NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Nicaragua

Nicaragua (IPA: /ˌnɪkəˈrɑgwə/) officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua (help· info), IPA: [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa]), is a representative democratic republic and the largest nation in Central America. It is also the least densely populated with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and by Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of the country, while the Caribbean Sea lies to the east. Falling within the tropics, Nicaragua sits 11 degrees north of the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere. Image File history File links Flag_of_Nicaragua. ... Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_Nicaragua. ... Flag ratio: 3:5 The flag of Nicaragua was adopted on August 27, 1971. ... Nicaraguan coat of arms was adopted first on 21 August 1823 (as coat of arms of Central America), but underwent several changes during the course of history, until the last version (as of 1999) was introduced in 1971. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Salve a tí, Nicaragua (Hail to thee, Nicaragua) is the Nicaraguan national anthem. ... Image File history File links LocationNicaragua. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... According to the CIA World Factbook, Nicaragua has a population of 5,675,356. ... This article is about the capital city of Nicaragua. ... Image File history File links Managua_COA.gifâ€Ž Coat of Arms, city of Managua. ... An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. ... A presidential system, also called a congressional system, is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the term) separately from the legislature, to which it is not accountable and which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it. ... List of Presidents of Nicaragua list may not be complete José Núñez 1839 Evaristo Rocha 1839 Patricio Rivas 1839 Joaquín del Cosío 1839 Hilario Ulloa 1839 Tomás Valladares 1839-1840 Patricio Rivas 1840-1841 Pablo Buitrago 1841-1843 Juan de Dios Orozco 1843 Manuel Pérez... JosÃ© Daniel Ortega Saavedra (born 11 November 1945) is the current President of Nicaragua. ... Sandinista redirects here. ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the game, see: 1850 (board game) 1850 (MDCCCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... 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The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Image File history File links RepÃºblica_de_Nicaragua. ... Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the peoples representatives. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean The Caribbean Sea (pronounced or ) is a tropical sea in the Western Hemisphere, part of the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. ... A noontime scene from the Philippines on a day when the Sun is almost directly overhead. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses IlhÃ©u das Rolas, in SÃ£o TomÃ© and PrÃncipe. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ...

The country's name is derived from Nicarao, the name of the Nahuatl-speaking tribe which inhabited the shores of Lago de Nicaragua before the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, due to the presence of the large lakes Lago de Nicaragua (Cocibolca) and Lago de Managua (Xolotlán), as well as lagoons and rivers in the region.^[1] Nicarao is the name of the then-leader and/or the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. ... Nahuatl ( [1] is a term applied to a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan [2] branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, indigenous to central Mexico. ... Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: ) or Lake Cocibolca (Spanish: ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: ) or Lake Cocibolca (Spanish: ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... Lake Managua from space, January 1986 Lake Managua (also known as Lake XolotlÃ¡n) (located at ) is a lake in Nicaragua. ...

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over the land when the first conquerors arrived. The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the Nicarao or Niquirano groups that inhabited that region. Nicarao is the name of the then-leader and/or the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. ...

The Nicarao tribe migrated to the area from northern regions after the fall of Teotihuacán, on the advice of their religious leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out of the waters, and so they stopped when they reached Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the world. TeotihuacÃ¡n[1] was, at its height in the first half of the 1st millennium CE, the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas. ... Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua Ometepe Island from space, January 1997 The Island of Ometepe was formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. ...

History

Main articles: History of Nicaragua and Political history of Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest nation in Central America, but also the least densely populated with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. ... Much of Nicaraguas early politics following independence was characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of LeÃ³n and the conservative elite of Granada. ...

Pre-Columbian history

In Pre-Columbian times the Indigenous people, in what is now known as Nicaragua, were part of the Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been updated to include the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian area. It was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents. ... For other uses, see Native Americans (disambiguation). ... The Intermediate Area is an archaeological culture region that was defined in its clearest form by Gordon R. Willey in his 1971 book (Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ). ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... The word Andean refers to the geographic area in and around the Andes Mountains of South America, and to the indigenous peoples that inhabit the area, such as the Inca. ... The Isthmo-Colombian area (a portion of what has previously been termed the Intermediate Area) was defined in a chapter of the 2003 book Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.) as a culture area encompassing those territories occupied by speakers of...

