Nicaraguan shark). The Pacific lowlands region is the most populous, with over half of the nation's population.
The eruptions of western Nicaragua's 40 volcanoes, many of which are still active, have sometimes devastated settlements but also have enriched the land with layers of fertile ash. The geologic activity that produces vulcanism also breeds powerful earthquakes. Tremors occur regularly throughout the Pacific zone, and earthquakes have nearly destroyed the capital city, Managua, more than once.["Nicaragua."](_blank)
''Encyclopedia Americana''. Grolier Online. (200-11-20
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Most of the Pacific zone is ''tierra caliente'', the "hot land" of tropical Spanish America at elevations under . Temperatures remain virtually constant throughout the year, with highs ranging between . After a dry season lasting from November to April, rains begin in May and continue to October, giving the Pacific lowlands of precipitation. Good soils and a favourable climate combine to make western Nicaragua the country's economic and demographic centre. The southwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua lies within of the Pacific Ocean. Thus the lake and the San Juan River were often proposed in the 19th century as the longest part of a canal route across the Central American isthmus. Canal proposals were periodically revived in the 20th and 21st centuries.[ Roughly a century after the opening of the Panama Canal, the prospect of a Nicaraguan ecocanal remains a topic of interest.
In addition to its beach and resort communities, the Pacific lowlands contains most of Nicaragua's Spanish colonial architecture and artifacts. Cities such as León and ]Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
abound in colonial architecture; founded in 1524, Granada is the oldest colonial city in the Americas.
North central highlands
Northern Nicaragua is the most diversified region producing coffee, cattle, milk products, vegetables, wood, gold, and flowers. Its extensive forests, rivers and geography are suited for ecotourism.
The central highlands are a significantly less populated and economically developed area in the north, between Lake Nicaragua and the Caribbean. Forming the country's tierra templada, or "temperate land", at elevations between , the highlands enjoy mild temperatures with daily highs of . This region has a longer, wetter rainy season than the Pacific lowlands, making erosion a problem on its steep slopes. Rugged terrain, poor soils, and low population density characterize the area as a whole, but the northwestern valleys are fertile and well settled.[
The area has a cooler climate than the Pacific lowlands. About a quarter of the country's agriculture takes place in this region, with coffee grown on the higher slopes. Oaks, pines, moss, ferns and orchidaceae, orchids are abundant in the cloud forests of the region.
Bird life in the forests of the central region includes resplendent quetzals, lesser goldfinch, goldfinches, hummingbirds, jays and emerald toucanet, toucanets.
]
Caribbean lowlands
This large rainforest region is irrigated by several large rivers and is sparsely populated. The area has 57% of the territory of the nation and most of its mineral resources. It has been heavily exploited, but much natural diversity remains. The Coco River, Rio Coco is the largest river in Central America; it forms the border with Honduras. The Caribbean coastline is much more sinuous than its generally straight Pacific counterpart; lagoons and deltas make it very irregular.
Nicaragua's Bosawás Biosphere Reserve is in the Atlantic lowlands, part of which is located in the municipality of Siuna; it protects of La Mosquitia (Nicaragua), La Mosquitia forest – almost 7% of the country's area – making it the largest rainforest north of the Amazon rainforest, Amazon in Brazil.
The municipalities of Siuna, Rosita, Nicaragua, Rosita, and Bonanza, Nicaragua, Bonanza, known as the "Mining Triangle", are located in the region known as the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, in the Caribbean lowlands. Bonanza still contains an active gold mine owned by HEMCO. Siuna and Rosita do not have active mines but panning for gold is still very common in the region.
Nicaragua's tropical east coast is very different from the rest of the country. The climate is predominantly tropical, with high temperature and high humidity. Around the area's principal city of Bluefields, English is widely spoken along with the official Spanish. The population more closely resembles that found in many typical Caribbean ports than the rest of Nicaragua.
A great variety of birds can be observed including eagles, toucans, parakeets and macaws. Other animal life in the area includes different species of monkeys, anteaters, white-tailed deer and tapirs.
Flora and fauna
Nicaragua is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. Nicaragua is located in the middle of the Americas and this privileged location has enabled the country to serve as host to a great biodiversity. This factor, along with the weather and light altitudinal variations, allows the country to harbor 248 species of amphibians and reptiles, 183 species of mammals, 705 bird species, 640 fish species, and about 5,796 species of plants.
The region of great forests is located on the eastern side of the country. Rainforests are found in the Río San Juan Department and in the autonomous regions of North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, RAAN and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, RAAS. This biome groups together the greatest biodiversity in the country and is largely protected by the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in the south and the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve in the north. The Nicaraguan jungles, which represent about , are considered the lungs of Central America and comprise the second largest-sized rainforest of the Americas.
There are currently 78 protected areas in Nicaragua, covering more than , or about 17% of its landmass. These include wildlife refuges and nature reserves that shelter a wide range of ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s. There are more than 1,400 animal species classified thus far in Nicaragua. Some 12,000 species of plants have been Biological classification, classified thus far in Nicaragua, with an estimated 5,000 species not yet classified.
