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146-657: The Mosquito Coast (also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore ) is an area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras . It was named after the local Miskito Nation and was long dominated by British interests and known as the Mosquito Kingdom . From 1860 suzerainty of the area was transferred to Nicaragua with the name Mosquito Reserve , and in November 1894 the Mosquito Coast
292-529: A possible future transoceanic canal through Nicaragua , and claimed it for the Mosquito Kingdom. The commander of the port was kidnapped and abandoned in a deserted beach, and the civilian population was told to leave the place by March 1842. The Nicaraguan government protested and the British did not carry on the threatened evacuation of the port, but neither did they take action against MacDonald for
438-529: A rigged election . In 1941, during the Second World War , Nicaragua declared war on Japan (8 December), Germany (11 December), Italy (11 December), Bulgaria (19 December), Hungary (19 December) and Romania (19 December). Only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Nicaragua on the same day (19 December 1941). No soldiers were sent to the war, but Somoza García confiscated properties held by German Nicaraguan residents. In 1945, Nicaragua
584-635: A British protectorate was established over the Mosquito Kingdom. Britain's primary motive and the most immediate result of the treaty was to secure an alliance between the Miskito and British for the War of Jenkins' Ear , and the Miskito and British cooperated in attacks on Spanish settlements during the war. The most notable being the Raid on Matina in August by 1747 – the main fort (Fuerte de San Fernando de Matina)
730-528: A Tawira, controlling a region on the extreme south from Pearl Key Lagoon down to around Bluefields . The Miskito king Edward I and the British concluded a formal Treaty of Friendship and Alliance in 1740, and Robert Hodgson, Senior was appointed as Superintendent of the Shore. The language of the treaty includes what amounts to a surrender of sovereignty, and is often taken by historians as an indication that
876-855: A branch of Nahuas who spoke the Nawat dialect and also came from Chiapas, around 1200 CE. Prior to that, the Nicaraos had been associated with the Toltec civilization. Both Chorotegas and Nicaraos originated in Mexico's Cholula valley, and migrated south. A third group, the Subtiabas , were an Oto-Manguean people who migrated from the Mexican state of Guerrero around 1200 CE. Additionally, there were trade-related colonies in Nicaragua set up by
1022-673: A canal through Central America before the United States did. The protectorate was claimed to extend from Cape Honduras in the north to the mouth of the San Juan River in the south, including San Juan del Norte. Nicaragua protested again and sent forces to San Juan del Norte, which the Miskito King George Augustus Frederic II replied to with an ultimatum demanding all Nicaraguan forces to leave before January 1, 1848. Nicaragua appealed to
1168-614: A country later known as the Federal Republic of Central America. Nicaragua definitively became an independent republic in 1838. The early years of independence were characterized by rivalry between the Liberal elite of León and the Conservative elite of Granada, which often degenerated into civil war, particularly during the 1840s and 1850s. Managua rose to undisputed preeminence as the nation's capital in 1852 to allay
1314-505: A daughter of Sir Henry Rowe , Lord Mayor of London , and widow of William Holliday (c.1565–1624), Alderman of London, a wealthy London merchant and chairman of the East India Company . In March 1646, he made his third and last marriage to Eleanor Wortley (died 1667); neither of these produced children. He succeeded to his father's title as Earl of Warwick in 1619. Early developing interest in colonial ventures, he joined
1460-600: A deal with the Spanish. In order to prevent Stephen from seizing power for himself, General Robinson spirited George II's young heir George Frederic Augustus I to Jamaica by way of Belize and established a regency in his name. With Spanish power over the Mosquito Coast vanished and British influence rapidly returning, the Captaincy General of Guatemala sought full control of the shore from Spain. The Colombian Ricardo S. Pereira, writing in 1883, considered this act
1606-424: A decree increasing taxes and reducing benefits in the country's pension system. Local independent press organizations had documented at least 19 dead and over 100 missing in the ensuing conflict. A reporter from NPR spoke to protestors who explained that while the initial issue was the pension reforms, the uprisings that spread across the country reflected many grievances about the government's time in office, and that
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#17327730485531752-625: A farcical election in 1856; his presidency lasted less than a year. Military forces from Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua itself united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua in 1857, bringing three decades of Conservative rule. Great Britain, which had claimed the Mosquito Coast as a protectorate since 1655, delegated the area to Honduras in 1859 before transferring it to Nicaragua in 1860. The Mosquito Coast remained an autonomous area until 1894. José Santos Zelaya , President of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1909, negotiated
1898-617: A fear of armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza García ordered his assassination. Sacasa invited Sandino for dinner and to sign a peace treaty at the Presidential House on the night of February 21, 1934. After leaving the Presidential House, Sandino's car was stopped by National Guard soldiers and they kidnapped him. Later that night, Sandino was assassinated by National Guard soldiers. Later, hundreds of men, women, and children from Sandino's agricultural colony were murdered. Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships,
2044-495: A few families or groups of influential firms which reaped most of the benefits of the country's growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. When Somoza was deposed by the Sandinistas in 1979, the family's worth was estimated to be between $ 500 million and $ 1.5 billion. In 1961, Carlos Fonseca looked back to the historical figure of Sandino, and along with two other people, one of whom was believed to be Casimiro Sotelo, who
2190-454: A heart attack. His successor as president was René Schick Gutiérrez , whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet of the Somozas". Somoza García's youngest son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle , often referred to simply as "Somoza", became president in 1967. An earthquake in 1972 destroyed nearly 90% of Managua, including much of its infrastructure. Instead of helping to rebuild
2336-487: A miscalculation on the part of the Real Audiencia of Guatemala , and if they had simply raised an army and marched on the Mosquito Coast, nobody would have questioned that the area was part of the Captaincy General once Spanish power was fully restored. Instead, the Spanish government heeded the old advice espoused by Gil de Taboada and Ezpeleta, and decided against Guatemala's request on November 30, 1803, reaffirming
2482-553: A number of settlements of English traders. Although English accounts refer as well to various noble titles, Miskito social structure does not appear to have been particularly stratified. The 1699 description noted that people holding titles such as "king" and "governor" were only empowered as war leaders, and did not have the last word in judicial disputes. Otherwise, the author saw the population as living in an egalitarian state. M. W. mentioned titled officers in his account of 1699, but later sources define these superior offices to include
2628-764: A peace treaty where it ceded San Juan del Norte to the Mosquito Kingdom, who renamed it Greytown after Charles Edward Grey , governor of Jamaica . With the Mexican–American War concluded, the new US delegate in Central America, E. G. Squier , tried to get Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras to form a common front against the British, who were now threatening to annex Tiger Island ( El Tigre ) in Honduras' Pacific coast. After British and American forces nearly clashed in El Tigre, both governments reprimanded