Nicaragua was inhabited by Paleo-Indians as far back as 6000 years ago.^[2] This is confirmed by the ancient footprints of Acahualinca, along with other archaeological evidence, mainly in the form of ceramics and statues made of volcanic stone like the ones found on the island of Zapatera and petroglyphs found in Ometepe island. At the end of the 15th century, western Nicaragua was inhabited by several indigenous peoples related by culture and language to the Mayans.^[3] They were primarily farmers who lived in towns, organized into small kingdoms. Meanwhile, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was inhabited by indigenous peoples, mostly chibcha related groups, that had migrated from what is now Colombia. They lived a less sedentary life based on hunting and gathering.^[4] Paleo-Indians is an English term used to refer to the ancient peoples of America who were present at the end of the last Ice Age. ... 6000 year old human footprints preserved in volcanic mud near lake Managua, Nicaragua. ... Zapatera is a shield volcano located in the southern part of Nicaragua. ... Petroglyphs on a Bishop Tuff tableland Petroglyph on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Petroglyph Point Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument Petroglyphs from Scandinavia (Häljesta, Västmanland in Sweden). ... Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua Ometepe Island from space, January 1997 The Island of Ometepe was formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. ... This article is about the contemporary indigenous peoples and cultures who descend from, or remain, speakers of the Mayan languages of southern Mesoamerica. ... For the documentary series, see Monarchy (TV series). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

6000 year old human footprints preserved in volcanic mud near the lake in Managua, Nicaragua.

The people of eastern Nicaragua appear to have traded with and been influenced by the native peoples of the Caribbean, as round thatched huts and canoes, both typical of the Caribbean, were common in eastern Nicaragua. In the west and highland areas, occupying the territory between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Coast, the Niquirano were governed by chief Nicarao, or Nicaragua, a rich ruler who lived in Nicaraocali, now the city of Rivas. The Chorotega lived in the central region of Nicaragua. These two groups had intimate contact with the Spanish conquerors, paving the way for the racial mix of native and European stock now known as mestizos.^[3] However, within three decades an estimated Indian population of one million plummeted to a few tens of thousands, as approximately half of the indigenous people in western Nicaragua died from the rapid spread of new diseases brought by the Spaniards, something the indigenous people of the Caribbean coast managed to escape due to the remoteness of the area.^[3] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 571 pixelsFull resolution (1080 Ã— 771 pixel, file size: 983 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 571 pixelsFull resolution (1080 Ã— 771 pixel, file size: 983 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free... West Indies redirects here. ... Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua) or Lake Cocibolca (Lago Cocibolca) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... Nicarao is the name of the then-leader and/or the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. ... Rivas, Nicaragua For the town and archaeological site in Costa Rica, see Rivas, Costa Rica. ... Chorotega is the name of an indigenous people of Honduras and Costa Rica the ethnic population number around 795 according to the ethnologue 2000 survey[1]. The Chorotega language which was a member of the Manguean branch of the Oto-Manguean linguistic family is now extinct. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Mestizo is a Spanish term that was formerly used in the Spanish Empire to designate people of mixed European (Spaniard) and Amerindian ancestry living in the region of Latin America. ... This article is about the medical term. ... The Spanish people or Spaniards are an ethnic group native to Spain, in southwestern Europe, who are primarily descended from the autochthonous pre-Indo-European Euskaldunak, Latin, Visigothic, Celtic and Moorish peoples. ...