The bull shark is a species of shark that can survive for an extended period of time in fresh water. It can be found in Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...
and the San Juan River, where it is often referred to as the "Nicaragua shark". Nicaragua has recently banned freshwater fishing of the Nicaragua shark and the sawfish in response to the declining populations of these animals.
Government
Politics of Nicaragua takes place in a framework of a presidential system, presidential representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nicaragua
The president of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de Nicaragua), officially known as the president of the Republic of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua), is the head of state and head of government of Nicaragua. The office was ...
is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive (government), Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislature, Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly of Nicaragua, national assembly. The judiciary makes up the third branch of government.
Between 2007 and 2009, Nicaragua's major political parties discussed the possibility of going from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. Their reason: there would be a clear differentiation between the head of government (prime minister) and the head of state (president). Nevertheless, it was argued that the true reason for this proposal was to find a legal way for President Ortega to stay in power after January 2012, when his second and last government period was expected to end. Ortega was 2016 Nicaraguan general election, reelected to a third term in November 2016, and 2021 Nicaraguan general election, a fourth in 2021; both elections were tainted by credible reports of large-scale fraud, voter intimidation, and politically motivated arrests of opposition party leaders. Independent observers were barred from the polls. The OAS
OAS or Oas may refer to:
Chemistry
* O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis
Computers
* Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards
* OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...
, United States, and European Union all described the 2021 election as a "sham" due to these issues.
Since Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
's election in 2006, liberal democratic norms and individual rights in practice have deteriorated. Parties other than the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front, FSLN have been repressed through arbitrary arrest and detention of opposition candidates and activists. Most government jobs ''de facto'' require membership in the FSLN. Opposition media has been repressed through arrests of journalists and seizure of broadcasting and printing materials.
Foreign relations
Nicaragua pursues an independent foreign policy. Territorial disputes of Nicaragua, Nicaragua is in territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andrés y Providencia and Quita Sueño Bank and with Costa Rica over a boundary dispute involving the San Juan River.
Military
The Nicaraguan Armed Forces consist of various military contingents. Nicaragua has an Nicaraguan Army, army, Nicaraguan Navy, navy and an Nicaraguan Air Force, air force. There are roughly 14,000 active duty personnel, which is much less compared to the numbers seen during the Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Fr ...
. Although the army has had a rough military history, a portion of its forces, which were known as the National Guard (Nicaragua), national guard, became integrated with what is now the Policía Nacional (Nicaragua), National Police of Nicaragua. In essence, the police became a ''gendarmerie''. The National Police of Nicaragua are rarely, if ever, labeled as a ''gendarmerie''. The other elements and manpower that were not devoted to the national police were sent over to cultivate the new Army of Nicaragua.
The age to serve in the armed forces is 17 and conscription is not imminent. , the military budget was roughly 0.7% of Nicaragua's expenditures.
In 2017, Nicaragua signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Law enforcement
The National Police of Nicaragua Force (in Spanish: La Policía Nacional Nicaragüense) is the national police of Nicaragua. The force is in charge of regular police functions and, at times, works in conjunction with the Nicaraguan military, making it an indirect and rather subtle version of a gendarmerie. However, the Nicaraguan National Police work separately and have a different established set of norms than the nation's military. According to a recent US Department of State report, corruption is endemic, especially within law enforcement and the judiciary, and arbitrary arrests, torture, and harsh prison conditions are the norm.
Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America and one of the safest in Latin America, according to the United Nations Development Program, with a homicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Administrative divisions
Nicaragua is a Unitary state, unitary republic. For administrative purposes it is divided into 15 department (administrative division), departments (''departamentos'') and two self-governing regions (autonomous communities) based on the Spanish model. The departments are then Municipalities of Nicaragua, subdivided into 153 municipios (municipalities). The two autonomous regions are the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region
and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, often referred to as RACCN and RACCS, respectively.
Economy
Nicaragua is among the poorest countries in the Americas. Its gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2008 was estimated at US$17.37 billion. Agriculture represents 15.5% of GDP, the highest percentage in Central America. Remittances account for over 15% of the Nicaraguan GDP. Close to one billion dollars are sent to the country by Nicaraguans living abroad. The economy grew at a rate of about 4% in 2011.[ By 2019, given restrictive taxes and a civil conflict, it recorded a negative growth of - 3.9%; the International Monetary Fund forecast for 2020 is a further decline of 6% due to COVID-19.
The restrictive tax measures put in place in 2019 and a political crisis over social security negatively affected the country's weak public spending and investor confidence in sovereign debt. According to the update IMF forecasts from 14 April 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, GDP growth is expected to fall to -6% in 2020.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, 48% of the population of Nicaragua live below the poverty line, 79.9% of the population live with less than $2 per day, According to UN figures, 80% of the indigenous peoples, indigenous people (who make up 5% of the population) live on less than $1 per day.
According to the World Bank, Nicaragua ranked as the 123rd out of 190 best economy for starting a business. In 2007, Nicaragua's economy was labelled "62.7% free" by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, Heritage Foundation, with high levels of fiscal, government, labor, investment, financial, and trade freedom. It ranked as the 61st Index of Economic Freedom, freest economy, and 14th (of 29) in the Americas.
