The term comes from the name given to the region by Central American indigenous peoples and was used to designate colonial territories in what is now Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
[1] Chronicles narrate stories of the indigenous groups encountered by the explorers, as they did not come across a solitary territory.
On the contrary, these ethnicities posed challenges for the conquistadors because many of these groups were strong and resilient, as in the case of the Doraces, also known as Dorás, Dorces, Dorados, or Dorasques.
[2] The Doraces, also known as dorados, dorás, dorasques or dorces, were not a single homogeneous ethnic group.
Among these were the Aburema, Aoyaques, Barú, Borasi, Boquerón, Bugabas, Bulabá, Buricas, Caizanes, Calderas, Carabaro, Cébaco, Chalivas, Chiracona, Chiriluos, Chumulos, Dolegas, Duraria, dures, dururua, espalaba, guabalá, gualaca, guaniaga, iribolos, mariato, montijo, musá, nusa, saribas, querébalos, raquegua, suasimis, suríes, tabasará, tabor, vareclas, veragua, among others.