The Spanish conquest

Colonial architecture of the city of Granada, Nicaragua

In 1502, Christopher Columbus was the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed south along the Central America isthmus. On his fourth voyage Columbus sailed alongside and explored the Mosquito Coast on the east of Nicaragua.^[5] The first attempt to conquer what is now known as Nicaragua was by Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila,^[6] whose Central American exploits began with his arrival in Panama in January 1520. González claimed to have converted some 30,000 indigenous peoples and discovered a possible transisthmian water link. After exploring and gathering gold in the fertile western valleys González was attacked by the indigenous people, some of whom were commanded by Nicarao and an estimated 3,000 led by chief Diriangén.^[7] González later returned to Panama where governor Pedrarias Dávila attempted to arrest him and confiscate his treasure, some 90,000 pesos of gold. This resulted in González fleeing to Santo Domingo. Image File history File links Grana_gF.JPGâ€Ž Picture taken by Jose Cuadra, from INTUR, Nicaragua. ... Image File history File links Grana_gF.JPGâ€Ž Picture taken by Jose Cuadra, from INTUR, Nicaragua. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 â€“ May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... The article is about the Central American area. ... Gil GonzÃ¡lez DÃ¡vila, a. ... Nicarao is the name of the then-leader and/or the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. ... Diriangen was the legendary tribal leader of the Chorotegas who can rightfully be called the first resistance fighter of the Nicaragua. ... Pedro Arias de DÃ¡vila Pedrarias DÃ¡vila (Pedro Arias de Ãvila) (Segovia, Castille, c. ... For other uses, see Santo Domingo (disambiguation). ...

It was not until 1524 that the first Spanish permanent settlements were founded.^[6] Conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaragua's principal towns in 1524: Granada on Lake Nicaragua was the first settlement and León east of Lake Managua came after. Córdoba soon found it necessary to prepare defenses for the cities and go on the offensive against incursions by the other conquistadores. Córdoba was later publicly beheaded following a power struggle with Pedrarias Dávila, his tomb and remains were discovered some 500 years later in the Ruins of León Viejo.^[8] A Conquistador (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) was a Spanish soldier, explorer and adventurer who took part in the gradual invasion and conquering of much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. ... Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba Nicaraguan Postage, 1924 Francisco HernÃ¡ndez de CÃ³rdoba (1475 ? - 1526) is usually reputed as the founder of Nicaragua, and in fact he founded two important Nicaraguan cities, Granada and LeÃ³n. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Granada, Granada, Nicaragua. ... Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua) or Lake Cocibolca (Lago Cocibolca) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... LeÃ³n is a city in Nicaragua, Central America, located at 12. ... Lake Managua from space, January 1986. ... Beheading. ... León is a city in Nicaragua, Central America, located at 12. ...

The inevitable clash between the Spanish forces did not impede their devastation of the indigenous population. The Indian civilization was destroyed. The series of battles came to be known as The War of the Captains.^[9] By 1529, the conquest of Nicaragua was complete. Several conquistadores came out winners, and some were executed or murdered. Pedrarias Dávila was a winner; although he had lost control of Panama, he had moved to Nicaragua and established his base in León. Through adroit diplomatic machinations, he became the first governor of the colony.^[8] The land was parceled out to the conquistadores. The area of most interest was the western portion. Many indigenous people were soon enslaved to develop and maintain "estates" there. Others were put to work in mines in northern Nicaragua, few were killed in warfare, and the great majority were sent as slaves to other New World Spanish colonies, for significant profit to the new landed aristocracy. Many of the indigenous people died as a result of disease and neglect by the Spaniards who controlled everything necessary for their subsistence.^[6] This article is about mineral extractions. ...

From colony to nation

Corn Island off the Atlantic Coast was originally a British protectorate until it was ceded along with the rest of the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua

In 1538, the Viceroyalty of New Spain was established. By 1570, the southern part of New Spain was designated the Captaincy General of Guatemala. The area of Nicaragua was divided into administrative "parties" with León as the capital. In 1610, the Momotombo erupted, destroying the capital. It was rebuilt northwest of what is now known as the Ruins of Old León. Nicaragua became a part of the Mexican Empire and then gained its independence as a part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1821 and as an independent republic in its own right in 1838. The Mosquito Coast based on the Caribbean coast was claimed by the United Kingdom and its predecessors as a protectorate from 1655 to 1850; this was delegated to Honduras in 1859 and transferred to Nicaragua in 1860, though it remained autonomous until 1894. Jose Santos Zelaya, president of Nicaragua from 1893-1909, managed to negotiate for the annexation of this region to the rest of Nicaragua. In his honour the entire region was named Zelaya. Image File history File linksMetadata CornIsland. ... Image File history File linksMetadata CornIsland. ... Corn Island is a municipality in the RegiÃ³n AutÃ³noma del AtlÃ¡ntico Sur department of Nicaragua. ... The article is about the Central American area. ... A map of the former territories of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. ... The Captaincy General of Guatamala (Spanish: Capitania General de Goathemalawa) was an administrative division in Spanish America which covered much of Central America, extending from the Soconusco region - located in what is now the southern part of Mexico (states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan) - to Costa Rica. ... LeÃ³n is a city in Nicaragua, Central America, located at 12. ... The Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century when it was ruled by an Emperor. ... Capital Guatemala City; in 1834 moved to San Salvador Created 1823 Dissolved 1840 Demonym Centroamerican The United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) was a country that existed in Central America from July 1823 to approximately 1840. ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The article is about the Central American area. ... West Indies redirects here. ... This article is about states protected and/or dominated by a foreign power. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ... José Santos Zelaya (November 1, 1853 - May 17, 1919) was president of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1909. ... Dark blue: Zelaya (1957-1986) Yellow line: the current border of RAAN with RAAS Zelaya is a former department in Nicaragua. ...