In March 2007, Poland and Nicaragua signed an agreement to write off 30.6 million dollars which was borrowed by the Nicaraguan government in the 1980s. Inflation reduced from 33,500% in 1988 to 9.45% in 2006, and the foreign debt was cut in half.
]
Nicaragua is primarily an agricultural country; agriculture constitutes 60% of its total exports which annually yield approximately US$300 million. Nearly two-thirds of the coffee crop comes from the northern part of the central highlands, in the area north and east of the town of Estelí.[ Tobacco, grown in the same northern highlands region as coffee, has become an increasingly important cash crop since the 1990s, with annual exports of leaf and cigars in the neighborhood of $200 million per year. Soil erosion and pollution from the heavy use of pesticides have become serious concerns in the cotton district. Yields and exports have both been declining since 1985.][ Today most of Nicaragua's bananas are grown in the northwestern part of the country near the port of Corinto; sugarcane is also grown in the same district.][ Cassava, a root crop somewhat similar to the potato, is an important food in tropical regions. Cassava is also the main ingredient in tapioca pudding.][ Nicaragua's agricultural sector has benefited because of the country's strong ties to Venezuela. It is estimated that Venezuela will import approximately $200 million in agricultural goods. In the 1990s, the government initiated efforts to diversify agriculture. Some of the new export-oriented crops were peanuts, sesame, melons, and onions.][
Fishing boats on the Caribbean side bring shrimp as well as lobsters into processing plants at Puerto Cabezas, Bluefields, and Laguna de Perlas.][ A turtle fishery thrived on the Caribbean coast before it collapsed from overexploitation.][
Mining is becoming a major industry in Nicaragua, contributing less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). Restrictions are being placed on lumbering due to increased environmental concerns about destruction of the rain forests. But lumbering continues despite these obstacles; indeed, a single hardwood tree may be worth thousands of dollars.][
During the war between the US-backed Contras and the government of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, Sandinistas in the 1980s, much of the country's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. Transportation throughout the nation is often inadequate. For example, it was until recently impossible to travel all the way by highway from Managua to the Caribbean coast. A new road between Nueva Guinea and Bluefields was completed in 2019 and allows regular bus service to the capital. The Centroamérica power plant on the Tuma River in the Central highlands has been expanded, and other hydroelectric projects have been undertaken to help provide electricity to the nation's newer industries.][ Nicaragua has long been considered as a possible site for a Nicaragua Canal, new canal that could supplement the Panama Canal, connecting the Caribbean Sea (and therefore the Atlantic Ocean) with the Pacific Ocean.
Nicaragua's minimum wage is among the lowest in the Americas and in the world. Remittances are equivalent to roughly 15% of the country's gross domestic product.][ Growth in the ''maquila'' sector slowed in the first decade of the 21st century with rising competition from Asian markets, particularly China.][ Land is the traditional basis of wealth in Nicaragua, with great fortunes coming from the export of staples such as coffee, cotton, beef, and sugar. Almost all of the upper class and nearly a quarter of the middle class are substantial landowners.
A 1985 government study classified 69.4 percent of the population as poor on the basis that they were unable to satisfy one or more of their basic needs in housing, sanitary services (water, sewage, and garbage collection), education, and employment. The defining standards for this study were very low; housing was considered substandard if it was constructed of discarded materials with dirt floors or if it was occupied by more than four persons per room.
Rural workers are dependent on agricultural wage labor, especially in coffee and cotton. Only a small fraction hold permanent jobs. Most are migrants who follow crops during the harvest period and find other work during the off-season. The "lower" peasants are typically smallholders without sufficient land to sustain a family; they also join the harvest labor force. The "upper" peasants have sufficient resources to be economically independent. They produce enough surplus, beyond their personal needs, to allow them to participate in the national and world markets.
]
The urban lower class is characterized by the informal sector of the economy. The informal sector consists of small-scale enterprises that utilize traditional technologies and operate outside the legal regime of labor protections and taxation. Workers in the informal sector are self-employed, unsalaried family workers or employees of small-enterprises, and they are generally poor.
Nicaragua's informal sector workers include tinsmiths, mattress makers, seamstresses, bakers, shoemakers, and carpenters; people who take in laundry and ironing or prepare food for sale in the streets; and thousands of peddlers, owners of small businesses (often operating out of their own homes), and market stall operators. Some work alone, but others labor in the small talleres (workshops/factories) that are responsible for a large share of the country's industrial production. Because informal sector earnings are generally very low, few families can subsist on one income.
Original source: Like most Latin American nations Nicaragua is also characterized by a very small upper-class, roughly 2% of the population, that is very wealthy and wields the political and economic power in the country that is not in the hands of foreign corporations and private industries. These families are oligarchical in nature and have ruled Nicaragua for generations and their wealth is politically and economically horizontally and vertically integrated.
Nicaragua is currently a member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, which is also known as ALBA. ALBA has proposed creating a new currency, the SUCRE (currency), Sucre, for use among its members. In essence, this means that the Nicaraguan córdoba will be replaced with the Sucre. Other nations that will follow a similar pattern include: Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Cuba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda.
