El Castillo, Nicaragua
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El Castillo is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
located on the Río San Juan (San Juan River) in the
Río San Juan Department Río San Juan () is a department in Nicaragua. It was formed in 1957 from parts of Chontales and Zelaya departments. It covers an area of 7,543 km2 and has a population of 137,189 (2021 estimate). The capital is San Carlos. The departm ...
of
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
. The settlement of what would eventually become the municipality of El Castillo began in 1673, when construction of the ''Fortaleza de la Limpia Pura e Inmaculada Concepción'', (now known as the Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción, or Fortress of the Immaculate Conception) was begun. The
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
of El Castillo eventually grew around the fortress, which continued to be strategically important to the
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...
until the late 18th century. The administrative capital of the municipality of El Castillo is the village of Boca de Sábalos, which translates from
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
to "mouth of the tarpon" ('' Megalops atlanticus''). Boca de Sábalos is located 350 kilometers from the national capital of
Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
, 55 kilometers downriver from the departmental capital of San Carlos and several kilometers upriver from the village of El Castillo.


History

The municipality of El Castillo began with the construction of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception on the southern bank of the San Juan River, approximately 6 kilometers from the present-day border with
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
. This was part of a series of
fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
s built along the San Juan River in order to defend against
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
attacks upon the city of
Granada Granada ( ; ) 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 foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
(which can be reached by navigating upstream from the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
along the San Juan River into
Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...
). Construction of the fortress, initially named ''Fortaleza de la Limpia Pura e Inmaculada Concepción'' (now known as the ''Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción'', or Fortress of the Immaculate Conception), was begun on March 10, 1673, and completed in 1675. The chosen site was the site of the present-day village of El Castillo. Despite the construction of the fortress,
buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...
William Dampier William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavig ...
plundered the city and set it on fire on April 8, 1685. The fortress was attacked several times during the 18th century, sometimes by miskito or
zambo Zambo ( or ) or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Amerindian, Indigenous Amerindian and West African people, African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the ...
forces and sometimes by the British. On the morning of July 26, 1762, a combined British and Miskito force laid
siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
to the fortress in what would later be called the Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua. This expedition, which had originally sailed from a base in
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, consisted of seven large boats and several canoes. The garrison commander, Don José de Herrera y Sotomayor, had died unexpectedly 11 days earlier. Inspired by acts of heroism displayed by Herrera's 19-year-old daughter
Rafaela Rafaela is a city in Argentina, located in the central-west region of the Santa Fe Province. It serves as the head of the Castellanos Department and is the third most populous and significant urban center in the province, following Rosario, Santa ...
(including killing the British commander), ''
pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...
'' garrison commander Lieutenant Juan de Aguilar y Santa Cruz led the defenders to victory in a battle that lasted six days. The British finally lifted their siege and retreated on August 3, 1762. In 1781, King
Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735â ...
issued a royal
decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...
granting Rafaela Herrera a
pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
for life, as a reward for her heroic defense during that battle. After Spain entered 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in 1779, Major General John Dalling, the British governor and commander-in-chief of
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, proposed a second naval expedition to Nicaragua. The goal was to sail up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua and capture the town of Granada, which would effectively cut
Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...
in half as well as provide potential access to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. During this expedition, which took place in 1780 and later became known as the San Juan Expedition, Colonel
John Polson John Polson (born 6 September 1965) is an Australian actor, director and founder of Tropfest. Polson is perhaps best known for his role starring opposite Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson in '' The Sum of Us'' (1994). In February 2001, Polson ...
and Captain
Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
led a British attack against the fortress. At the time, the Spanish garrison consisted of 228 men under the command of Juan de Ayssa (who later served as Governor of Nicaragua from 1783 to 1787). The expeditionary force succeeded in capturing the fortress on April 29, 1780, despite the fact that it consisted of only 200 men. The 22-year-old Nelson, in command of , was responsible for leading his men through dense jungle to attack the fortress from a hill in the rear. The British captured the fortress and occupied it for nine months, finally abandoning it in January 1781. The hill is named ''Lomas de Nelson'' to this day.


Geography

The municipality of El Castillo is remote from major population centers, with dense vegetation and adverse weather conditions. The topographic features include hilly soil, with good conditions for agriculture and livestock. The village is situated in a
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
, with wet weather conditions. The average temperature is about 25°C, and annual rainfall ranges from 2,800 to 4,000 mm. To the north of El Castillo municipality is the municipality of
Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Reg ...
. To the south is the Republic of Costa Rica, to the east is the municipality of
San Juan de Nicaragua San Juan de Nicaragua (formerly known as San Juan del Norte) is a municipality in the Río San Juan Department of Nicaragua. Its capital is Grey Town (formerly also known as ''San Juan del Norte'' or ''Greytown''). History San Juan del Norte wa ...
and to the west is the municipality of San Carlos. The
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is located 350 km from the city of
Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
. The total area is 1,656 km2 (639.4 sq mi).


Economy

Historically the municipality has been engaged in
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
,
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckshardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...
s, extraction of other
forest product A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in f ...
s such as medicinal herbs and other
non-timber forest product Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are useful foods, substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests other than timber. Harvest ranges from wild collection to farming. They typically include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, see ...
s. From 1948 to 1951 and then from 1968 to 1970, the municipality of El Castillo was a major producer of bananas. The bananas were transported to Puerto Limón in Costa Rica, where they were sold by U.S. companies. Cultivation later declined as a result of black sigatoka (a disease caused by ''Mycosphaerella fijiensis'', a
fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
of the
Ascomycota Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...
phylum). The main economic activity continues to be
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, most notably corn and bananas. There are also a number of small businesses that serve the needs of the local and tourist population. These include 25 small markets, 9 bakeries, 2 butcher shops, 7 restaurants, 20 bars (6 just for tourists), 4 hotels, 4 sport shops, 5 carpenters shops, 2 gas stations for boats, and 1 mill.


Political subdivisions

There are 27
comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...
s in the municipality of El Castillo: El Castillo, Boca de Sábalos (where the municipality administration is located), Santa Cruz, Sábalo, San Antonio, Mauricio Gutiérrez, Laureano Mairena, Marlon Zelaya, Marcelo, Buena Vista, Gordiano, Guasimo, La Quesada, Las Colinas, Che Guevara, Boca de Escalara, Las Maravillas, Chanchon, Libertad Sandino, El Bosque, Laguna Blanca, La Ñoca, Sompopera, El Roble, Monico, Bartola, Rivera del Río San Juan and Río Cariño.


Education

Of roughly 5,000 citizens of school age in the municipality, only roughly 1,800 attend school. This is largely due to the great distances between home and school facilities, lack of roads and suitable vehicles, and the difficult economic situations of many families of the community. At the preschool level, there are 179 students enrolled, 4 schools, and 9 teachers. At the primary school level, there are 1015 students enrolled, 10 schools, and 32 teachers. At the secondary school level, there are 178 students enrolled, 1 school, and 5 teachers.


See also

*
Municipalities of Nicaragua The 15 Departments of Nicaragua, departments and 2 autonomous regions of Nicaragua are divided into 153 municipalities. The formation and dissolution of municipalities is governed by the Law of Municipalities (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ley ...


References


External links


The Fortress of the Immaculate Conception (in Spanish)History of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception (in Spanish)

Visual guide of the Nicaraguan population of El Castillo. (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Castillo, Rio San Juan Municipalities of the Río San Juan Department Costa Rica–Nicaragua border crossings