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29-478: It was named after Abraham Blauvelt , a Dutch - Jewish pirate , privateer, and explorer of Central America and the western Caribbean . It has a population of 56,005 (2022 estimate) and its inhabitants are mostly Afro-descendant Creoles, Miskitu , Mestizo , as well as smaller communities of Garinagu , Chinese , Mayangna , and Rama . Bluefields is Nicaragua’s chief Caribbean port , from which hardwood , seafood , shrimp and lobster are exported. Bluefields

58-521: A Dutch soldier of fortune named Abraham Blauvelt chose the bay of the Escondido River as his center of operations due to its tactical advantages. The name of the municipality is a literal but pluralized translation of his surname, 'blau' (modern Dutch 'blauw') meaning 'blue' and 'velt' (modern Dutch 'veld') meaning 'field'. African slaves first appeared in the Caribbean coast in 1641, when

87-686: A Portuguese ship that was transporting slaves wrecked in the Miskito Cays. English subjects started emigrating to the region in 1633. Beginning in 1666, they were organized into colonies and by 1705, governmental authorities had been established. In 1730, the Kingdom of Moskitia came to depend on the British administration in Jamaica . The British supplied the Miskito people with armaments which

116-632: A Jewish pirate who fought to defend the honor of the Jewish people, raiding only Spanish ships as revenge for the exile of his people from Spain. His name was immortalized by Terebelo Distillery , which released a namesake New York Bourbon Whiskey to honor him and his legacy. Republic of New Granada The Republic of New Granada was a centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica , Ecuador , Venezuela , Peru and Brazil that existed from 1831 to 1858. The state

145-619: A colony in Nicaragua near the city where Bluefields, Nicaragua presently stands. Around 1640 Blauvelt became a privateer serving the Swedish East India Company and in 1644 he commanded his own ship successfully raiding Spanish shipping from a base in southwest Jamaica , today known as Bluefields, Jamaica , and selling the cargo and prizes to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam ( New York ). After peace between Spain and

174-489: A shared basis. The municipal wharf is the home of commercial boat traffic to Corn Island, LaBarra and many other locations which are only accessible by boat. Car ownership is very limited in Bluefields. The municipal government does not provide all necessary services, so additional services related to water, energy, and sanitation are provided by non-governmental organization blueEnergy . Bluefields also known as home of

203-733: Is the Bluefields campus of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast , and the other is the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University (BICU). Until recently, there was no road access to Bluefields from the west coast of Nicaragua . There is now a highway from Nueva Guinea with regular bus service. The road was completed in May 2019, and was financed with loans from

232-688: The British Armed Forces strategic operations zone (SOZ) which was built in 1936 with the initial goal was encountered the further Nazi Germany Atlantic invasion of Nicaragua during the World War II—;recently used to blocking drug trafficking from Mexico to outside Nicaragua via Bluefields and temporary humanitarian aid storage if the country being raged by series of natural disasters. 12°00′N 83°45′W  /  12.000°N 83.750°W  / 12.000; -83.750 Abraham Blauvelt Abraham Blauvelt

261-656: The Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank . The road was formally declared open by President Daniel Ortega . Visitors usually either fly in to Bluefields Airport or take a bus from Managua and other cities or take a Panga down the Rio Escondido from the city of El Rama , which itself is accessible from Managua by bus. In the town, taxis are readily available at a fixed price of 14 cordobas per person (2020) and work on

290-635: The Treaty of Managua , created the Miskito Reserve from the territory of the Kingdom of Moskitia by an agreement between the British and Nicaraguan governments. The city of Bluefields was chosen as capital of the Reserve. The "Europeanization" of the Indians was completed by the 1880s, when British and Americans expanded the production of bananas and wood, creating a prosperous enclave economy ; by