2774-442: A pledge of good behavior in the future. When the terms weren't met, the crew bombarded Greytown , then landed and burnt the town to the ground. Damage was extensive but no one was killed. With its attention seized by the ongoing Crimean War and the firm opposition of Britain's merchant class to a war with the United States, the British government only protested and demanded an apology that was never received. By 1859 British opinion
2920-448: A referendum, seeking international recognition. It also addresses the needs of the impoverished Moskitian communities, such as drug addiction among youth as the coast is slowly gaining influence as a corridor for drug trafficking. However, the allure of possible Narco funding might be a tempting method of supporting independence should the movement find no support. The movement was backed by a 400-man "indigenous army" made up of veterans of
3066-642: Is Spanish , though indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English . Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part
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#17327730485533212-472: Is a combination of the words "Nican" (here), and " Ānāhuac ", which in turn is a combination of the words "atl" (water) and "nahuac", a locative meaning "surrounded". Therefore the literal translation of Nicanahuac is "here surrounded by water", fitting the theory that the etymology references the large bodies of water in and around the country, the Pacific Ocean , lakes Nicaragua and Xolotlan , and
3358-456: Is considered by historians to be a major event in slavery in the colonial history of the United States . In 1627, he commanded an unsuccessful privateering expedition against the Spanish . He sat as a Member of Parliament for Maldon for 1604 to 1611 and for Essex in the short-lived Addled Parliament of 1614. Warwick's Puritan connections and sympathies gradually estranged him from
3504-581: The White Lion , a privateer ship sponsored by him and operating under a Dutch letter of marque , attacked the Portuguese slave ship São João Bautista and captured approximately 20 African slaves . The White Lion proceeded to sail to Old Point Comfort in the English colony of Virginia , where its crew sold the Africans to the colony's settlers, including Governor George Yeardley . This event
3650-534: The 1786 Convention of London , Britain agreed to evacuate British settlers and their slaves from the Mosquito Coast to their as yet informal colony in what was to become British Honduras; later treaties recognized Britain's commercial, but never territorial rights in the region. Some of the settlers and their slaves remained after they swore loyalty to the King of Spain , especially in Bluefields . The Mosquito Coast
3796-408: The 1990 Nicaraguan general election , a coalition of anti-Sandinista parties from both the left and right of the political spectrum led by Violeta Chamorro , the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, defeated the Sandinistas. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas, who had expected to win. Exit polls of Nicaraguans reported Chamorro's victory over Ortega was achieved with a 55% majority. Chamorro
3942-576: The CIA to help the Contra rebels with funding, weapons, and training. The Contras operated from camps in the neighboring countries of Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among rural Nicaraguans to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. Several historians have criticized the Contra campaign and the Reagan administration's support for
4088-520: The Carter administration provided $ 60 million in aid to Nicaragua under the Sandinistas, but the aid was suspended when the administration obtained evidence of Nicaraguan shipment of arms to El Salvadoran rebels. Most people sided with Nicaragua against the Sandinistas. In response to the Sandinistas, various rebel groups collectively known as the " Contras " were formed to oppose the new government. The Reagan administration ultimately authorized
4234-619: The Contras , which captured the YAMATA party headquarters in 2009. The Mosquito Coast was a sparsely populated territory. Today, what used to be the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua has a population of 400,000 inhabitants, consisting of 57% Miskito , 22% Creoles (Afro-Europeans), 15% Ladinos , 4% Sumu (Amerindian), 1% Garifuna (Afro-Indians), 0.5% Chinese and 0.5% Rama (Amerindian). Nicaragua Nicaragua , officially
4380-748: The Guinea , New England, and Virginia companies, as well as the Virginia Company 's offspring, the Somers Isles Company (the Somers Isles, or Bermuda , was at first the more secure of the Virginia Company's two settlements, being impossible to attack overland and almost impregnable against attack from the ocean due to its encircling reef, and was attractive as a base of operations for Warwick's privateers, though his ship
4526-798: The Intermediate Area , between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions, and within the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian Area . Nicaragua's central region and its Caribbean coast were inhabited by Macro-Chibchan language ethnic groups such as the Miskito , Rama , Mayangna , and Matagalpas . They had coalesced in Central America and migrated both to and from present-day northern Colombia and nearby areas. Their food came primarily from hunting and gathering, but also fishing and slash-and-burn agriculture. At
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4672-593: The International Court of Justice as illegal. The court also found that the U.S. encouraged acts contrary to humanitarian law by producing the manual Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare and disseminating it to the Contras. The manual, among other things, advised on how to rationalize killings of civilians. The U.S. also sought to place economic pressure on the Sandinistas, and
4818-658: The Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the city of León. The city was rebuilt northwest of the original, which is now known as the ruins of León Viejo . During the American Revolutionary War , Central America was subject to conflict between Britain and Spain. British navy admiral Horatio Nelson led expeditions in the Battle of San Fernando de Omoa in 1779 and on the San Juan River in 1780 ,
4964-498: The National Assembly passed a bill further restricting abortion in Nicaragua . As a result, Nicaragua is one of five countries in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions. Legislative and presidential elections took place on November 5, 2006. Ortega returned to the presidency with 37.99% of the vote. This percentage was enough to win the presidency outright, because of a change in electoral law which lowered
5110-646: The Republic of Nicaragua , is the geographically largest country in Central America , comprising 130,370 km (50,340 sq mi). With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and Honduras . Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean and shares maritime borders with El Salvador to
5256-522: The Scottish con man Gregor MacGregor pretended to have been named " Cacique of Poyais " by George Frederic Augustus I and sold forged land rights to eager settlers and investors in Britain and France. Most settlers suffered from the lack of infrastructure and died from tropical diseases , MacGregor having led them to believe that the area was already developed and just in need of skilled workers. In
5402-633: The Treaty of Managua on January 28, 1860, which transferred suzerainty over the Caribbean coast between Cabo Gracias a Dios and Greytown to Nicaragua. Attempts to decide the sovereignty over the northern bank of the Wanks/Coco River which cuts Cabo Gracias a Dios in half, began in 1869, but would not be settled until ninety-one years later when the International Court of Justice decided in favor of Honduras. The 1860 treaty also recognized that
