Introduction

Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, lies in Central America. It is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Caribbean Sea lies to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

The population estimate in 1990 was 3.9 million people.

More than 75 percent of the population is mestizo, or mixed European and American Indian descent. Some of the original American Indian groups still exist in Nicaragua, such as the Sumo, Miskito and Rama peoples. Some Black Creoles occupy the Caribbean lowland.

Spanish is Nicaragua's official language, though English has a wide familiarity among the population.

Almost 90 percent of the population are Roman Catholic.

The population in Nicaragua is very young, with nearly half the population under 15 years of age. The country's birth rate is high, and the once-high infant mortality rate is on the decline. The annual population growth estimate is one of the highest in Central and Latin America.

History

In 1502, Christopher Columbus landed on Nicaragua's eastern shore. As a result, two Spanish cities - Granada and León - were established and a great rivalry erupted between the settlements. Granada was an agricultural city, while León was named the provincial capital.

Britain also established settlements on the Caribbean coast during the 17th and 18th centuries. Eventually, Britain claimed the Mosquito Coast as a protectorate (1740-1786).

Nicaragua became an independent state in 1838 after a short stint with the United Provinces of Central America. Though independent, power struggles still occurred within the country as the Liberals (located in León) and the Conservatives (from Granada) competed for political power. The capital was switched several times between these two cities, and eventually it was decided to make Managua, which lies between the two cities, the capital.

The Conservatives and the Liberals took turns holding power. The Conservatives held power for most of the second half of the 19th century. The Liberals controlled the government until the U.S. pressured for the installation of a Conservative government in 1909. For support, the U.S. sent a small dispatch of marines to Nicaragua. The marines left in 1925 and immediately civil war broke out between the Liberal and the Conservatives. More marines were sent and finally withdrew after two supervised elections took place, both putting Liberal presidents at the head of the nation.

The U.S. marines trained the Nicaraguan National Guard to keep order before they left. In 1934, Anastasio Somoza García - the head of the National Guard - initiated the assassination of César Augusto Sandino, the remaining Liberal rebel leader.

Somoza ran for president unopposed and ruled Nicaragua for 20 years, distributing benefits primarily to his family and his supporters. He was assassinated in 1956 and succeeded by his son, Luis Somoza Debayle until his death in 1967. His brother, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, succeeded him.

A massive earthquake in 1972 left 6,000 dead in Managua and 300,000 homeless. Opposition to the Somoza family rose when international aid went to the Somoza family rather than earthquake victims. Somoza was overthrown in 1979, led by a guerrilla movement called the Sandinistas (after César Augusto Sandino) that was founded in 1962.

The Sandinista government nationalized many services that were under private ownership and got the government more involved with the economy. This government also made close ties with the Soviet Union and Cuba.

In the early 1980s, the U.S. suspended foreign aid to Nicaragua and attempted to destabilize the economy by funding rebels and performing covert activities. These efforts were working, though the economy worsened.

The Sandinista government lost the elections in 1990 and afterward much of the economic activity was placed back into private control.

Climate and Geography

Nicaragua's climate is tropical, with a dry season from January to May and a wet season from May to December. The east is cooler and wetter with an average temperature of 79° F (26° C) and as much as 150 inches (3,800 mm) of annual rainfall. In contrast, the Pacific side of Nicaragua has an average temperature of 81° F (27° C) and annual precipitation averaging around 75 inches (1,900 mm).

In western Nicaragua, forested mountain ranges dominate the landscape. To the west and south of these mountains is a belt of 40 volcanoes, some active and some dormant. There are Pacific and eastern lowlands that boast savanna vegetation.

Over a third of the land is covered in tropical forests, and tropical rain forests thrive on the Mosquito Coast in eastern Nicaragua.