Nicaragua is considering construction of a canal linking the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, which President Daniel Ortega has said will give Nicaragua its "economic independence". Scientists have raised concerns about environmental impacts, but the government has maintained that the canal will benefit the country by creating new jobs and potentially increasing its annual growth to an average of 8% per year. The project was scheduled to begin construction in December 2014, however the Nicaragua Canal
The Nicaraguan Canal ( es, Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) was a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect th ...
has yet to be started.
Tourism
By 2006, tourism had become the second largest industry in Nicaragua. Previously, tourism had grown about 70% nationwide during a period of 7 years, with rates of 10%–16% annually. The increase and growth led to the income from tourism to rise more than 300% over a period of 10 years. The growth in tourism has also positively affected the agricultural, commercial, and finance industries, as well as the construction industry. President Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country. The results for Nicaragua's tourism-driven economy have been significant, with the nation welcoming one million tourists in a calendar year for the first time in its history in 2010.
Every year about 60,000 U.S. citizens visit Nicaragua, primarily business people, tourists, and those visiting relatives. Some 5,300 people from the U.S. reside in Nicaragua. The majority of tourists who visit Nicaragua are from the U.S., Central or South America, and Europe. According to the Ministry of Tourism of Nicaragua (INTUR), the colonial cities of León and Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
are the preferred spots for tourists. Also, the cities of Masaya, Rivas, Nicaragua, Rivas and the likes of San Juan del Sur, El Ostional, the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, Ometepe Island, the Mombacho volcano, and the Corn Islands among other locations are the main tourist attractions. In addition, ecotourism, Recreational fishing, sport fishing and surfing attract many tourists to Nicaragua.
According to the ''TV Noticias'' news program, the main attractions in Nicaragua for tourists are the beaches, the scenic routes, the architecture of cities such as León and Granada, ecotourism, and agritourism particularly in northern Nicaragua.[ As a result of increased tourism, Nicaragua has seen its foreign direct investment increase by 79.1% from 2007 to 2009.
Nicaragua is referred to as ''"the land of lakes and volcanoes"'' due to the number of lagoons and lakes, and the chain of volcanoes that runs from the north to the south along the country's Pacific side.] Today, only 7 of the 50 volcanoes in Nicaragua are considered active. Many of these volcanoes offer some great possibilities for tourists with activities such as hiking, climbing, camping, and human swimming, swimming in crater lakes.
The Apoyo Lagoon Natural Reserve was created by the eruption of the Apoyo Volcano about 23,000 years ago, which left a huge 7 km-wide crater that gradually filled with water. It is surrounded by the old crater wall. The rim of the lagoon is lined with restaurants, many of which have kayaks available. Besides exploring the forest around it, many water sports are practiced in the lagoon, most notably kayaking.
Sand skiing has become a popular attraction at the Cerro Negro volcano in León. Both dormant and active volcanoes can be climbed. Some of the most visited volcanoes include the Masaya Volcano, Momotombo
Momotombo is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, not far from the city of León. It stands on the shores of Lago de Managua. An eruption of the volcano in 1610 forced inhabitants of the Spanish city of León to relocate about west. The ruins of thi ...
, Mombacho, Cosigüina and Ometepe's Maderas and Concepción (volcano), Concepción.
Ecotourism aims to be ecologically and socially conscious; it focuses on local culture, wilderness, and adventure. Nicaragua's ecotourism is growing with every passing year. It boasts a number of ecotourist tours and perfect places for adventurers. Nicaragua has three eco-regions (the Pacific, Central, and Atlantic) which contain volcanoes, tropical rainforests, and agricultural land. The majority of the eco-lodges and other environmentally-focused touristic destinations are found on Ometepe Island, located in the middle of Lake Nicaragua just an hour's boat ride from Granada. While some are foreign-owned, others are owned by local families.
Demographics
According to a 2014 research published in the journal ''Genetics and Molecular Biology'', European ancestry predominates in 69% of Nicaraguans, followed by African ancestry in 20%, and lastly Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous ancestry in 11%. A Japanese research of "Genomic Components in America's demography" demonstrated that, on average, the ancestry of Nicaraguans is 58–62% European, 28% Native American, and 14% African, with a very small Near Eastern contribution. Non-genetic data from the ''CIA World Factbook'' establish that from Nicaragua's 2016 population of 5,966,798, around 69% are mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
, 17% White Latin American, white, 5% Native American, and 9% Afro-Latin American, black and other races.[ This fluctuates with changes in migration patterns. The population is 58% urban .
The capital ]Managua
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is the biggest city, with an estimated population of 1,042,641 in 2016. In 2005, over 5 million people lived in the Pacific, Central and North regions, and 700,000 in the Caribbean region.
There is a growing expatriate community, the majority of whom move for business, investment or retirement from across the world, such as from the US, Canada, Taiwan, and European countries; the majority have settled in Managua, Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
and San Juan del Sur.
Many Nicaraguan Diaspora, Nicaraguans live abroad, particularly in Costa Rica, the United States, Spain, Canada, and other Central American countries.
Nicaragua has a population growth rate of 1.5% . This is the result of one of the highest birth rates in the Western Hemisphere: 17.7 per 1,000 as of 2017. The death rate was 4.7 per 1,000 during the same period according to the United Nations.
