A Brief History of Nicaragua

Posted by: Kate | Posted on: January 14th, 2012 | 1 Comments

Just the other day, someone asked me “How did Nicaragua get so poor?” It’s a common question about most countries. Nearly every country in the world, outside of the 20 or so “developed” nations, has it’s own story as to just how this happened. The answer is generally “Corruption.” Nicaragua’s story is no different; its ending, however, is full of hope. 

The name “Nicaragua” comes from the Nahuatl-speaking tribe who originally inhabited the country; their capital city was Nicarao. Later, when the Spanish arrived, the combined the name of the capital with the spanish word for water: “agua.” There are ancient footprints that suggest Nicaragua was inhabited as far back as 6000 years ago. It is thought that the three major tribes that existed had migrated from what is now Colombia and Mexico, and well as possibly Paleo-Indians. These tribes had kingdoms marked out, monarchies, and consisted mostly of farmers and weapon-crafters. The Spanish first entered Nicaragua in 1522. Francisco Cordoba entered in 1524 with the intent of colonizing the area, which lead to the city of Granada. Cordoba became the namesake for Nicaraguan money (which is dealt in “cordobas”). After multiple wars with the indigenous population. Nicaragua was considered “complete” by 1529.. As usual at the time, the native Nicaraguans were abused, sold in to slavery, put to work in the farms, and generally treated as less than human. 

Nicaragua struggled but became officially independent from Spain in 1821, but suffered through many more dictatorships and foreign rule. Augusto César Sandino is Nicaragua’s martyr and hero. He protested US military occupation in 1927 to 1933, and was assassinated when he went to negotiate a cease-fire. He was only 39 years old. Sandino remains to this day a symbol of resistance and national identity. The man who had him assassinated, General Somoza, who had seized power in a coup d’etat, began a brutal dictatorship that passed to his son, and his brother, and lasted 43 years.  Somoza was overthrown by a rebel group, then Sandinista guerillas (name taken from Sandino) in 1979. They formed a new government. One of these Sandinistas was Daniel Ortega, who would go on to be a major figure for Nicaragua. 

In 1981, Reagan condemned Nicaragua for many reasons, one being supporting Cuba’s revolution. He, among other countries, authorized the training of anti-Sandinista guerillas, also called counter-revolutionaries. This was shortened to the term “Contras.” The Contras camped out in neighbouring Honduras and Costa Rica. Local anti-sandinistas joined these camps and thus guerilla warfare began, known as the Contra War. The foreign-funded Contras went to war with the Sandinistas throughout the 80s, resulting in deaths all across the country. Nicaragua in shambles from the never-ending corruption: many dead, many more displaced as refugees, uneducated, poor, and scared. There was no health care and no education system to speak of. Human Rights violations were country-wide, from kidnapping, to torture, to the burning of villages and more. These violations made international headlines and the foreign-funding was cut off, forcing the Contras to retreat and eventually disperse by the late 80s. 

Nicaragua limped through the 80s and 90s as various politicians, including Daniel Ortega from 1984-1990, tried, with some success but mostly failure and more corruption, to get the country on its feet. Ortega failed to get re-elected in 1990, 1996 and in 2001 but was re-elected in 2006. 

Prior to the earthquake in Haiti, in 2003 Nicaragua surpassed Haiti as the poorest nation in Central America. Unemployment was around 50%. In more recent years, Daniel Ortega seems to be taking great strides towards making health care, education, and work more accessible to the masses. For example, unemployment is now just 5%, but underemployment (not enough work to provide for ones self or a family) is still 48%. The main source of work remains agriculture and sweat-shop style labour. 

With education and health care more readily available, there is much hope for Nicaragua’s future. Tourism, for example, has risen more than 70% in the last ten years. As the country stabilized politically, people began to take notice of the stunning landscape and history in Nicaragua. From soaring volcanos to white sand beaches, and spanish colonial buildings around every turn, it is a country with much to offer. It touches both the Caribbean and the Pacific ocean, with lakes and valleys and jungle in between. It is home to resilient, humble, honest, beautiful people. It is becoming known for its rum, cigars, and world-class surf spots. Exports such as Fairly-Traded coffee beans are beginning to provide stable income and work for farming families.