5548-573: The United Kingdom , and Belize replaced Jamaica as the principal British connection to the kingdom. George Frederic Augustus I's 1816 coronation in Belize was imitated by his successor Robert Charles Frederic in 1845. The Miskito kings allowed the settlement of foreigners in their lands as long as their sovereignty was respected, opportunity that was seized by British merchants and Garifuna people from Trujillo, Honduras . Between 1820 and 1837
5694-536: The Warwick was lost at Castle Harbour in November 1619). He was also instrumental in the establishment of the ill-fated Providence Island colony in the West Indies (which was also linked with his privateering activities). Warwick's enterprises involved him in disputes with the East India Company (1617) and with the Virginia Company , which in 1624 was suppressed as a result of his action. In August 1619,
5840-732: The court but promoted his association with the New England colonies. In 1628 he indirectly procured the patent for the Massachusetts Bay Colony , and in 1631 he was granted the "Saybrook" patent in Connecticut . Forced to resign the presidency of the Council for New England in the same year, he continued to manage the Somers Isles Company (the Somers Isles being one of the colonies that sided with
5986-509: The rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica 's designation as a biodiversity hotspot . Nicaragua has made efforts to become less dependent on fossil fuels, and it expects to acquire 90% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. Nicaragua
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6132-534: The ruins of León Viejo . The clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the "War of the Captains". Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner; although he lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and established his base in León. In 1527, León became the capital of the colony. Through diplomacy, Arias Dávila became
6278-868: The "land of lakes and volcanoes", Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve , the second-largest rainforest of the Americas. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination . Nicaragua co-founded the United Nations and is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement , Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America , and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States . It
6424-529: The 1620s and in January 1637 – 12 years into Charles I’s personal rule – personally presenting the case for a new parliament to the king. In September 1640, Warwick signed the Petition of Twelve to Charles I, asking the king to summon another parliament. Over the early part of the new parliament , Warwick led one wing of the opposition to Charles I. The Warwick House group pushed for further reform than
6570-451: The 16th century and in the 17th century sought to " reduce " the region through missionary efforts. These included several attempts by Franciscans between 1604 and 1612; another one led by Fray Cristóbal Martinez in 1622, and a third one between 1667 and 1675. None of these efforts resulted in any lasting success. Because the Spanish failed to have significant influence in the region, it remained independent of outside control. This allowed
6716-622: The 1830s and 40s King Robert Charles Frederic also appointed small traders, notably William Hodgson and brothers Peter and Samuel Shepherd, as his agents to administer his claims to tribute and taxes from lands as far south as Panama . At the same time, the mahogany trade peaked in Europe, but the supply in Belize, a main exporter, was becoming scarce. The Miskito Kingdom became an alternative source to Belize-based traders and wood cutting companies, who acquired concessions and land grants from Robert Charles Frederic. In 1837, Britain formally recognized
6862-572: The 2001 elections , the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Alemán's Vice President Enrique Bolaños succeeding him as president. However, Alemán was convicted and sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement , money laundering , and corruption; liberal and Sandinista parliament members combined to strip the presidential powers of President Bolaños and his ministers, calling for his resignation and threatening impeachment . The Sandinistas said they no longer supported Bolaños after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Bolaños to distance from
7008-474: The Aztecs starting in the 14th century. In 1502, on his fourth voyage, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama . Columbus explored the Mosquito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua but did not encounter any indigenous people. 20 years later, the Spaniards returned to Nicaragua, this time to its southwestern part. The first attempt to conquer Nicaragua
7154-456: The British presence, seizing the settlement at Black River , and driving British settlers from the isle of Roatán ; however, this ultimately failed when armed settlers led by the Anglo-Irish soldier Edward Despard retook the settlements . Although Spain had been unable to drive the British from the coast or occupy any position, in the course of the diplomatic negotiations following the war, Britain found itself making concessions to Spain. In
7300-430: The Contras , citing the brutality and numerous human rights violations of the Contras, alleging that health centers, schools, and cooperatives were destroyed by rebels, and that murder, rape, and torture occurred on a large scale in Contra-dominated areas. The U.S. also carried out a campaign of economic sabotage, and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's port of Corinto , an action condemned by
7446-628: The Crown ) and Providence Island Company , the latter of which, founded in 1630, administered Old Providence on the Mosquito Coast . Meanwhile, in England, Warwick opposed the forced loan of 1626, the payment of ship money , and Laud 's church policy. His Richneck Plantation was located in what is now the independent city of Newport News, Virginia . The Warwick River , Warwick Towne, Warwick River Shire , and Warwick County, Virginia are all believed named for him, as are Warwick, Rhode Island and Warwick Parish in Bermuda (alias The Somers Isles) . The oldest school in Bermuda, Warwick Academy ,
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#17327730485537592-419: The English called the "Mosquito Kingdom" was present on the coast in the early seventeenth century. One of the kings of this polity visited England around 1638 at the behest of the Providence Island Company and sealed an alliance. In subsequent years, the kingdom stood strongly against any Spanish incursions and was prepared to offer rest and asylum to any anti-Spanish groups that might come to their shores. At
7738-440: The FSLN. This "slow motion coup d'état " was averted partially by pressure from the Central American presidents, who vowed not to recognize any movement that removed Bolaños; the U.S., the OAS, and the European Union also opposed the action. Nicaragua briefly participated in the Iraq War in 2004 as part of the Plus Ultra Brigade , a military contingent of mixed personnel. Before the general elections on November 5, 2006 ,
7884-449: The Miskito's "King's Son" visit to England during the reign of Charles I (1625–1649). When his father died, this son returned home and placed his country under English protection. Following the capture of Providence Island by Spain in 1641, England did not possess a base close to the coast. However, shortly after the English captured Jamaica in 1655, they recommenced relations with the coast, and Oldman went to visit England. According to
8030-501: The Mosquito Coast (instead, the British occupied the Archipelago itself in 1806 during the course of the war against Spain), the Royal Decree of 1803 became the reason for territorial disputes between the United Provinces of Central America and Gran Colombia after Latin American independence , and between Nicaragua and Colombia for the rest of the 19th century. In the meantime George II's brother Stephen made some overtures to Spain, who reciprocated by calling Stephen king and giving him