Ethnic groups
The majority of the Nicaraguan population is composed of mestizos, roughly 69%, while 17% of Nicaragua's population is white, with the majority of them being of Spanish descent, while others are of German, Italian, English, Turkish, Danish or French ancestry.
Black Creoles
About 9% of Nicaragua's population is Afro-Latin American, black and mainly resides on the country's Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast. The black population is mostly composed of black English-speaking Creoles who are the descendants of escaped or shipwrecked slaves; many carry the name of Scottish settlers who brought slaves with them, such as Campbell (surname), Campbell, Gordon (surname), Gordon, Downs (surname), Downs, and Hodgson. Although many Creoles supported Somoza because of his close association with the United States, they rallied to the Sandinista cause in July 1979, only to reject the revolution soon afterwards in response to a new phase of "westernization" and imposition of central rule from Managua. There is a smaller number of Garifuna people, Garifuna, a people of mixed West African, Island Carib, Carib and Arawak descent. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the Zelaya Department
Zelaya is a former department in Nicaragua. The department was located along the Mosquito Coast bordering the Caribbean Sea and was named after former President of Nicaragua José Santos Zelaya, who conquered the region for Nicaragua from the ...
– consisting of the eastern half of the country – into two autonomous regions and granted the black and indigenous people of this region limited self-rule within the republic.
Indigenous population
The remaining 5% of Nicaraguans are indigenous, the descendants of the country's original inhabitants. Nicaragua's pre-Columbian population consisted of many indigenous groups. In the western region, the Nahuas (Nicarao people
The Nicarao people were a Nahuat-speaking Mesoamerican people who migrated from central and southern Mexico over the course of several centuries from approximately 700 CE onwards. Around 1200 CE, the Nicarao split from the Pipil people and moved i ...
) were present along with other groups such as the Chorotega people and the Subtiabas (also known as Maribios or Hokan Xiu). The central region and the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua were inhabited by indigenous peoples who were Macro-Chibchan language
Macro-Chibchan is a proposed grouping of the languages of the Lencan, Misumalpan, and Chibchan families into a single large phylum (macrofamily).
History
The Lencan and Misumalpan languages were once included in the Chibchan family proper, but ...
groups that had migrated to and from South America in ancient times, primarily what is now Colombia and Venezuela. These groups include the present-day Matagalpas, Miskitos
The Miskitos are a native people in Central America. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande de Matagalpa, Nicaragua, along the Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. Their population is estimated at 700,000 ...
, Rama people, Ramas, as well as Mayangnas and Ulwas who are also known as Sumo people, Sumos. In the 19th century, there was a substantial indigenous minority, but this group was largely assimilated culturally into the mestizo majority. The Garifuna are also present, mainly on the Caribbean Coast. They are a people of mixed African and Indigenous descent.
Languages
Nicaraguan Spanish has many indigenous influences and several distinguishing characteristics. For example, some Nicaraguans have a tendency to replace Voiceless alveolar sibilant, /s/ with Voiceless glottal fricative, /h/ when speaking. Although Spanish is spoken throughout, the country has great variety: vocabulary, accents and colloquial language can vary between towns and departments. Nicaraguan Sign Language emerged in the 1970s and 1980s among deaf children as the first special education schools brought them together, and its emergence became of particular interest to linguists as an opportunity to directly observe the creation of a language.
On the Caribbean coast, indigenous languages, English-based creole languages, English-based creoles, and Spanish are spoken. The Miskito language, spoken by the Miskito people as a first language and some other indigenous and Afro-descendants people as a second, third, or fourth language, is the most commonly spoken indigenous language. The indigenous Misumalpan languages of Mayangna and Ulwa are spoken by the respective peoples of the same names. Many Miskito, Mayangna, and Sumo people also speak Miskito Coast Creole, and a large majority also speak Spanish. Fewer than three dozen of nearly 2,000 Rama people speak their Chibchan languages, Chibchan Rama language, language fluently, with nearly all Ramas speaking Rama Cay Creole and the vast majority speaking Spanish. Linguists have attempted to document and revitalize the language over the past three decades.
The Garifuna people, descendants of indigenous and Afro-descendant people who came to Nicaragua from Honduras in the early twentieth century, have recently attempted to revitalize their Arawakan languages, Arawakan Garifuna language, language. The majority speak Miskito Coast Creole as their first language and Spanish as their second. The Creole or Kriol people, descendants of enslaved Africans brought to the Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
during the British colonial period and European, Chinese, Arab, and British West Indian immigrants, also speak Miskito Coast Creole as their first language and Spanish as their second.
Largest cities
Religion
Religion plays a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua and is afforded special protections in the Constitution of Nicaragua, constitution. Religious freedom, which has been guaranteed since 1939, and religious tolerance are officially promoted by the government and the constitution, but in recent years the Catholic Church and the regime led by Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...
have been in open conflict, with the latter being accused of using the police to harass clergy and bishops, closing down Catholic media outlets, and even arresting a dozen members of the clergy, including Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, Bishop Rolando Alvarez, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Matagalpa, Diocese of Matagalpa.
