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NICARAGUA

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 645 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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NICARAGUA , a See also:

republic of Central See also:America, bounded on the N. by See also:Honduras, E. by the Caribbean See also:Sea, S. by See also:Costa Rica, and W. by the Pacific Ocean (for See also:map, see CENTRAL AMERICA). Pop. (1905), about 550,000; See also:area, 49,200 sq. m. Nicaragua forms an irregular equilateral triangle with its See also:base stretching for 28o m. along the Caribbean Sea from Cape Gracias a Dios southwards to the See also:San Juan See also:delta, and its See also:apex at the Coseguina See also:volcano, on the See also:Bay of See also:Fonseca, which separates Nicaragua on the Pacific See also:side from See also:Salvador. The frontier which separates the republic from Honduras extends across the See also:continent from See also:east-See also:north-east to See also:west-See also:south-west. It is defined by the See also:river See also:Segovia for about one-third of, the distance, or from Cape Gracias a Dios to 86° W.; it then deflects across the See also:watershed on the east and south of the Hondurian river Choluteca, crosses the See also:main Nicaraguan See also:cordillera (See also:mountain See also:chain), and follows the river See also:Negro to the Bay of Fonseca. In accordance with the treaty of 1858, which was confirmed in 1888 by the See also:United States See also:president, acting as arbitrator, and more fully defined in 1896, the boundary towards Costa Rica is See also:drawn 2 M. S. of the San Juan river and See also:Lake Nicaragua, as far as a point parallel to the centre of the western See also:shore of the lake. It is then continued south-westward for the See also:short distance which intervenes between this point and the northernmost headland of Salinas Bay, on the Pacific. See also:Physical Features.—The coasts of Nicaragua are strikingly different in configuration. The See also:low, swampy and monotonous shore of the Caribbean, with its numerous lagoons and estuaries, and its fringe of reefs and islets, contains only three harbours: Gracias a Dios, Bluefields or Blewfields, and See also:Greytown (San Juan del Norte). Its length, from Cape Gracias A.

Dios to the San Juan delta, is nearly 300 M. The Pacific See also:

coast, measuring some 200 M. from the Bay of Fonseca to Salinas Bay, is bold, rocky and unbroken by any See also:great indentation; here, however, are the best harbours of the republic—the See also:southern See also:arm of the Bay of Fonseca (q.v.), See also:Corinto, Brito and San Juan del Sur. The See also:surface of the See also:country is naturally divided into five clearly distinct zones: (1) the See also:series of volcanic peaks which extend parallel to the Pacific at a little distance inland; (2) the plains and lakes of the great depression which lies to the east of these mountains and stretches from sea to sea, between the Bay of Fonseca and the mouths of the San Juan; (3) the main cordillera, which skirts the depression on the east, and trends north-west from See also:Monkey Point or Punta Mico on the Caribbean Sea, until it is merged in the ramifications of the Hondurian and Salvadorian See also:highlands; (4) the plateaus which slope gradually away from the main cordillera towards the Caribbean; (5) the east or See also:Mosquito coast,with its low-lying hinter-See also:land. The last-named region has to a great extent had a See also:separate See also:history; and it was only in 1894 that the Mosquito Reserve, a central See also:enclave which includes more than See also:half of the littoral and See also:hinterland, was incorporated in the republic and renamed the See also:department of Zelaya. (See MOSQUITO COAST.) Though situated almost on the western edge of the country, and greatly inferior, both in continuity and in mean See also:altitude, to the main cordillera, the chain of volcanic cones constitutes a watershed quite equal in importance to the cordillera itself. It consists for the most See also:part of isolated igneous peaks, sometimes connected by low intervening ridges. It terminates in the extreme north-west with Coseguina (2831 ft.), and in the extreme south-east with the low wooded archipelagos of Solentiname and Chichicaste near the See also:head of the San Juan river. Between these two extremes the See also:chief cones, proceeding southwards, are: the Maribios chain, comprising El Viejo (5840 ft.), See also:Santa See also:Clara, Telica, Orota, See also:Las Pilas, Axosco, Momotombo (4127 ft.), all crowded See also:close together between the Bay of Fonesca and Lake See also:Managua; See also:Masaya or Popocatepac (which was active in 1670, 1782, 1857 and 1902, and attains a height of 2972 ft.), and Mombacho (4593 ft.), near See also:Granada; lastly, in Lake Nicaragua the two islands of Zapatera and Ometepe or Omotepec with its twin peaks Ometepe (5643 ft.) and Madera. On the 20th of See also:January 1835 Coseguina was the See also:scene of one of the most tremendous eruptions on See also:record. The outbreak lasted four days and the volcanic dust and ashes erupted See also:fell over a vast area, which comprised See also:Jamaica, southern See also:Mexico and See also:Bogota. After a See also:long repose Ometepe also burst into renewed activity on the 19th of See also:June 1883, when the lavas from a new See also:crater began to overflow and continued for seven days to spread in various directions over the whole See also:island. In the Maribios See also:district occur several volcanic lakelets, such as that of Masaya, besides numerous infernillos, low craters or peaks still emitting sulphurous vapour and See also:smoke, and at See also:night often See also:lighting up the whole land with bluish flames.

