Nicaragua

Nicaragua, largest of the Central American republics. Managua (founded 1855) is the capital and largest city.

Land and climate

With an area of 46,430 sq mi (120,254 sq km), Nicaragua is a little larger than Illinois. The country is bounded on the north by Honduras, on the south by Costa Rica, has a Caribbean coastline (the Mosquito Coast) of about 300 mi (483 km) and a 200-mi (322-km) Pacific coastline. A narrow volcanic belt runs southwest across the country from Honduras to Costa Rica, between the Pacific and two lakes: Lake Nicaragua, Central America's largest at 3,089 sq mi (8,006 sq km), and its connecting Lake Managua (386 sq mi/1,000 sq km), both containing small active volcanos. The country's population and productive wealth are concentrated in this region. Earthquakes, like the one that devastated Managua in 1972, are not uncommon.

North of the region are wedge-shaped, forested highlands. Eastward, these fall away to broad lowlands extending to the coast, where Nicaragua's chief rivers—the Coco, Rio Grande, Escondido, and San Juan—empty into the Caribbean.

The climate of the coastal lowlands is mainly hot and humid, with temperatures averaging 80°F (25°C). The rainy season, May through December, brings plentiful rainfall, especially in the eastern lowlands and slopes of the central highlands.

People

The population is predominantly mestizo (mixed Spanish-Indian descent). Minorities include those of Spanish or African descent, and native Indians. About 80% of the people, poor farmers mostly, live in the Pacific region. Spanish is the official language. Most Nicaraguans are Roman Catholics. Before 1980 the literacy rate was less than 50%, but government-built schools and literacy programs raised it to 66% by 1986. The National University is centered in León and Managua, which also has the Jesuit Central University.

Economy

Only 10% of the land is cultivated, but agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, along with forestry, fisheries, and mining (gold, silver, copper, tungsten). Main exports are coffee, cotton, and sugar.

History

The Nicarao Indians, who probably gave the country its name, were conquered by Spanish conquistador Gil González de vila in 1522; various other Indians had inhabited it previously. Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, after whom Nicaragua's currency is named, founded Léon and Granada (1524). From 1570, the country was ruled as part of Guatemala. Nicaragua won independence from Spain in 1821, but was annexed by Mexico, then became part of the Central American Federation (1825–38). Independent thereafter, the country experienced internal power struggles and conflicts with British and U.S. military and commercial interests. After asking the United States for aid in 1912, it was occupied by U.S. Marines almost continuously until 1933. From 1936, it was ruled dictatorially by the Somoza family until 1979, when Marxist Sandinista guerrillas forced President Anastasio Somoza-Debayle into exile. A socialist Government of National Reconstruction, led by Daniel Ortega, was installed. Domestic reforms helped the Nicaraguan people, but military actions caused turmoil internally (against opposing contra forces), with its neighbors, and in the U.S. government (the Iran-Contra arms scandal). In 1990, elections replaced the Sandinistas with a new, pro-U.S. government led by Violetta Chamorro. Chamorro was succeeded by Arnoldo Aleman Lacayo in 1997.