Nicaragua has no official religion. Catholic bishops are expected to lend their authority to important state occasions, and their pronouncements on national issues are closely followed. They can be called upon to mediate between contending parties at moments of political crisis. In 1979, Miguel D'Escoto Brockman, a priest who had embraced Liberation Theology, served in the government as foreign minister when the Sandinistas came to power. The largest denomination, and traditionally the religion of the majority, is the Roman Catholic Church. It came to Nicaragua in the 16th century with the Spanish conquest and remained, until 1939, the State religion, established faith.
The number of practicing Roman Catholics has been declining, while membership of evangelical Protestant groups and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been growing rapidly since the 1990s. There is a significant LDS missionary effort in Nicaragua. There are two missions and 95,768 members of the LDS Church (1.54% of the population). There are also strong Anglicanism, Anglican and Moravian Church, Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast in what once constituted the sparsely populated Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
colony. It was under British influence for nearly three centuries. Protestantism was brought to the Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
mainly by British and German colonists in forms of Anglicanism and the Moravian Church. Other kinds of Protestant and other Christian denominations were introduced to the rest of Nicaragua during the 19th century.
Popular religion revolves around the saints, who are perceived as intercessors between human beings and God. Most localities, from the capital of Managua to small rural communities, honor patron saints, selected from the Roman Catholic calendar, with annual ''fiestas''. In many communities, a rich lore has grown up around the celebrations of patron saints, such as Managua's Saint Dominic (Santo Domingo), honored in August with two colorful, often riotous, day-long processions through the city. The high point of Nicaragua's religious calendar for the masses is neither Christmas nor Easter, but La Purísima, a week of festivities in early December dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, during which elaborate altars to the Mary (mother of Jesus), Virgin Mary are constructed in homes and workplaces.[
Buddhism has increased with a steady influx of immigration.
Although Jews have been living in Nicaragua since the 18th century, the History of the Jews in Nicaragua, Jewish population is small, numbering less than 200 people in 2017. Of these, 112 were recent converts who claimed Sephardi Jews, Sephardic Jewish ancestry.]
As of 2007, approximately 1,200 to 1,500 Nicaraguan residents practiced Islam in Nicaragua, Islam, most of them Sunnis who are resident aliens or naturalized, naturalized citizens from State of Palestine, Palestine, Libya, and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
or natural-born Nicaraguan descendants of the two groups.
Immigration
Relative to its population, Nicaragua has not experienced large waves of immigration. The number of immigrants in Nicaragua, from other Latin American countries or other countries, never surpassed 1% of its total population before 1995. The 2005 census showed the foreign-born population at 1.2%, having risen a mere 0.06% in 10 years.[
In the 19th century, Nicaragua experienced modest waves of immigration from Europe. In particular, families from Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium immigrated to Nicaragua, particularly the departments in the Central and Pacific region.
Also present is a small Middle Eastern-Nicaraguan community of Demographics of Syria, Syrians, Armenians, History of the Jews of Nicaragua, Jewish Nicaraguans, and Lebanon, Lebanese people in Nicaragua. This community numbers about 30,000. There is an East Asian community mostly consisting of Han Chinese, Chinese. The Chinese Nicaraguan population is estimated at 12,000. The Chinese arrived in the late 19th century but were unsubstantiated until the 1920s.
]
Diaspora
The Civil War forced many Nicaraguans to start lives outside of their country. Many people emigrated during the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century due to the lack of employment opportunities and poverty. The majority of the Nicaraguan Diaspora migrated to the United States and Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
. Today one in six Nicaraguans live in these two countries.
The diaspora has seen Nicaraguans settling around in smaller communities in other parts of the world, particularly Western Europe. Small communities of Nicaraguans are found in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Communities also exist in Australia and New Zealand. Canada, Brazil and Argentina host small groups of these communities. In Asia, Japan hosts a small Nicaraguan community.
Due to extreme poverty at home, many Nicaraguans are now living and working in neighboring El Salvador, a country that has the United States dollar, US dollar as its currency.
Healthcare
Although Nicaragua's health outcomes have improved over the past few decades with the efficient utilization of resources relative to other Central American nations, healthcare in Nicaragua still confronts challenges responding to its populations' diverse healthcare needs.[Angel-Urdinola D, Cortez R, Tanabe K. (2008). Equity, Access to Health Care Services and Expenditures on Health in Nicaragua. Health, Nutrition and Population of the World Bank.]
The Government of Nicaragua, Nicaraguan government guarantees universal free health care for its citizens.[Sequeira M, Espinoza H, Amador JJ, Domingo G, Quintanilla M, and de los Santos T. (2011). The Nicaraguan Health System. PATH.] However, limitations of current delivery models and unequal distribution of resources and medical personnel contribute to the persistent lack of quality care in more remote areas of Nicaragua, especially among rural communities in the Central and Atlantic region. To respond to the dynamic needs of localities, the government has adopted a decentralized model that emphasizes community-based preventive and primary medical care.
Education
The adult literacy rate in 2005 was 78.0%.