8176-417: The Mosquito Kingdom as an independent state, and took diplomatic measures to prevent the new nations that left the imploding Federal Republic of Central America in 1838–1841 from interfering with the kingdom. The expansion of the economy attracted and benefitted from the arrival of capital from the United States, and immigrants from the States, the West Indies , Europe, Syria and China. Especially abundant
8322-437: The Mosquito Kingdom, now reduced to the territory around Bluefields, would become an autonomous Miskito reserve, usually called Mosquito Reservation or Mosquito Reserve . The municipal constitution of the reserve, signed on September 13, 1861, confirmed George Augustus Frederic II as ruler of the territory and its inhabitants, but only as hereditary chief and not king, a title that, along those of general, admiral and governor,
8468-473: The Mosquito region started around 1630, when the agents of the English chartered Providence Island Company —of which the Earl of Warwick was chairman and John Pym treasurer—occupied two small cays and established friendly relations with the local inhabitants. Providence Island , the company's main base and settlement, entered into regular correspondence with the coast during the decade of company occupation, 1631–1641. The Providence Island Company sponsored
8614-422: The New Granadan Viceroy José Manuel de Ezpeleta , who succeeded Taboada in 1789 and considered that Hodgson's influence among the Miskito was vital to avoid a revolt. Hodgson Jr. was the son of Robert Hodgson Sr., the first British appointed Superintendent in 1749–1759, and he had occupied himself this post from 1767 to 1775, when his political enemies persuaded Lord George Germain to replace him with James Lawrie,
8760-479: The Nicaraguan government. The death of George Augustus Frederic II in 1865, after only half that time had passed, led to a dispute between Nicaragua and the reserve's government. As indicated in its name, the position of hereditary chief was not completely elective like the title of King that preceded it, but had to be occupied by a member of George Augustus Frederic II's lineage of full Miskito ancestry. The council argued that none of George Augustus Frederic II's wives
8906-456: The North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCN) and the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) in 2014. The Miskito continued to enjoy a certain autonomy under Nicaragua, though there was considerable tension between the claims of the government and those of the indigenous people. This tension was expressed openly during Sandinista rule, which sought greater state control. The Miskito were strong supporters of U.S. efforts to undermine
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#17327730485539052-526: The Pacific lowlands – fertile valleys which the Spanish colonists settled, the Amerrisque Mountains (North-central highlands), and the Mosquito Coast (Atlantic lowlands/ Caribbean lowlands ). The low plains of the Atlantic Coast are 97 km (60 mi) wide in areas. They have long been exploited for their natural resources. On the Pacific side of Nicaragua are the two largest freshwater lakes in Central America— Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua . Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along
9198-408: The President of Nicaragua, Adolfo Díaz , requested the secretary of war, General Luis Mena , to resign for fear he was leading an insurrection. Mena fled Managua with his brother, the chief of police of Managua, to start an insurrection. After Mena's troops captured steam boats of an American company, the U.S. delegation asked President Díaz to ensure the safety of American citizens and property during
9344-540: The Reagan administration imposed a full trade embargo. The Sandinistas were also accused of human rights abuses including torture, disappearances and mass executions. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigated abuses by Sandinista forces, including an execution of 35 to 40 Miskitos in December 1981, and an execution of 75 people in November 1984. In the Nicaraguan general elections of 1984 , which were judged by at least one visiting 30-person delegation of NGO representatives to have been free and fair,
9490-600: The Rich family and appear in its pedigree, with the exception of Mountjoy, who was legitimised after his father's death. Robert Rich married three times, first in February 1605 to Frances Hatton (1590–1623) Lady of the Manor of Hunningham , daughter and heiress of Sir William Hatton (1560–1597) Lord of the Manor of Hunningham , formerly "Newport", the granddaughter of Francis Gawdy . Their children included Anne (1604–1642), Robert (1611–1659), Lucy (1615–after 1635), Frances (1621–1692) and Charles (1623?–1673). Sometime before January 1626, he married Susan Rowe (1582–1646),
9636-401: The Rio Kukalaya , including the king's residence near Sandy Bay, was a Sambu, as was the general, who ruled the northern portions of the kingdom, from the Wanks River to nearly Trujillo. The Governor, who was a Tawira , controlled the southern regions, from the Cucalaya River to Pearl Key Lagoon . In the later 18th century (post 1766), another title, Admiral , was recorded; this man was also
9782-445: The Sandinistas and were important allies of the Contras . Miskito dissidents declared the independence of the unrecognized Communitarian Nation of Moskitia in 2009. The movement is led by Reverend Hector Williams, who was elected as "Wihta Tara" (Great Judge) of Moskitia by the Council of Elders, its governing body composed of traditional leaders from within the Miskito community. The council advocates for independence and has considered
9928-491: The Sandinistas won the parliamentary election and their leader Daniel Ortega won the presidential election. The Reagan administration criticized the elections as a "sham" based on the claim that Arturo Cruz , the candidate nominated by the Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense , comprising three right wing political parties, did not participate in the elections. However, the administration privately argued against Cruz's participation for fear that his involvement would legitimize
10074-438: The U.S. Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly elected administration of President Juan Bautista Sacasa reached an agreement that Sandino would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a land grant for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year. However, due to a growing hostility between Sandino and National Guard director Anastasio Somoza García and
10220-454: The United States, but the Americans, then at war with Mexico , did not answer. After the ultimatum expired, Miskito-British forces led by the King and Patrick Walker, and backed by two British warships, seized San Juan del Norte. They also destroyed Serapaqui , where the British prisoners captured during the first attempt on San Juan del Norte were interned, and advanced to Lake Nicaragua , during which Walker drowned. On March 7 Nicaragua signed
10366-399: The United States. The Carter administration decided to work with the new government, while attaching a provision for aid forfeiture if it was found to be assisting insurgencies in neighboring countries. Somoza fled the country, and eventually ended up in Paraguay , where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party. In 1980,
10512-471: The Zambo gained a more dominant position and the king's domain was inhabited primarily by Zambos. They also assisted the government of Jamaica in hunting down Maroons in the 1720s. Although English accounts referred to the area as a "kingdom", it was relatively loosely organized. A description of the kingdom written in 1699, notes that it occupied discontinuous areas along the coast. It probably did not include
10658-467: The case of Nicaragua v. United States in 1986, found, "the United States of America was under an obligation to make reparation to the Republic of Nicaragua for all injury caused to Nicaragua by certain breaches of obligations under customary international law and treaty-law committed by the United States of America". During the war between the Contras and the Sandinistas, 30,000 people were killed. In
