Introduction to Nicaragua
Nuevo Mundo

The Country

Nicaragua sits between Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. It is the largest of the Central American countries (roughly 30,700 sq km) and contains Lake Nicaragua, the largest of the Central American lakes and the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world.

With the exception of the city of Bluefields and the ports of Puerto Cabezas and San Juan del Norte on the Atlantic coast, almost all the towns are located within a 100 km wide strip of land running parallel to the Pacific coast.

Nicaragua is a strong link the Ring of Fire, with over forty volcanoes - many active, in this area alone. Together they make up the Cordillera de los Maribios, a chain of peaks running from the Gulf of Fonseca to Lake Managua. The volcanic soil makes fertile farmland, and fields of maize, sugarcane, beans, cotton and, in the higher areas, coffee, dot the landscape.

The population is increasingly urban, however, and over 60 percent of Nicaraguans live in the capital city Managua, on the shores of Lake Managua. There have been two major earthquakes in the city this century. The second, in December 1972, destroyed most of the center and this area has not been rebuilt.

The population is less dense to the north, where the lowlands give way to rolling hills and some sizeable mountains, and virtually non-existant in the tropical rainforest that covers the eastern 50 percent of the country. The Atlantic region, known as the Mosquito Coast, is accessible only by boat or plane.

The People

The majority (77%) of the population is of mixed Spanish and Indian race. Strong trade links with Europe brought many immigrants from Spain, Italy and Germany in the late 19th century, and Europeans are still a strangely strong factor, making up around 10% of the population. Three main tribes of Indians (Ramas, Sumos and Miskitos) (4%) and Blacks (9%) are concentrated in the Atlantic region.

Nicaragua has seen extraordinary shifts in the size of its population over the past couple of decades. It is estimated that around 20 % of the population fled during the civil war, many returning in the relative stability of the early 90s

History

Nicaraguans are a proud and determined people. They have suffered mightily, not only through the political upheavals of the last decade and a half, but throughout a history scarred by political turmoil and natural disaster.

Today, as always, they are picking up the pieces and starting over. With their deep pride and fierce determination, Nicaragua is working to overcome the personal loss and economic chaos resulting from the recent revolution. The army has shrunk from a high of some 100,000 soldiers during the 80s to the present day level of 10,000 and there is very little physical evidence of the recent war and no visible military presence.

Today the only explosions you hear come from thousands of squawking parrots disturbed from their tree by church bells; the only explosions you see are the bursts of color from violently hued flowers and fruits in the market stalls. And the only uniforms are worn by squeaky clean school children. The country is a democracy now and people are slowly returning from exile to claim lost properties and begin life anew.

Turbulent is the best way to describe Nicaragua's recent history. The name conjures up images of the bitter revolution fought between the Sandinistas and the Somoza regime in the late 70s, and the U.S. backed Contra war against the victorious Sandinista government that followed in the early 80's.

Perhaps a developing tourism industry will help bring some prosperity and stability to country that is attempting to recuperate and eventually replace images of a country racked by war, with images of golden beaches and untouched rain forests. But, until the memories fade, the ability to talk first-hand to the people who fought on both sides is a fascinating and humbling opportunity for people interested in understanding the facts beneath the propoganda.

Man's early presence is evident in Managua where 10,000 year old footprints - the Footprints of Acahualinca, have been preserved in volcanic ash. Sculptures and carvings dating back to the 10th century A.D. are testament to a highly developed Indian culture, particularly on the shores and islands of Lake Nicaragua.

Gil González de Avila led the first Spanish expedition into Nicaragua in 1522. Two years later, attracted by tales of gold, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba arrived to kill or subjugate the local Indians and build the cities of León and Granada.

León, the former capital, was flattened by an earthquake in 1610 and rebuilt, but many of the oldest buildings in Granada still stand. Granada, on the northern shores of Lake Nicaragua and accessible from the Atlantic, via the lake and the navigable Rio San Juan, became a vital trading point between Europe and the Americas and cosmopolitan and prosperous as a result.

People traveling from not only Europe, but the east coast of the U.S. took advantage of Cornelius Vanderbilt's speedy land and water transport service across Nicaragua during the California Gold Rush. The potential of a coast to coast canal was enormous, and finally, after organizing a coup to depose the President and install the first of several pro-U.S. replacements in 1909, the United States won exclusive rights to build the Nicaraguan canal.

The North Americans stayed a dominant power in Nicaragua until 1933. Before they finally left, they trained a Guardia Nacional (led by Anastasio Somoza) to protect their interests. Somoza assassinated guerilla leader Augusto Cesár Sandino who had led opposition to U.S. intervention, overthrew the President, and put himself in power.

After twenty years as dictator, Somoza was himself assassinated by the poet, Rigoberto Lopéz Pérez, in 1956. First one son, then the other, continued the Somoza dynasty. In 1961, an opposition party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was founded. In 1974, the FSLN kidnapped a number of leading government officials, triggering murderous reprisals.

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, owner and editor of the newspaper La Prensa, led the more moderate opposition party, the Unión Democrática de Liberación (UDEL). It was his assassination in 1978 that set off a general strike and finally a civil war.

The Sandinistas took power in July 1979 and enthusiastically set about nationalizing former Somoza property and launching health and education programs. Soon, however, faced with record levels of unemployment and inflation, widespread poverty and chaos, the government found itself to move the country forward as it had promised. The situation was exacerbated by internal power struggles, U.S. trade and aid embargos and the presence of the well-armed, highly-trained Contra rebels, funded by the U.S. during Reagan's administration.

Nicaraguans lost faith in the government and, in 1990, voted in the Unión Nacional Oposición party, led by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (widow of Pedro Joaquín). With the Sandinistas out of power, the U.S. removed the trade and aid embargos and withdrew the Contras. The Sandinistas were defeated again in the most recent elections by Aleman.

Nuevo Mundo - Guide to Latin America