Founding members of the Deutsche Club in Nicaragua

Much of Nicaragua's politics since independence has been characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of León and the conservative elite of Granada. The rivalry often degenerated into civil war, particularly during the 1840s and 1850s. Initially invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, a United States adventurer named William Walker (later executed in Honduras) set himself up as president of Nicaragua, after conducting a farcical election in 1856. Honduras and other Central American countries united to drive him out of Nicaragua in 1857, after which a period of three decades of Conservative rule ensued.^[10] Image File history File links DeutscheClub. ... Image File history File links DeutscheClub. ... This article is part of or related to the Liberalism series Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Nicaraguan political parties | Liberal parties ... The Conservative Party of Nicaragua (Partido Conservador de Nicaragua) is a political party in Nicaragua. ... This article is about the definition of the specific type of war. ... William Walker William Walker (May 8, 1824 â€“ September 12, 1860) was a U.S. physician, lawyer, journalist, adventurer, and soldier of fortune who attempted to conquer several Latin American countries in the mid-19th century. ...

In the 1800s Nicaragua experienced a wave of immigration, primarily from Europe. In particular, families from Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium generally moved to Nicaragua to set up businesses with money they brought from Europe. They established many agricultural businesses such as coffee and sugar cane plantations, and also newspapers, hotels and banks. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

United States involvement (1909 - 1933)

See also: Occupation of Nicaragua and Nicaragua Canal

Augusto César Sandino

In 1909, the United States provided political support to conservative-led forces rebelling against President Zelaya. U.S. motives included differences over the proposed Nicaragua Canal, Nicaragua's potential as a destabilizing influence in 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. U.S. Marines occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933,^[11] except for a nine month period beginning in 1925. From 1910 to 1926, the conservative party ruled Nicaragua. The Chamorro family, which had long dominated the party, effectively controlled the government during that period. In 1914, the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty was signed, giving the U.S. control over the proposed canal, as well as leases for potential canal defenses.^[12] Following the evacuation of U.S. marines, another violent conflict between liberals and conservatives took place in 1926, known as the Constitutionalist War, which resulted in a coalition government and the return of U.S. Marines.^[13] The United States occupied Nicaragua from 1909-1933 and intervened in the country several times before that. ... Aerial view of the proposed canal, 1899 The Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal is a proposed waterway that would connect the Caribbean Sea, and therefore, the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean through Nicaragua, in Central America. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Aerial view of the proposed canal, 1899 The Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal is a proposed waterway that would connect the Caribbean Sea, and therefore, the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean through Nicaragua, in Central America. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... The Chamorro family has its origin in Spain. ... The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty was signed on August 5, 1914 and ratified in 1916 during the United States occupation of Nicaragua. ...