10804-408: The city, Somoza siphoned off relief money. The mishandling of relief money also prompted Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente to personally fly to Managua on December 31, 1972, but he died en route in an airplane accident. Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza, as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation. The Somoza family was among
10950-434: The coast briefly in his fourth voyage. Detailed Spanish accounts of the region, however, only relate to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. According to their understanding of the geography, the region was divided between two "Provinces" Taguzgalpa and Tologalpa . Lists of "nations" left by Spanish missionaries include as many as 30 names, though careful analysis of them by Karl Offen suggests that many were duplicated and
11096-631: The colony's first governor. Without women in their parties, the Spanish conquerors took Nahua and Chorotega wives and partners, beginning the multiethnic mix of indigenous and European stock now known as " mestizo ", which constitutes the great majority of the population in western Nicaragua. Many indigenous people were killed by European infectious diseases , compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. Many other indigenous peoples were captured and transported as slaves to Panama and Peru between 1526 and 1540. In 1610,
11242-561: The commanders of their forces there and concluded the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty on April 18, 1850. In this document the two powers pledged themselves to guarantee the neutrality and equal use of the proposed canal, and to not "occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica , the Mosquito Coast or any part of Central America", nor make use of any protectorate or alliance, present or future, to such ends. The United States assumed that this meant
11388-412: The conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaragua's main cities: Granada on Lake Nicaragua , and then León , west of Lake Managua . Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors. Córdoba was later publicly beheaded for having defied his superior, Pedro Arias Dávila . Córdoba's tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in
11534-520: The control of the Viceroyalty of New Granada over the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (used by New Granadan coast guards as a base against British privateers, often coming from the Mosquito Coast itself), and transferring sovereignty of the Mosquito Coast over to New Granada and considering the area a dependency of San Andrés. While Spanish rule was never restored over
11680-506: The death toll were as high as 63, many of them student protesters, and the wounded totalled more than 400. Following a working visit from May 17 to 21, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted precautionary measures aimed at protecting members of the student movement and their families after testimonies indicated the majority of them had suffered acts of violence and death threats for their participation. In
11826-657: The elections was initially prohibited, and as a result the validity of the elections has been disputed, but observation by the OAS was announced in October. Ortega was reported by Nicaraguan election officials as having received 72% of the vote. However, the Broad Front for Democracy (FAD), having promoted boycotts of the elections, claimed that 70% of voters had abstained (while election officials claimed 65.8% participation). In April 2018, demonstrations were held to oppose
11972-555: The elections, and thus weaken the case for American aid to the Contras. In 1983 the U.S. Congress prohibited federal funding of the Contras, but the Reagan administration illegally continued to back them by covertly selling arms to Iran and channeling the proceeds to the Contras in the Iran–Contra affair , for which several members of the Reagan administration were convicted of felonies. The International Court of Justice , in regard to
12118-518: The end of the 15th century, western Nicaragua was inhabited by several indigenous peoples related by culture to the Mesoamerican civilizations of the Aztec and Maya , and by language to the Mesoamerican language area . The Chorotegas were Mangue language ethnic groups who had arrived in Nicaragua from what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas sometime around 800 CE. The Nicarao people were
12264-503: The end of the regency. Meanwhile, Spain lost rule over New Granada in 1819 and over Central America in 1821, when the First Mexican Empire was proclaimed. As internecine conflicts seized both Gran Colombia and Central America post-independence, the potential of any regional power to threaten the Miskito kingdom declined. Miskito Kings renewed their alliance with Great Britain, which in 1801 had merged with Ireland to form
12410-577: The fact that there are two large lakes and several other bodies of water within the country. However, this etymology is considered to be outdated by most historians as in 2002 it was discovered that the real name of the cacique was Macuilmiquiztli and not Nicarao. It had also been discovered that the Nicaraos called their land Nicānāhuac, which most historians now believe is the true etymology of "Nicaragua". It means "here lies Anahuac" in Nahuatl and
12556-699: The fertile western valleys, González Dávila and his men were attacked and driven off by the Chorotega, led by chief Diriangén . The Spanish tried to convert the tribes to Christianity; Macuilmiquiztli's tribe was baptized, but Diriangén was openly hostile to the Spaniards. Western Nicaragua, at the Pacific Coast, became a port and shipbuilding facility for the Galleons plying the waters between Manila, Philippines and Acapulco, Mexico. The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524. That year,
12702-551: The fight is for President Ortega and his vice president, his wife, to step down. April 24, 2018 marked the day of the greatest march in opposition of the Sandinista party. On May 2, 2018, university-student leaders made a public announcement giving the government seven days to set a date and time for a dialogue that was promised to the people due to the recent events of repression. The students also scheduled another peaceful protest march on that same day. As of May 2018, estimates of
12848-571: The first land grants to this effect in 1742. British settlement concentrated especially in the Black River area, Cape Gracias a Dios, and Bluefields . The British plantation owners used their estates to grow some export crops and as bases for the exploitation of timber resources, especially mahogany. Most of the labor on the estates was supplied by African slaves and by indigenous slaves captured in Miskito and British raids into Spanish territory. By 1786, there were several hundred British residents on
12994-603: The fleet, in 1648, Warwick retook the ' Castles of the Downs ' (at Walmer , Deal , and Sandown ) for Parliament, and became Deal Castle's captain 1648–53. The subject was criticized for not recapturing the royalist fleet in 1648 when Prince Rupert suffered mutiny and disarray in Hellevoetsluis . However, he was dismissed from office on the abolition of the House of Lords in 1649. He retired from national public life, but
13140-479: The gifts offered by the Spanish. The Miskito resumed trade with Jamaica and, when news of another Anglo-Spanish War arrived in 1797, George II raised an army to attack Bluefields, deposing Hodgson, and drove the Spanish out of the kingdom on September 4, 1800. However, the king died suddenly in 1801. According to British George Henderson, who visited the Mosquito Coast in 1804, many in the kingdom believed that George II had been poisoned by his brother Stephen as part of
13286-430: The immediate British evacuation of the Mosquito Coast, while the British argued that it only bound them to not expand further in Central America and that both the 1844 protectorate and the 1848 peace treaty were still valid. On November 21, the American steamer Prometheus was fired upon by a British warship for not paying port tariffs at Greytown. One of the passengers was Cornelius Vanderbilt , business magnate and one of
