Nicaragua

HISTORY

The extinct Nicarao people of pre-Columbian Nicaragua shared many cultural traits with the Aztecs of Mexico, including their calendar, screenfold books, and human sacrifice.

Christopher Columbus was the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua when he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama in 1502. On his fourth voyage, Columbus explored the Miskito Coast on the Atlantic side of the regiom..

The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. The name "Nicaragua" was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name "Nicarao", chief of the most populous indigenous tribe.

The first Spanish permanent settlement was founded in 1524 when Conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded Granada on Lake Nicaragua. It was ostensibly the first European city in mainland America.

The Colonial City of Granada. By Elemaki - Wikipedia Commons

At the age of 21, Horatio Nelson was invalided home from Nicaragua when he was among 88 members of his crew who went down with yellow fever with less than ten surviving.

In 1821 Nicaragua declared independence from Spain jointly with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

After the monarchy of the First Mexican Empire was overthrown two years later, Nicaragua joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America, which was later renamed as the Federal Republic of Central America.

The collapse of the Federal Republic of Central America began in 1838 with Nicaragua seceding from the union.

United States adventurer William Walker became the only American to become the president of a foreign country in 1856. He set himself up as President of Nicaragua, after conducting a farcical election and attempted to unite all of Central America into one country. Costa Rica, Honduras, and other Central American countries united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua the following year.

The flag of Nicaragua was officially adopted on August 27, 1971. The flag is a horizontal triband of azure (top and bottom) and white with the National Coat of Arms centered on the white band. The coat of arms features a triangle for equality, a liberty cap for freedom, and five volcanoes between two oceans, symbolic of the five original Central American countries between the Atlantic and Pacific ocean basins. It is based on the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America and inspired by the Argentine flag.

The flag of Nicaragua.

In 1971, having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regained enough strength to be rebranded Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to successfully cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.

When Violeta Chamorro won the Nicaragua general election on February 25, 1990, she became the first elected female head of state in the Americas. Chamorro was the candidate of the United National Opposition (UNO), a coalition of anti-Sandinista parties that united to oppose incumbent president Daniel  Ortega and the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front. Chamorro's victory was seen as a significant moment in Nicaraguan history, as well as a milestone for women in politics in the region. 

Chamorro served as president of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997, and she remains an important figure in the country's political and social history.

Violeta Chamorro.

FUN FACTS

With a size of 50,193 square miles (129,494 sq kms), Nicaragua is the largest country in in the Central American isthmus.

Nicaragua's capital, Managua, is the country's largest city and the third-largest city in Central America. Almost a quarter of Nicaragua's population lives there.

The country's main language is Spanish. Nicaraguan Spanish has several distinguishing characteristics. For example, some Nicaraguans have a tendency to replace the "s" sound with an "h" sound when speaking.

Baseball was introduced to Nicaragua during the 19th century and it is now the most popular sport in the country.

Land is the traditional basis of wealth in Nicaragua, with huge fortunes coming from the export of staples such as beef, coffee, cotton and sugar. Almost all of the upper class and nearly a quarter of the middle class are substantial landowners.

Nicaragua had seen positive growth in the tourism sector in the 21st century, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation.

Nicaragua is known as "the land of lakes and volcanoes" due to the number of lagoons and lakes, and the chain of volcanoes that runs from the north to the south along the country's Pacific side.

Concepción volcano, as seen from Maderas volcano.By Adrian Sampson - Wikipedia

With an area of 3,191 square miles (8,264 km2), Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Central America.

Lake Nicaragua boasts the only fresh water sharks in the entire world.

Peñas Blancas, part of the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve is the second largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere, after the Amazonian Rainforest in Brazil.