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History
In 1523, the Spanish captain Gil Gonzalez de Avila reached the Gulf of Nicoya, and traveled from there to the Chorotega town of Nicoya,
accompanied by a troop of 100 Spaniards and 400 indigenous auxiliary troops. He later entered Nicaragua itself at the Isthmus of Rivas,
where the indigenous leader Nicarao, with 6,000 of his people, accepted baptism at the request of the Spanish. Before accepting baptism,
the leader first conversed with Gil Gonzalez de Avila about his religious beliefs.
Gil Gonzalez and his expedition advanced toward the lake and were received by the chief Diriangen, who gave them more gifts, but opposed
their presence and, together with 4,000 men surrounded the expedition, captured one of them and wounded others. Later, there was a
second attack by Chief Nicaragua and Gil Gonzalez was able to save himself and safely reach the Gulf of Nicoya and the ships of Andres
Niño. At the end of 1524, Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba completed the conquest of the region, and founded the cities of Leon and Granada.
In 1542, laws were passed to centralize Spanish authority and to establish a judiciary system that would control the distribution of
land and the amounts of taxes that would be demanded from the indigenous peoples in the future. The Church has played an important role
In Nicaragua since Colonial times. To facilitate the evangelization of the indigenous peoples in order to integrate them into the new
society – both spiritually and materially – many missionary orders came to Nicaragua, led by friars or priests.
In 1821, the Central American region declared its independence from Spain and divided into five states, which later became five sovereign republics. Slavery was abolished and Nicaragua entered an era of social and economic development.
However, the rivalries and conflicts between the prominent elites of Leon and Granada were devastating for the peace of the province.
They all wanted power and control of the government and, after struggles between liberals and conservatives, the first of many civil
wars erupted in 1824. From 1854 to 1856, the National War was waged against William Walker, who had been contracted by the
Leon liberals (democrats) to defeat the Conservatives from Granada (legitimists). This adventurer took control of the country. He was
interested in establishing a state and controlling the transit route for the California gold rush. He was expelled from Nicaragua
in 1856, after the signing of the Providential Pact on September 12 of that year by the two groups in contention.
In 1893, the Liberal Party – led by General Jose Santos Zelaya – gained power and brought many changes to the country: the railroad,
telegraph, ports, coffee farming and the incorporation of the Mosquitia region. There were even efforts made to build the inter-oceanic
canal, but it was not possible: first because of its high cost, and secondly, because on December 20, 1909, Zelaya was forced to resign because
of the Knox Note. Following this, power passed to the coalition which included the liberal Juan Jose Estrada and, later, the
conservatives Emiliano Chamorro, Luis Mena and Adolfo Diaz.
On May 23, 1927, in Yali, Augusto C. Sandino – a laborer with the rank of General in the Constitutionalist War – rejected the U.S. pact
with the Liberals, began his struggle, and marched into the Las Segovias region with his small army. On January 2, 1933, the occupation
of Nicaragua came to an end and, one month later, Sandino agreed to lay down his arms in exchange for a commitment from the Liberals
and Conservatives to retain the political and economic sovereignty of Nicaragua at all costs.
Before leaving the country, the U.S. marines transferred the command of 4,000 Nicaraguan soldiers to the National Guard, under the
command of Anastasio Somoza Garcia. Anastasio and Luis Somoza Debayle – continued the dictatorship until July 19, 1979, when it was
overthrown by the Sandinista. On November 4, 1984, the first elections were held and Commander Daniel Ortega Saavedra was elected
president.
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Learn Spanish in Granada.