13432-466: The incident. In 1844, the British government declared a new protectorate over the Mosquito Kingdom and appointed a consul-general of the Mosquito Coast, Patrick Walker with seat in Bluefields. The proclamation was motivated by the state of anarchy in the Mosquito Kingdom after the death of Robert Charles Frederic, but also by the impending American annexation of Texas and the British desire to build
13578-538: The insurrection. He replied he could not, and asked the U.S. to intervene in the conflict. U.S. Marines occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933, except for a nine-month period beginning in 1925. In 1914, the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty was signed, giving the U.S. control over a proposed canal through Nicaragua, as well as leases for potential canal defenses. After the U.S. Marines left, another violent conflict between Liberals and Conservatives in 1926 resulted in
13724-544: The integration of the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua. In his honor, the region became " Zelaya Department ". Throughout the late 19th-century, the United States and several European powers considered various schemes to link the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic by building a canal across Nicaragua . In 1909, the United States supported the forces rebelling against President Zelaya. U.S. motives included differences over
13870-639: The intermediate levels in the businesses and relegating the native Miskitu to the worst paid occupations at the base. In August 1841, a British ship, without knowledge of London, carried the Miskito King Robert Charles Frederic and the British Governor of Belize , Alexander MacDonald , to occupy Nicaragua's only Caribbean port in San Juan del Norte , placed at the mouth of the San Juan River and likely endpoint of
14016-475: The king, a governor , and a general . In the early 18th century, the Miskito kingdom became organized into four distinct clusters of population, centered on the banks of the navigable rivers. They were integrated into a single if loosely structured political entity. The northern portions were dominated by Sambus and the southern ones by Tawira Miskitos. The king, whose domain lay from the Wanks River south to
14162-583: The kingdom's extent and arguable nonexistence were pursued in diplomatic exchanges. The British and Miskitu definition applied to the whole eastern seaboard of Nicaragua and even to La Mosquitia in Honduras: i.e., the coast region as far west as the Río Negro or Tinto. Before the arrival of Europeans in the region, the area was divided into a large number of small, egalitarian groups, possibly speaking languages related to Sumu and Paya . Columbus visited
14308-604: The land and capital in the reserve began to be agglutinated by an increasingly small number of US citizens. When in 1894, Rigoberto Cabezas led a campaign to annex the reserve, natives responded with vigorous protest, an appeal to Britain to protect them, and more militant resistance – to little avail. The situation was such that, from July 6 to August 7, the US occupied Bluefields to 'protect US interests'. After enjoying almost complete autonomy for fourteen years, on 20 November 1894 their territory formally became incorporated into that of
14454-591: The last British Superintendent before the evacuation and a declared adversary of Hodgson. The Spanish hoped to win over support of the Miskito elite by offering presents like the British had and educating their youth in Guatemala, as many Miskito had been educated previously in Jamaica. Catholic missionaries also travelled to the Coast with the aim of converting the native population in this period. The acceptance of
14600-546: The last week of May, thousands who accuse Mr. Ortega and his wife of acting like dictators joined in resuming anti-government rallies after attempted peace talks have remained unresolved. Open suppression of political dissent and more militarized policing began in April 2018, but the onset of repression was gradual. Nicaragua occupies a landmass of 130,967 km (50,567 sq mi), which makes it slightly larger than England. Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions:
14746-591: The latter of which had temporary success before being abandoned due to disease. The Act of Independence of Central America dissolved the Captaincy General of Guatemala in September 1821, and Nicaragua soon became part of the First Mexican Empire . In July 1823, after the overthrow of the Mexican monarchy in March of the same year, Nicaragua joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America ,
14892-490: The local Miskito people, thereby creating a mixed-race group. They gradually adopted the language and much of the culture of their hosts. The Miskito Sambu settled near the Wanks (Coco) River . By the late 17th century, their leader held the office of general with jurisdiction over the northern portions of the Mosquito Kingdom. In the early eighteenth century, they managed to take over the office of King, which they held for at least
15038-479: The long-standing relation that the Mosquito Kingdom had earlier with British Jamaica , but this idea was rejected by the Spanish Crown . Guatemala protested the perceived unruliness of the Spanish appointed governor at Bluefields , who was none other but a former British Superintendent of the Mosquito Coast who had sworn recent fealty to Spain, Robert Hodgson Jr., but his loyalty and good work were defended by
15184-625: The longest being the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family , who ruled for 43 nonconsecutive years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power in 1937 partly as a result of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional to replace the marines who had long reigned in the country. Somoza García slowly eliminated officers in the national guard who might have stood in his way, and then deposed Sacasa and became president on January 1, 1937, in
15330-529: The marshal and his men with a rifle, arguing that they had no power to arrest an American citizen. Though he held no office, Borland ordered 50 American passengers bound for New York to remain on land and "protect US interests" while he sailed to the United States for help. In an example of gunboat diplomacy , the Americans sent then the USS ; Cyane and demanded 24,000 dollars in damages, an apology and
15476-585: The more conciliatory Bedford House group, and in particular urged the need for the execution of the Earl of Stratford . In 1642, following the dismissal of the Earl of Northumberland as Lord High Admiral , Warwick was appointed commander of the fleet by Parliament . In 1643, he was appointed head of a commission for the government of the colonies, which the next year incorporated Providence Plantations , afterwards Rhode Island , and in this capacity, he exerted himself to secure religious liberty. As commander of
15622-508: The national newspaper La Prensa and ardent opponent of Somoza, was assassinated. It is alleged that the planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime. The Sandinistas forcefully took power in July 1979, ousting Somoza, and prompting the exodus of the majority of Nicaragua's middle class, wealthy landowners, and professionals, many of whom settled in
15768-406: The native people to continue their traditional way of life and to receive visitors from other regions. English and Dutch privateers who preyed on Spanish ships soon found refuge in the Mosquito Coast. Crown colony of England under local rule (1638–1707) Although the earliest accounts do not mention it, a political entity of uncertain organization, but probably not very stratified, which
15914-558: The new order was unequal and often influenced by the underlying tensions within the own Miskito elites, divided between the northern regions controlled by the Sambu, loyal to King George II Frederic who remained himself friendly to the British, and the Tawira southerners aligned with Admiral Briton, who developed closer ties with Spain and adopted the name Don Carlos Antonio Castilla after his own conversion. The Spanish also sought to occupy
16060-407: The party's host, former agriculture minister Jose Maria Castillo, until the Somoza government met their demands for a large ransom and free transport to Cuba . Somoza granted the demand, and then subsequently sent his national guard out into the countryside to look for the kidnappers, who were described by opponents as terrorists. On January 10, 1978, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal , the editor of