Primary education is free in Nicaragua. A system of private schools exists, many of which are religiously affiliated and often have more robust English programs. As of 1979, the educational system was one of the poorest in Latin America. One of the first acts of the newly elected Sandinista government in 1980 was an extensive and successful literacy campaign, using secondary school students, university students and teachers as volunteer teachers: it reduced the overall illiteracy rate from 50.3% to 12.9% within only five months. This was one of a number of large-scale programs which received international recognition for their gains in literacy, health care, education, childcare, Trade union, unions, and land reform. The Sandinistas also added a leftist ideological content to the curriculum, which was removed after 1990.[ In September 1980, UNESCO awarded Nicaragua the Soviet Union sponsored UNESCO Nadezhda K. Krupskaya literacy prize, Nadezhda Krupskaya award for the literacy campaign.
]
Gender equality
Nicaragua's gender equality ranks high among countries in Latin America. When it came to global rankings regarding gender equality, the World Economic Forum ranked Nicaragua at number twelve in 2015, and in its 2020 report Nicaragua ranked number five, behind only northern European countries.
Nicaragua was among the many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which aimed to promote women's rights.
In 2009, a Special Ombudsman for Sexual Diversity position was created within its Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman. And, in 2014, the Health Ministry in 2014 banned discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Nevertheless, discrimination against LGBTQ individuals is common, particularly in housing, education, and the workplace.
Human Development Report, The Human Development Report ranked Nicaragua 106 out of 160 countries in the Gender Inequality Index, Gender Inequality Index (GII) in 2017. It reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity.
Culture
Culture of Nicaragua, Nicaraguan culture has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by Culture of Europe, European culture but also including Native American sounds and flavors. Nicaraguan culture can further be defined in several distinct strands. The Pacific coast has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by Iberian Peninsula, Europeans. It was colonized by Spain and has a similar culture to other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. The indigenous groups that historically inhabited the Pacific coast have largely been assimilated into the mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
culture.
The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically along with Spanish and Languages of Nicaragua, indigenous languages. Its culture is similar to that of Caribbean nations that were or are British possessions, such as Jamaica, Belize, the Cayman Islands, etc. Unlike on the west coast, the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast have maintained distinct identities, and some still speak their native languages as first languages.
Music
Music of Nicaragua, Nicaraguan music is a mixture of indigenous and Spanish influences. Musical instruments include the marimba and others common across Central America. The marimba of Nicaragua is played by a sitting performer holding the instrument on his knees. He is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle, guitar and guitarrilla (a small guitar like a mandolin). This music is played at social functions as a sort of background music.
The marimba is made with hardwood plates placed over bamboo or metal tubes of varying lengths. It is played with two or four hammers. The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is known for a lively, sensual form of dance music called ''Palo de Mayo'' which is popular throughout the country. It is especially loud and celebrated during the Palo de Mayo festival in May. The Garifuna people, Garifuna community (Afro-Native American) is known for its popular music called ''Punta (music), Punta''.
Nicaragua enjoys a variety of international influence in the music arena. Bachata (music), Bachata, Merengue music, Merengue, Salsa music, Salsa and Cumbia music, Cumbia have gained prominence in cultural centres such as Managua, Leon and Granada. Cumbia dancing has grown popular with the introduction of Nicaraguan artists, including Gustavo Leyton, on Ometepe Island and in Managua. Salsa dancing has become extremely popular in Managua's nightclubs. With various influences, the form of salsa dancing varies in Nicaragua. New York style and Cuban Salsa (Salsa Casino) elements have gained popularity across the country.
Dance
Dance in Nicaragua varies depending upon the region. Rural areas tend to have a stronger focus on movement of the hips and turns. The dance style in cities focuses primarily on more sophisticated footwork in addition to movement and turns. Combinations of styles from the Dominican Republic and the United States can be found throughout Nicaragua. Bachata (dance), Bachata dancing is popular in Nicaragua. A considerable amount of Bachata dancing influence comes from Nicaraguans living abroad, in cities that include Miami, Los Angeles and, to a much lesser extent, New York City. Tango (dance), Tango has also surfaced recently in cultural cities and ballroom dance occasions.
Literature
The origin of literature of Nicaragua, Nicaraguan literature can arguably be traced to pre-Columbian times. The myths and oral literature formed the cosmogenic view of the world of the indigenous people. Some of these stories are still known in Nicaragua. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the most effect on both the culture and the literature. Nicaraguan literature has historically been an important source of poetry in the Spanish-speaking world, with internationally renowned contributors such as Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...
who is regarded as the most important literary figure in Nicaragua. He is called the "Father of Modernism" for leading the ''modernismo'' literary movement at the end of the 19th century.[ Other literary figures include Carlos Martinez Rivas, Pablo Antonio Cuadra, Alberto Cuadra Mejia, Manolo Cuadra, Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello, Orlando Cuadra Downing, Alfredo Alegría Rosales, Sergio Ramirez Mercado, Ernesto Cardenal, Gioconda Belli, Claribel Alegría and José Coronel Urtecho, among others.