From 1927 until 1933, Gen. Augusto César Sandino led a sustained guerrilla war first against the Conservative regime and subsequently against the U.S. Marines, who withdrew upon the establishment of a new Liberal government. Sandino was the only Nicaraguan general to refuse to sign the el tratado del Espino Negro agreement and then headed up to the northern mountains of Las Segovias, where he fought the US Marines for over five years.^[14] The revolt finally forced the United States to compromise and leave the country. When the Americans left in 1933, they set up the Guardia Nacional (National Guard),^[15] a combined military and police force trained and equipped by the Americans and designed to be loyal to U.S. interests. Anastasio Somoza García, a close friend of the American government, was put in charge. He was one of the three rulers of the country, the others being Sandino and the mostly figurehead President Juan Bautista Sacasa. Augusto CÃ©sar Sandino Augusto NicolÃ¡s CalderÃ³n Sandino (May 18, 1895 â€“ February 21, 1934) was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military presence in Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933. ... Guerrilla redirects here. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, otherwise known as Guardia or in English Nicaraguan National Guard, was a militia created during the occupation of that country by the United States. ... Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa (February 1, 1896 â€“ September 29, 1956) was officially the thirty-fourth and thirty-ninth President of Nicaragua, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination. ... Juan Bautista Sacasa was President of Nicaragua 1933-1936. ...

After the US Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly-elected Sacasa government reached an agreement by which he would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a grant of land for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year.^[16] But a growing hostility between Sandino and Somoza led Somoza to order the assassination of Sandino.^[17]^[18]^[15] Fearing future armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza invited him to a meeting in Managua, where Sandino was assassinated on February 21 of 1934 by the National Guard. Hundreds of men, women, and children were executed later.^[19]

The Somoza Dynasty (1936 - 1979)

Anastasio Somoza García and his sons Anastasio Somoza Debayle and Luis Somoza Debayle

Nicaragua has seen many interventions by the United States. It has also experienced long military dictatorships, the longest one being the rule of the Somoza family for much of the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a US-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the National Guard to replace the small individual armies that had long reigned in the country.^[20] Somoza deposed Sacasa and became president on Jan. 1, 1937 in a rigged election.^[15] Image File history File links SomozaBrothers. ... Image File history File links SomozaBrothers. ... Somoza was the name of an influential political dynasty in Nicaragua. ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. ...

Nicaragua was the first country to ratify the UN Charter,^[21] and declared war on Germany during World War II. No troops were sent to the war but Somoza did seize the occasion to confiscate attractive properties held by German-Nicaraguans, the best-known of which was the Montelimar estate which today operates as a privately-owned luxury resort and casino. ^[22] The United Nations Charter is the constitution of the United Nations. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Somoza was the name of an influential political dynasty in Nicaragua. ... BarcelÃ³ Montelimar Beach Situated on an extraordinary, immense beach bathed by the Pacific Ocean. ...

Street scene of Managua city centre prior to the 1972 earthquake

Somoza used the National Guard to force Sacasa to resign, and took control of the country in 1937, destroying any potential armed resistance.^[23] Somoza was in turn assassinated by Rigoberto López Pérez, a liberal Nicaraguan poet, in 1956. After his father's death, Luis Somoza Debayle, the eldest son of the late dictator, was appointed President by the congress and officially took charge of the country.^[15] He is remembered by some for being moderate, but was in power only for a few years and then died of a heart attack. Then came president Rene Schick whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet of the Somozas".^[24] Somoza's brother, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who succeeded his father in charge of the National Guard, controlled the country, and officially took the presidency after Schick. Image File history File links Pre-quakeManagua. ... Image File history File links Pre-quakeManagua. ... The poet Rigoberto LÃ³pez PÃ©rez was the assassin of Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa, the longtime dictator of Nicaragua. ... Luis Somoza Debayle (1922â€“1967) was the acting president and later dictator and president of Nicaragua 1956â€“1963 following the 1956 assassination of his father, Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa. ... Heart attack redirects here. ... RenÃ© Schick GutiÃ©rrez (Managua, 1909- idem, 1966) was President of Nicaragua from 1963 to 1966. ... A puppet is a representational object manipulated by a puppeteer. ... Anastasio (Tachito) Somoza Debayle (December 5, 1925 â€“ September 17, 1980) was officially the forty-fourth and forty-fifth President of Nicaragua from May 1, 1967 to May 1, 1972 and from December 1, 1974 to July 17, 1979. ...