In the great lacustrine depression of Nicaragua is collected all the drainage from the eastern versant of the volcanic mountains, from the sheer western escarpment of the main cordillera, and from a large area of See also:

northern Costa Rica. The only river which flows out of the depression on the north enters the Bay of Fonseca at Tempisque. The accumulated See also:waters which pour down into the depression are gathered into the two basins of Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Both basins have a maximum See also:depth of some 26o ft. Lake Managua, the more northerly, has a length of 30 M. and varies in breadth from 8 to 16 m. Its area is about 575 sq. m. After the rains a portion of its overflow escapes southwards into the See also:lower and larger Lake Nicaragua, through the Panaloya channel. Steamers ply on both lakes, but the channel is rendered impassable by a rapid near the See also:town of Tipitapa, at its northern extremity. Here there is a See also:water-fall of 13 ft. The existence of See also:ancient lacustrine beaches, upheaved between the two basins by volcanic agencies or See also:left dry by some enlargement of the San Juan outfall, and a consequent subsidence of the water-level, seems to indicate that the lakes were formerly united. Now, however, Lake Managua is almost a closed See also:basin in the dry See also:season, when the stream in parts of the Panaloya channel sinks to a See also:mere rivulet. The surface of Lake Nicaragua after the rains is See also:Ito ft. above sea-level.

The lake is Too m. long, and has a maximum breadth of 45 M. and an area of 2970 sq. m. It is thus the largest See also:

sheet of fresh water between Lake See also:Michigan and Lake Titicaca on the See also:borders of See also:Bolivia and See also:Peru. Towards the San Juan outlet its depth decreases to 6 or 8 ft., owing to the vast See also:accumulation of the silt washed down into the lake by its See also:principal Costa Rican affluent, the Rio Frio. Much of this silt is again carried away by the San Juan. Under the See also:influence of the intermittent See also:trade-winds Lake Nicaragua rises and falls regularly, whence the popular notion that it was a tidal lake. It is also exposed to the dangerous Papagayos tornadoes, caused by the prevailing north-easterly winds See also:meeting opposite currents from the Pacific. It is drained on the south by the San Juan river, which flows generally east by south to the Caribbean Sea. The distance from the lake to the principal or See also:Colorado mouth of the river is 95 m., and the See also:average width of the channel 1500 ft. Near its mouth the main stream branches out into a wide delta. See also:Navigation is greatly impeded by shifting See also:banks of silt, and especially by five rapids which can only be traversed when the river is in full See also:flood. It is often asserted that these rapids were artificially formed by the Spaniards themselves to prevent the See also:buccaneers from penetrating to Lake Nicaragua. But See also:Herrera (Dec. iii. See also:book 2, See also:chap.