16206-512: The percentage requiring a runoff election from 45% to 35% (with a 5% margin of victory). Nicaragua's 2011 general election resulted in the re-election of Ortega, with a landslide 62.46% of the vote. In 2014 the National Assembly approved changes to the constitution allowing Ortega to run for a third successive term. In November 2016, Ortega was elected for his third consecutive term (his fourth overall). International monitoring of
16352-549: The political instability in Nicaragua proper, which threatened the peace within the reserve. In 1881, Nicaragua and Britain agreed to subject the most disputed points of the 1860 treaty to the arbitration of the Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary . His decision, released on June 2, agreed largely with the interests of the Miskito—and by extension, the British. The arbitration decided that: From 1883,
16498-681: The positions formerly held by British settlers with their own colonists. Beginning in 1787, around 1,200 settlers were brought in from the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands . They settled in Sandy Bay, Cape Gracias a Dios and Black River, but not in the new capital Bluefields. The new colony suffered setbacks as a result of many of the settlers dying en route and the Miskito Crown showing its dissatisfaction with
16644-441: The proposed Nicaragua Canal , Nicaragua's potential to destabilize the region, and Zelaya's attempts to regulate foreign access to Nicaraguan natural resources. On November 18, 1909, U.S. warships were sent to the area after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) were executed by order of Zelaya. The U.S. justified the intervention by claiming to protect U.S. lives and property. Zelaya resigned later that year. In August 1912,
16790-441: The regional geography included about a half dozen entities speaking related but distinct dialects occupying the various river basins of the region. During the 16th century, Spanish authorities issued various licenses to conquer Taguzgalpa and Tologalpa in 1545, 1562, 1577, and 1594, but no evidence suggests that any of these licenses resulted in even brief settlements or conquests. The Spanish were unable to conquer this region during
16936-550: The republic of Nicaragua by Nicaraguan president José Santos Zelaya . The former Mosquito Coast was established as the Nicaraguan department of Zelaya . During the 1980s, the department was dissolved and substituted by the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS), autonomous regions with a certain degree of self-government. Those regions were renamed
17082-522: The rest of the century. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Miskitos Zambos began a series of raids that attacked Spanish-held territories and still independent indigenous groups in the area. Miskito raiders reached as far north as the Yucatán, and as far south as Costa Rica. They sold many of the captives they took as slaves to English or other British merchants; the slaves were transported to Jamaica to work on sugar plantations. Through such raiding,
17228-491: The return of U.S. Marines. From 1927 to 1933, rebel general Augusto César Sandino led a sustained guerrilla war against the regime and then against the U.S. Marines , whom he fought for over five years. When the Americans left in 1933, they set up the Guardia Nacional (national guard), a combined military and police force trained and equipped by the Americans and designed to be loyal to U.S. interests. After
17374-481: The richest people in the United States. The British government apologized after the United States sent two armed sloops to the area. More incidents happened in the following years. In 1852, Britain occupied the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras and rebuffed the American protests claiming that they had been part of Belize before the treaty. The American representative in Nicaragua, Solon Borland , considered
17520-648: The rivalry between the two feuding cities. Following the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848, Nicaragua provided a route for travelers from the eastern United States to journey to California by sea, via the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua. Invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, the American adventurer and filibuster William Walker set himself up as President of Nicaragua after conducting
17666-513: The rivers and lagoons. Additional theories about the country's name comes from any of the following Nahuatl words: nican-nahua , which means "here are the Nahuas"; and nic-atl-nahuac , the longer form of Nicanahuac meaning "here by the water" or "surrounded by water". Paleo-Indians first inhabited what is now known as Nicaragua as far back as 12,000 BCE. In later pre-Columbian times, Nicaragua's indigenous people were part of
17812-515: The sale of land in Cabo Gracias a Dios attracted the interest of Prince Charles of Prussia . Charles' first plan was to establish a Prussian settlement in the area and sent three German merchants to study this possibility on the ground. Their dictamen was against colonization, but their suggestion to evangelize the Mosquito Coast was taken up by the Prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg , who delegated
17958-431: The shore and several thousand slaves, mostly African. The Miskito kings received regular gifts from the British in the form of weapons and consumer goods, and provided security against slave revolts and capturing runaways. Spain, which claimed the territory, suffered considerably from the Miskito attacks which continued during peacetime. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Spanish forces attempted to eliminate
18104-627: The task in the Moravian Church . The first missionaries arrived in 1848 with a letter of recommendation from Lord Palmerston and began to work in 1849 in Bluefields, targeting the royal family and the Creoles before expanding to the rest of the Kingdom. In 1880, the mission saw a membership of 1,030 made up of mostly urban creoles. By 1890, the membership was 3,924 and made up of mostly Miskito and rural natives. Britain and Nicaragua signed
18250-513: The testimony of his son Jeremy, taken around 1699, he was received in audience by "his brother king", Charles II and was given a "lac'd hat" and a commission "to kindly use and relieve such straggling Englishmen as should chance to come that way". While accounts vary, the Miskito Sambu appear to be descended from the survivors of a shipwrecked slave ship who reached this area in the mid-seventeenth century. These survivors intermarried with
18396-448: The traditional gifts (albeit less frequently than to George II), but he later changed allegiances and raided Spanish held territory. In 1815, Stephen, styling himself "King Regent [...] of the Shore", and 33 other Miskito notables gave their "consent, assent, and declaration to, for, and of" George Frederic Augustus I as their "Sovereign King". His coronation in Belize on January 16, 1816, in a deliberate move to secure British support, marked
18542-578: The treaty breached and argued openly for the US annexation of Nicaragua and the rest of Central America, for which he was forced to resign. In 1853, the buildings of the US-owned Accessory Transit Company in Greytown were looted and destroyed by the locals. In 1854, an American steamer captain killed a Greytown Creole, and Borland, who had remained in Greytown after his resignation, stopped the arrest for murder by threatening
18688-439: The very least English and French privateers and pirates did visit there, taking in water and food. A detailed account of the kingdom written by a buccaneer known only as M. W. describes its organization as being fundamentally egalitarian, with the king and some officials (usually called "Captains" in that period but later being more elaborate) being primarily military leaders, but only in time of war. The first British contacts with