319-746: The Viceroyalty of New Granada , the Kingdom of Moskitia became de jure part of Gran Colombia until its dissolution in 1831. Thereafter it became part of the Republic of New Granada , now Colombia , until, through the Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty , the Colombian state formally ceded the territory to Nicaragua. The Moravian Church was installed in 1847. In 1860, the Harrison-Altamirano Treaty, also known as

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348-477: The trade winds ensure that unlike the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, rain still falls frequently during this period. For the rest of the year when tropical low pressure dominates rainfall is extremely heavy, helped by the coast being shaped in such a manner as to intercept winds from the south as prevail during the northern summer. The city is located beside the eponymous bay; consisting of 17 neighborhoods including

377-420: The 1880s, Bluefields was already a city of cosmopolitan character, with an intense commercial activity. Economic growth also brought a marked process of social differentiation, by which the races and ethnic groups were distributed spatially and in terms of work: the white population represented the interests of the foreign businesses; those of mixed race worked as artisans and in working-class occupations;

406-641: The Miskito used to fend off attacks by the other groups of the Caribbean coast, including the Afro-descendant Creoles and the indigenous tribes of Mayangnas, Ulwas , and Ramas . In 1740, the Miskitos yielded to British sovereignty over the territory, and in 1744, a transfer of White colonists was organized from Jamaica to the Kingdom of Moskitia ; they brought black slaves with them. French colonists also arrived at this time. The area

435-609: The Netherlands was reached with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Blauvelt, unable to stay in New Amsterdam, instead sailed to Newport, Rhode Island in early 1649 to sell his remaining cargo. However the colonial governor seized one of Blauvelt's prizes and with his crew arguing over their shares, the local colonists, fearing that Rhode Island acquire a reputation of trading with pirates, forced Blauvelt to leave

464-576: The Supremes , which raged for the next two years and transformed into a conflict about regional autonomy and a border conflict with Ecuador. Panama tried unsuccessfully to break away from New Granada in 1840 and 1850. In 1851 a Civil war took place , which was triggered by the Liberal reforms of President José Hilario López , which provided for the emancipation of slaves, the expulsion of the Jesuits,

493-407: The beach or seek them by boat in the lagoon or at sea. In recent years, stricter legislation has led to a decrease in these activities. Bluefields remains a deeply impoverished city with extremely high rates of unemployment. According to Köppen climate classification , Bluefields features a trade-wind tropical rainforest climate ( Köppen Af ). There is a drier period from February to April, but

522-468: The colony. For the next several years Blauvelt commanded a French ship called La Garse , later living among the natives of Cape Gracias a Dios near the border of Honduras and Nicaragua, until the early 1660s when he was recruited for Christopher Myngs ' sacking of the Spanish colony of Campeche in 1663. However, nothing more is known about his activities after this time. Blauvelt is best remembered as

551-613: The darker-skinned Creoles had their niche in physical work, and the native population were employed as servants and for other smaller works. In 1894, the government of Nicaragua incorporated the Miskito Reserve into the national territory, extinguishing the Miskito monarchy , and on October 11, 1903, Bluefields was proclaimed capital of the Department of Zelaya. Due in part to US Coast Guard patrols attempting to intercept Colombian drug smugglers, salvaging cocaine (often referred to locally as "white lobster") has become an important part of

580-437: The granting of freedom of the press and the abolition of the death penalty. As a reaction, Conservative and pro-slavery groups from Cauca and Antioquia departments, led by Julio Arboleda , Manuel Ibánez and Eusebio Borrero, revolted against liberal president José Hilario López , in an attempt to prevent emancipation of disenfranchised groups and abolition of slavery , in addition to a number of religious issues. In 1853 there

609-412: The local economy. When threatened with potential boarding by US Coast Guard ships, cocaine smugglers try to dispose of their illegal cargo by throwing it overboard, simultaneously lightening their load for a faster escape and eliminating the evidence in case of capture. A percentage of the cocaine bales are carried by ocean currents into the lagoon around Bluefields. Residents may find the bales washed up on