The satirical drama ''El Güegüense'' was the first literary work of post-Columbian Nicaragua. It was written in both Nicarao language, Nicarao and Spanish.] It's regarded as one of Latin America's most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua's signature folkloric masterpiece. El Güegüense is a work of resistance to Spanish colonialism that combined music, dance and theatre. The theatre, theatrical play was written by an anonymous author in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest indigenous culture, indigenous theatrical/dance works of the Western Hemisphere. In 2005 it was recognized by UNESCO as "a patrimony of humanity". After centuries of popular performance, the play was first published in a book in 1942.
Cuisine
Nicaraguan cuisine is a mixture of Spanish food and dishes of a pre-Columbian origin. Traditional cuisine changes from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast. The Pacific coast's main staple revolves around local fruits and corn, the Caribbean coast cuisine makes use of seafood and the coconut.
As in many other Latin American countries, maize is a staple food and is used in many of the widely consumed dishes, such as the nacatamal, güirila, and ''indio viejo''. Maize is also an ingredient for drinks such as pinolillo and chicha as well as sweets and desserts. In addition to corn, rice and beans are eaten very often.
Gallo pinto, Nicaragua's national dish, is made with white rice and small red beans that are cooked individually and then fried together. The dish has several variations including the addition of coconut milk and/or grated coconut on the Caribbean coast. Most Nicaraguans begin their day with gallo pinto. Gallo pinto is most usually served with ''carne asada'', a salad, fried cheese, Cooking bananas, plantains or maduros.
Many of Nicaragua's dishes include indigenous fruits and vegetables such as jocote, mango, papaya, tamarindo, pipian, banana, avocado, Cassava, yuca, and herbs such as Coriander, cilantro, oregano and Bixa orellana, achiote.[
Traditional street food snacks found in Nicaragua include "quesillo", a thick tortilla with soft cheese and cream, "tajadas" (deep-fried plantain chips), "maduros" (a sautéed ripe plantain), and "fresco" (fresh juices such as hibiscus and tamarind commonly served in a plastic bag with a straw).
Nicaraguans have been known to eat guinea pigs, known as ''cuy''. Tapirs, iguanas, turtle eggs, armadillos and boas are also sometimes eaten, but because of extinction threats to these wild creatures, there are efforts to curb this custom.]
Media
For most Nicaraguans radio and TV are the main sources of news. There are more than 100 radio stations and several TV networks. Cable TV is available in most urban areas.
The Nicaraguan print media are varied and partisan, representing pro and anti-government positions. Publications include La Prensa ''La Prensa'' ("The Press") is a frequently used name for newspapers in the Spanish-speaking world. It may refer to:
Argentina
* ''La Prensa'' (Buenos Aires)
* , a current publication of Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz
Bolivia
* ''La Prensa'' (La Paz ...
, El Nuevo Diario, Confidencial, Hoy, and Mercurio. Online news publications include Confidencial and The Nicaragua Dispatch.
Sports
Baseball is the most popular sport in Nicaragua. Although some professional Nicaraguan baseball teams have recently folded, the country still enjoys a strong tradition of American-style baseball.
Baseball was introduced to Nicaragua during the 19th century. In the Caribbean coast, locals from Bluefields were taught how to play baseball in 1888 by Albert Addlesberg, a retailer from the United States. Baseball did not catch on in the Pacific coast until 1891 when a group of mostly college students from the United States formed "La Sociedad de Recreo" (Society of Recreation) where they played various sports, baseball being the most popular.[
Nicaragua has had its share of Major League Baseball, MLB players, including shortstop Everth Cabrera and pitcher Vicente Padilla, but the most notable is Dennis Martínez, who was the first baseball player from Nicaragua to play in Major League Baseball. He became the first Latin-born pitcher to throw a Perfect game (baseball), perfect game, and the 13th in the major league history, when he played with the Montreal Expos against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in 1991.
Boxing is the second most popular sport in Nicaragua. The country has had world champions such as Alexis Argüello and Ricardo Mayorga as well as Román González (boxer), Román González. Recently, Association football, football has gained popularity. The Dennis Martínez National Stadium has served as a venue for both baseball and football. The first ever national football-only stadium in Managua, the Nicaragua National Football Stadium, was completed in 2011.
Nicaragua's national basketball team had some recent success as it won the silver medal at the 2017 Central American Games.
Nicaragua featured national teams in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in both the women's and the men's sections.]
See also
* Nicaraguan nationality law
* Bibliography of Nicaragua
* Index of Nicaragua-related articles
* Outline of Nicaragua
Notes
References
Additional sources
*
External links
Government
Chief of State and Cabinet Members
;General information
Nicaragua
''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Nicaragua Corruption Profile
from the Business-Anti-Corruption Portal, Business Anti-Corruption Portal
Nicaragua
at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
*
Nicaragua profile
from the BBC News
*
Maps
from WorldAtlas.com
Nicaraguaportal
: Official information of the Honorary Consulate of Nicaragua
Key Development Forecasts for Nicaragua
from International Futures
Other
Visit Nicaragua
Teaching Central America
* The State of the World's Midwifery
Nicaragua Country Profile
{{Authority control
Nicaragua,
1821 establishments in North America
Countries in Central America
Countries in North America
Former Spanish colonies
Member states of the United Nations
Republics
Spanish-speaking countries and territories
States and territories established in 1821