18834-473: The west and Colombia to the east. The country's largest city and national capital is Managua , the fourth-largest city in Central America , with a population of 1,055,247 as of 2020. Nicaragua is known as "the breadbasket of Central America" due to having the most fertile soil and arable land in all of Central America. Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage. The country's most spoken language
18980-501: Was Miskito and that none of their children was eligible as a result. The election of William Henry Clarence as new chief, George Augustus Frederic II's nephew by his second sister, was not recognized by Nicaragua. William Henry Clarence asked for support to Great Britain, accusing Nicaragua of not abiding to the terms of the 1860 treaty and threatening the Miskitu's autonomy, and complaining both about increasing Nicaraguan immigration and
19126-547: Was a sister of the Earl of Essex , executed for treason in 1601, making Rich a cousin to future Parliamentarian general Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex . He had two sisters, Essex (1585-1658) and Lettice (1587-1619) and a younger brother Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (1590–1649). He also had a number of half brothers and sisters, including Penelope (1592-?), Isabella, Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport (1597-1666), and Charles (1605-1627). Almost certainly fathered by Charles Mountjoy, these children were brought up within
19272-428: Was abolished; and that the hereditary chief would be advised by a council of 41 members elected for a period of eight years. The composition of this council was not limited to Miskito: instead, the first council included a number of Moravian missionaries and its first session started with an oration in this denomination. In compensation for his losses, George Augustus Frederic II would be paid £1000 yearly and until 1870 by
19418-495: Was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Charter. On September 29, 1956, Somoza García was shot to death by Rigoberto López Pérez , a 27-year-old Liberal Nicaraguan poet. Luis Somoza Debayle , the eldest son of the late president, was appointed president by the congress and officially took charge of the country. He is remembered by some as moderate, but after only a few years in power died of
19564-795: Was an English naval officer, politician and peer who commanded the Parliamentarian navy during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . A Puritan , he was also lord of the Manor of Hunningham . Robert Rich was the eldest son and third of seven children born to Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick (1559–1619) and his first wife Penelope (1563–1607). His parents separated soon after his brother Henry's birth, although they did not formally divorce until 1605, when Penelope married her long-time partner, Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy (1563-1606). Penelope
19710-633: Was built on land in Warwick Parish given by the Earl of Warwick; the school was begun in the 1650s (its early records were lost with those of the Warwick Vestry in a twentieth-century shipwreck), though the school places its founding officially in 1662. By the summer of 1640 Warwick had emerged as the centre of the resistance to Charles I. This was the result of decades of resisting actions including opposing Charles I's compulsory loans during
19856-698: Was by the conquistador Gil González Dávila , who had arrived in Panama in January 1520. In 1522, González Dávila ventured to the area that later became the Rivas Department of Nicaragua. There he encountered an indigenous Nahua tribe led by chief Macuilmiquiztli, whose name has sometimes been erroneously referred to as " Nicarao " or "Nicaragua". The tribe's capital was Quauhcapolca. González Dávila conversed with Macuilmiquiztli thanks to two indigenous interpreters who had learned Spanish, whom he had brought along. After exploring and gathering gold in
20002-538: Was captured and the cacao rich area was subsequently ravaged. This military cooperation would prove important as Miskito forces were vital to protecting not only British interests in the Mosquito Kingdom but also for British holdings in British Honduras (now Belize ). A more lasting result of this formal relation was that Edward I and other Miskito rulers who followed him allowed the British to establish settlements and plantations within his realm, and issued
20148-520: Was initially annexed (or from the Spanish point of view, re-annexed) to the Captaincy General of Guatemala . Since the beginning, however, poor land communication with Guatemala City made easier for the Miskito elites to sail to Cartagena de Indias and swear fealty to Spain before the Viceroy of New Granada instead. Viceroy Francisco Gil de Taboada even suggested that government over the Mosquito Coast should be transferred to Havana, Cuba , mirroring
20294-549: Was later assassinated, founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). After the 1972 earthquake and Somoza's apparent corruption, the ranks of the Sandinistas were flooded with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose. In December 1974, a group of the FSLN, in an attempt to kidnap U.S. ambassador Turner Shelton, held some Managuan partygoers hostage after killing
20440-539: Was militarily incorporated into Nicaragua. However, in 1960, the northern part was granted to Honduras by the International Court of Justice . The Mosquito Coast was generally defined as the domain of the Miskito Kingdom and expanded or contracted with that domain. During the 19th century, the question of the kingdom's borders was a serious issue of international diplomacy between Britain, the United States, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Conflicting claims regarding both
20586-511: Was no longer supportive of their nation's presence in the Mosquito Coast. The British government returned the Bay Islands and ceded the northern part of the Mosquito Coast to Honduras, negotiating with Guatemala to enlarge the British territory in Belize as compensation. The next year, Britain signed the Treaty of Managua , ceding the rest of the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. In the 1840s, two British citizens who travelled Europe advertising
20732-593: Was one of the few countries that did not enter an INDC at COP21 . Nicaragua initially chose not to join the Paris Climate Accord because it felt that "much more action is required" by individual countries on restricting global temperature rise. However, in October 2017, Nicaragua made the decision to join the agreement. It ratified this agreement on November 22, 2017. Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick KB , PC (May/June 1587 – 19 April 1658)
20878-400: Was previously believed that the name Nicaragua was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao , who was a cacique of a powerful nahua tribe encountered by the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila during his entry into southwestern Nicaragua in 1522. This theory held that the etymology of Nicaragua was formed from Nicarao and agua (Spanish for 'water'), to reference
21024-633: Was the first woman president of Nicaragua. Ortega vowed he would govern desde abajo (from below). Chamorro came to office with an economy in ruins, primarily because of the financial and social costs of the Contra War with the Sandinista-led government. In the 1996 general election , Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas of the FSLN lost again, this time to Arnoldo Alemán of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC). In
21170-495: Was the immigration of Afro-Caribbeans following the abolition of slavery in the British and French Caribbean in 1841, who settled mainly in and around Bluefields, merging with the descendants of the slaves that had not been evacuated in 1786 and giving origin to the Miskito Coast Creoles . Because of their greater knowledge of English, the Creoles soon became the workers most sought by foreign companies, occupying
21316-462: Was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s. The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, including contributions by Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío . Known as
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