Nicaragua experienced high economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s largely as a result of industrialization,^[25] and became one of Central America's most developed nations despite its political instability. Due to its stable and high growth economy, foreign investments grew, primarily from U.S. companies such as Citigroup, Sears, Westinghouse and Coca Cola. However, the capital city of Managua suffered a major earthquake in 1972 which destroyed nearly 90% of the city creating major losses.^[26] Some Nicaraguan historians see the 1972 earthquake that devastated Managua as the final 'nail in the coffin' for Somoza. The mishandling of relief money also prompted Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente to personally fly to Managua on December 31, 1972, but he died enroute in an airplane accident.^[27] Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza, as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation,^[28] and did not allow the elite to share the profits that would result. In 1973 (the year of reconstruction) many new buildings were built, but the level of corruption in the government prevented further growth, and the ever increasing tensions and anti-government uprisings slowed growth in the last two years of the Somoza dynasty. This article is about the capital city of Nicaragua. ... This article is about the capital city of Nicaragua. ... This article is about the baseball team. ... Roberto Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 â€“ December 31, 1972) was a professional baseball player and a former Major League Baseball right fielder. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Nicaraguan revolution

Main article: FSLN

Cuban President of The Council of State Fidel Castro in Nicaragua, with former and current President Daniel Ortega (1980)

In 1961, a young student, Carlos Fonseca, turned back to the historical figure of Sandino, and along with 2 others founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).^[15] The FSLN was a tiny party throughout most of the 1960s, but Somoza's utter hatred of it and his heavy-handed treatment of anyone he suspected to be a Sandinista sympathizer gave many ordinary Nicaraguans the idea that the Sandinistas were much stronger. Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ... Image File history File links Castro-Ortega. ... Image File history File links Castro-Ortega. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... Carlos Fonseca Amador (born June 23, 1936 - died November 7, 1976), a revolutionary, teacher and a founder of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional ( FSLN, Sandinista National Liberation Front), was assassinated by the Guardia Nacional three years before the FSLN took power in Nicaragua. ... Sandinista redirects here. ... Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ...

After the 1972 earthquake and Somoza's brazen corruption, mishandling of relief, and refusal to rebuild Managua, the ranks of the Sandinistas were flooded with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.^[29] These economic problems propelled the Sandinistas in their struggle against Somoza by leading many middle- and upper-class Nicaraguans to see the Sandinistas as the only hope for removing the brutal Somoza regime. On January 1978, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of the national newspaper La Prensa and ardent opponent of Somoza, was assassinated.^[30] This is believed to have led to the extreme general disappointment with Somoza. The planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime and included the dictator's son, “El Chiguin”, the President of Housing, Cornelio Hueck, the Attorney General, and Pedro Ramos, a close Cuban ally who commercialized blood plasma.^[30] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. ...

The Sandinistas, supported by much of the populace, elements of the Catholic Church, and regional and international governments, took power in July of 1979. 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.^[31] The Sandinistas inherited a country in ruins with a debt of U.S.$1.6 billion dollars, an estimated 50,000 war dead, 600,000 homeless, and a devastated economic infrastructure.^[32] To begin the task of establishing a new government, they created a Council (or junta) of National Reconstruction, made up of five members – Sandinista militants Daniel Ortega and Moises Hassan, novelist Sergio Ramírez Mercado (a member of Los Doce "the Twelve"), businessman Alfonso Robelo Callejas, and Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro). The preponderance of power, however, remained with the Sandinistas and their mass organizations, including the Sandinista Workers' Federation (Central Sandinista de Trabajadores), the Luisa Amanda Espinoza Nicaraguan Women's Association (Asociación de Mujeres Nicaragüenses Luisa Amanda Espinoza), and the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (Unión Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos). USD redirects here. ... One thousand million (1,000,000,000) is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001. ... JosÃ© Daniel Ortega Saavedra (born 11 November 1945) is the current President of Nicaragua. ... Sergio RamÃrez Mercado (b. ... El Grupo de Los Doce, or Group of Twelve, was a group of members of the Nicaraguan establishment whose support for the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle played a pivotal role in the acceptance of the Sandinistas by foreign and domestic opinion. ... Alfonso Robelo Callejas (born 11 October 1939), a Nicaraguan businessman, was a member of Los Doce and founder of the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (MDN). ... Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (born October 18, 1929) is a Nicaraguan political leader, publisher and former President of Nicaragua. ... The Luisa Amanda Espinoza Association of Nicaraguan Women (Spanish: , AMNLAE) was initially established in 1977 under the name Association of Women Concerned about National Crisis (, AMPRONAC). ...

