Costa Rica
Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa
Ricans are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain
was the primary country of origin. However, an estimated 10% to 15%
of the population is Nicaraguan, of fairly recent arrival and
primarily of mestizo origin. Descendants of 19th-century Jamaican
immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and--at 3%
of the population--number about 119,000. Few of the native Indians
survived European contact; the indigenous population today numbers
about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population. |
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In 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the New World, Christopher
Columbus made the first European landfall in the area. Settlement of
Costa Rica began in 1522. For nearly three centuries, Spain
administered the region as part of the Captaincy General of
Guatemala under a military governor. The Spanish optimistically
called the country "Rich Coast." Finding little gold or other
valuable minerals in Costa Rica, however, the Spanish turned to
agriculture.
The small landowners' relative poverty, the lack of a large
indigenous labor force, the population's ethnic and linguistic
homogeneity, and Costa Rica's isolation from the Spanish colonial
centers in Mexico and the Andes all contributed to the development
of an autonomous and individualistic agrarian society. An
egalitarian tradition also arose. This tradition survived the
widened class distinctions brought on by the 19th-century
introduction of banana and coffee cultivation and consequent
accumulations of local wealth.
Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a
joint declaration of independence from Spain. Although the newly
independent provinces formed a Federation, border disputes broke out
among them, adding to the region's turbulent history and conditions.
Costa Rica's northern Guanacaste Province was annexed from Nicaragua
in one such regional dispute. In 1838, long after the Central
American Federation ceased to function in practice, Costa Rica
formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign.
An era of peaceful democracy in Costa Rica began in 1899 with
elections considered the first truly free and honest ones in the
country's history. This began a trend that continued until today
with only two lapses: in 1917-19, Federico Tinoco ruled as a
dictator, and, in 1948, Jose Figueres led an armed uprising in the
wake of a disputed presidential election.
With more than 2,000 dead, the 44-day civil war resulting from this
uprising was the bloodiest event in 20th-century Costa Rican
history, but the victorious junta drafted a constitution
guaranteeing free elections with universal suffrage and the
abolition of the military. Figueres became a national hero, winning
the first election under the new constitution in 1953. Since then,
Costa Rica has held 14 presidential elections, the latest in 2006. |
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