History of Nicaragua
[6][7][8][9][10][11] It is a geographical endonym that refers to the large bodies of water surrounding the land the Nicaraos inhabited, the Pacific Ocean, lakes Nicaragua and Xolotlan, and the rivers and lagoons.
When the Spanish arrived in western Nicaragua in the early 16th century, they found three principal tribes, each with a different culture and language: the Nicarao, the Chorotega, and the Chontal.
The Bawihka later intermarried with runaway slaves from Britain's Caribbean possessions, and the resulting population, with its access to superior weapons, began to expand its territory and push other indigenous groups into the interior.
Nicaragua was first encountered by Europeans when Christopher Columbus made his way south from what is today Honduras, exploring the eastern coast of America on his fourth voyage in1502.
He proceeded to explore the fertile western valleys and was impressed with the Nicarao civilization for the vast amounts of food it had in addition to their elaborate markets and permanent temples.
[34][35] Macuilmiquiztli initially welcomed the Spanish and their Tlaxcallan translators, however, Dávila and his small army used the opportunity to gather gold and baptize some of the Nahuas along the way.
[39] By 1529, the conquest of Nicaragua was complete as the Nicaraos and the Chorotegas suffered devastating defeats in addition to demographic and societal collapse from a combination of disease, war against the Spanish and their Tlaxcallan allies, and being sold into slavery.
Others were put to work in mines in northern Nicaragua, but the great majority were sent as slaves to Panama and Peru, for significant profit to the new landed aristocracy.
Initially invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, a United States adventurer named William Walker declared himself President in 1856 and made English the official language.
On November 17, 1909, two Americans were executed by order of Zelaya after the two men confessed to having laid a mine in the San Juan River with the intention of blowing up the Diamante.
On May 4, 1927, representatives from the two warring factions signed the Pact of Espino Negro, negotiated by Henry Stimson, appointed by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge as a special envoy to Nicaragua.
Sandino and the newly elected Sacasa government reached an agreement by which he would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a grant of land for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year.
[52] The Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, a decoration of the United States Navy, was later issued for those American service members who had performed military duty in Nicaragua during the early years of the 20th century.
[55] With Sandino's death and using his troops, the National Guard, to force Sacasa to resign, Somoza had taken control of the country in 1937 and destroyed any potential armed resistance.
This initiated an inherently weak presidency—hardly a formidable obstacle to Somoza as he set about building his personal influence over Congress and over the ruling Liberal Party.
The Congress appointed Carlos Brenes Jarquín, a Somoza García associate, as interim president and postponed presidential elections until December.
In 1961, a young student, Carlos Fonseca, evoked the historical figure of Sandino, and founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
Somoza acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation, not allowing other members of the upper class to share the profits that would result from the reborn economic activity.
In 1977 a study revealed that mothers living in León had 45 times more DDT in their breast milk than the World Health Organization safe level.
On 27 December 1974, a group of nine FSLN guerrillas invaded a party at the home of a former Minister of Agriculture, killing him and three guards in the process of taking several leading government officials and prominent businessmen hostage.
In the end, President Carter refused Somoza further U.S. military aid, believing that the repressive nature of the government had led to popular support for the Sandinista uprising.
Lake Managua was considered dead because of decades of pesticide runoff, toxic chemical pollution from lakeside factories, and untreated sewage.
[73] American support for the long rule of the Somoza family had soured relations, and the FSLN government was committed to a Marxist ideology, with many of the leading Sandinista continuing long-standing relationships with the Soviet Union and Cuba.
[75] Prior to U.S. aid withdrawal, FSLN politician Bayardo Arce, stated that "Nicaragua is the only country building its socialism with the dollars of imperialism."
[84] American pressure against the government escalated throughout 1983 and 1984; the Contras began a campaign of economic sabotage and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's Port of Corinto,[85] an action later condemned by the International Court of Justice as illegal.
Only Israel and El Salvador, which was backed in its own guerrilla insurgency, voted with the U.S.. Jeane Kirkpatrick, the American ambassador to the UN, criticized the Court as a "semi-judicial" body.
In addition, the U.S. noted that Cuba and the Soviet Union had earlier committed the same violations against Nicaraguan sovereignty by providing training and ammunition to the Sandinistas against the Somoza regime.
Her government made moves towards consolidating democratic institutions, advancing national reconciliation, stabilizing the economy, privatizing state-owned enterprises.
Gen. Humberto Ortega was replaced, in accordance with a new military code enacted in 1994 by Gen. Joaquín Cuadra, who espoused a policy of greater professionalism in the renamed Army of Nicaragua.
That notwithstanding, Ortega ran again and won the Nicaraguan general election, 2011 amid accusations of fraud by losing candidate Fabio Gadea Mantilla.