Sandinistas and the Contras

Main articles: FSLN, Contras, Iran-Contra scandal, and Nicaragua v. United States

Upon assuming office in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan condemned the FSLN for joining with Cuba in supporting Marxist revolutionary movements in other Latin American countries such as El Salvador. His administration authorized the CIA to begin financing, arming and training rebels, some of whom were the remnants of Somoza's National Guard, as anti-Sandinista guerrillas that were branded "counter-revolutionary" by leftists (contrarrevolucionarios in Spanish).^[33] This was shortened to Contras, a label the anti-Communist forces chose to embrace. Eden Pastora and many of the indigenous guerrilla forces, who were not associated with the "Somozistas," also resisted the Sandinistas. The Contras operated out of camps in the neighboring countries of Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south.^[33] As was typical in guerrilla warfare, they were engaged in a campaign of economic sabotage in an attempt to combat the Sandinista government and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's Corinto harbour,^[34] an action condemned by the World Court as illegal.^[35]^[36] The U.S. also sought to place economic pressure on the Sandinistas, and the Reagan administration imposed a full trade embargo.^[37] Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ... For other uses, see Contra. ... In the Iran-Contra Affair, United States President Ronald Reagans administration secretly sold arms to Iran, which was engaged in a bloody war with its neighbor Iraq from 1980 to 1988 (see Iran-Iraq War), and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels fighting to overthrow the leftist and... The Republic of Nicaragua v. ... For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... Reagan redirects here. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... CIA redirects here. ... For other uses, see Contra. ... Corinto [kOrEnÂ´tO] is a town of 17,000 (1995 population) on the northwest Pacific coast of Nicaragua and is one of the most important cities and port in the department of Chinandega. ... The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; French: ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. ... For delayed access after publication, see Embargo (academic publishing). ...

U.S. support for this Nicaraguan insurgency continued in spite of the fact that impartial observers from international groupings such as the European Union, religious groups sent to monitor the election and observers from democratic nations such as Canada and the Republic of Ireland concluded that the Nicaraguan general elections of 1984 were completely free and fair. The Reagan administration disputed these results however, despite the fact that the government of the United States never had any observers in Nicaragua at the time.^[38]^[39] Elections in Nicaragua gives information on elections and election results in Nicaragua. ...

After the U.S. Congress prohibited federal funding of the Contras in 1983, the Reagan administration continued to back the Contras by covertly selling arms to Iran and channeling the proceeds to the Contras (The Iran-Contra Affair).^[40] When this scheme was revealed, Reagan admitted that he knew about the Iranian "arms for hostages" dealings but professed ignorance about the proceeds funding the Contras; for this, National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Oliver North took much of the blame. Senator John Kerry's 1988 U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report on Contra-drug links concluded that "senior U.S. policy makers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras' funding problems."^[41] According to the National Security Archive, Oliver North had been in contact with Manuel Noriega, a Panamanian general and the de facto military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989 when he was overthrown and captured by a U.S. invading force.^[42] He was taken to the United States, tried for drug trafficking, and imprisoned in 1992.^[43] The Iran-Contra Affair was a political scandal occurring in 1987 as a result of earlier events during the Reagan administration in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran, an avowed enemy, and illegally used the profits to continue funding anti-Communist rebels, the Contras, in Nicaragua. ... The National Security Council (NSC) of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. ... In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ... Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas) is most well known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his fourth term of office. ... U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. ... The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and archival institution located within The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 by Thomas Blanton, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of American foreign policy. ... For other persons named Noriega, see Noriega (disambiguation). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... A dictator is an authoritarian, often totalitarian ruler (e. ...

The Reagan administration's support for the Contras continued to stir controversy well into the 1990s. In August 1996, San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb published a series titled Dark Alliance, linking the origins of crack cocaine in California to the contras.^[44] Freedom of Information Act inquiries by the National Security Archive and other investigators unearthed a number of documents showing that White House officials, including Oliver North, knew about and supported using money raised via

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