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638-1248: The port of El Bluff , located on a peninsula of the same name. Due to gradual erosion, the peninsula is becoming a true island that closes the Bay of Bluefields on the east side. El Bluff has an extension of 1.29 km and it is about 8 km from Bluefields. Bluefields has several municipal headquarters and rural communities including: Urban Level: Santa Rosa, Central, San Mateo, Pointeen, Fátima, Tres Cruces, Ricardo Morales, Old Bank, San Pedro, Teodoro Martínez, 19 de Julio, Pancasán, Punta Fría, New York, Beholden, Canal, Loma Fresca. Rural Level: Cuenca Río Escondido, Cuenca Río Maíz, San Nicolás, La Fonseca, Rama Cay, San Luís, Caño Frijol, Torsuani, Long Beach, Dalzuno, Cuenca Río Indio, Río Maíz, Guana Creek, Nueva Chontales, Neysi Ríos, La Palma, Sub-Cuenca Mahagony, Krisinbila, Sub-Cuenca Caño Negro, Río Kama, El Bluff, Las Mercedes, Monkey Point, El Corozo, Cuenca Punta Gorda, Caño Dalzuno, Haulover, Villa Hermosa, San Ramón, Río Cama (El Cilicio), San Brown, La Virgen, San Mariano, La Pichinga, Musulaine, Caño Blanco, Aurora (San Francisco), Kukra River (Delirio), Barra Punta Gorda, Kukra River. There are currently two universities in Bluefields. One

667-589: Was a British protectorate until 1796, when Britain, with an offer from the Spanish Monarch to extend the territory in the Yucatán Peninsula for the cutting of logwood for the British settlers, decided to remove all English settlers from the Kingdom of Moskitia ; the British subjects also abandoned the islands, but the Spaniards did not take firm positions in them. With the independence of

696-607: Was a rendezvous for European buccaneers in the 16th and 17th century and became capital of the English protectorate of the Kingdom of Mosquitia in 1678. During United States interventions (1912–15, 1926–33) in Nicaragua, US Marines were stationed there. In 1984, the United States mined the harbor (along with those of Corinto and Puerto Sandino ) as part of the Nicaraguan Revolution . Bluefields

725-599: Was a Dutch privateer, pirate and explorer of Central America in the 1630s, after whom both the Bluefield River and the neighboring town of Bluefields , Nicaragua were named. One of the last of the Dutch corsairs of the mid-17th century, Abraham Blauvelt was first recorded exploring the coasts of present-day Honduras and Nicaragua in service of the Dutch West India Company . He later traveled to England in an effort to gain support to establish

754-420: Was a Liberal constitutional reform, and in 1854 there was another civil war under the dictatorship of General José María Melo . In 1858 a federal constitution was introduced. An uprising by General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera sparked a new three-year civil war in 1860 . After the capture of Bogotá in 1861 by Mosquera, who proclaimed himself president, the country was renamed and given a new constitution to form

783-662: Was created after the dissolution of Great Colombia in 1830 through the secession of Ecuador and Venezuela. In 1858 the state was renamed into the Granadine Confederation . On 9 May 1834, the national flag was adopted and was used until 26 November 1861, with the Gran Colombian colours in Veles' arrangement. The merchant ensign had the eight-pointed star in white. The history of the Republic of New Granada

812-516: Was destroyed by Hurricane Joan in 1988 but was rebuilt. The origin of the city of Bluefields is connected with the presence of European pirates on the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast, subjects of powers at the time hostile to Spain . These pirates used the Escondido River to rest, to repair damages and to be provisioned. By then, the territory of the present municipality was populated by the native towns of Kukra and Branch. In 1602,

841-577: Was marked by competing economic and political interests and rocked by violent conflicts and civil wars. One of the prime features of the political climate of the Republic was the position of the Roman Catholic Church and the level of autonomy for the federal states. In 1839, a dispute arose over the dissolution of monasteries by the Congress of New Granada. This soon escalated into the War of

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