3) speaks of the " great rocks and falls " which prevented See also:

Cordova, the first circumnavigator of the lake, from descending the San Juan in 1522; and although the See also:English traveller See also:Gage states that in his See also:time (17_: See also:century) vessels reached Granada See also:direct from See also:Spain, there can be little doubt that the rapids are natural obstructions. The various schemes which have been put forward for the See also:conversion of the San Juan and the lacustrine depression into an interoceanic waterway are fully discussed under See also:PANAMA See also:CANAL. The main Nicaraguan cordillera, which flanks the depression on the east, has often been called the Cordillera de los See also:Andes, from its supposed continuity with the mountain-chains of Panama and the west coast of South America. There is in fact no such continuity, for the San Juan valley completely separates the mountains of Panama from the main Nicaraguan See also:system: This severance, it is true, may be geologically See also:recent, and some geologists see, in the five rapids cf the San Juan, remnants of a connecting See also:ridge which the river has swept away. But the See also:evidence for past continuity is inconclusive, while there can be no doubt about the See also:present severance of the two mountain systems. The main cordillera bears different names in different parts of Nicaragua. Thus the important See also:section which terminates at Monkey Point is commonly called the Cordillera de Yolaina. The summits of the main cordillera seem nowhere to exceed 7000 ft. in altitude; the mean See also:elevation is probably less than 2000 ft.; the declivity is sheer towards the lakes, and See also:gradual towards the Caribbean. Along the shores of the lakes the cordillera may be described as a See also:double range, consisting of two series of ridges divided by a great See also:longitudinal valley. The lower series, which adjoins the lakes, rises near Lake Managua, and See also:marches parallel to the main See also:crest of the cordillera as far as the northern base of the Yolaina section ; it then diverges, trending south-east nearly as far as Greytown, while the See also:axis of ,the Yolaina section has a more easterly direction. On the east, the main cordillera abuts upon the region of plateaus and savannas, which occupies nearly half of the area of Nicaragua. It is likely that this region was once a single See also:uniform tableland, sloping by degrees to the See also:flat Mosquito Coast, in which direction its level still sinks.

But the See also:

relief of the tableland has been wholly changed by fluvial See also:action. The great See also:rivers which flow eastward to the sea have fissured and moulded the surface into deep ravines alternating with high plateaus, ridges and isolated hills. Large tracts of these uplands have never been adequately explored, and consist of virgin See also:forest and See also:prairie. The principal river is the Segovia, which rises in the main cordillera due north of Lake Managua, winds E.N.E. as far as 85° W., and constitutes the frontier until it reaches the sea at Cape Gracias a Dios, after a course of more than 450 m., during which it receives many. tributaries. Its basin is narrow and its See also:volume not remarkable, but in length it surpasses all other Central See also:American rivers. Its nomenclature, like that. of many lesser streams in the See also:plateau region, is, somewhat confusing; for while the See also:Spanish colonists were settling beside its headwaters the See also:mid-stream was hardly known except to the native See also:Indians, and the lower reaches were frequented by buccaneers, often of See also:British or Dutch origin. In addition to the three names of Segovia, Coco or Cocos, and Wanks, which are applicable to the whole river, different parts have from time to time received the names of Cabullal, Cabrugal, Cape River, Encuentro, Gracias, Herbias, Oro, Pantasma, Portillo Liao, Tapacac, Telpaneca, Somoro, Yankes, Yare and Yoro. Other important streams, all flowing to the Caribbean in a direction E. by S., are the Hueso, Wawa, Cuculaia, Prinzapolca, Rio Grande, Bluefields and Rama. The Rio Grande or Amaltara, which receives one large tributary, the Tuma, is navigable for about too m. The Bluefields, Blewfields, Escondida, or Rio del Desastre, which derives its best-known name from that of Blieveldt, a Dutch See also:corsair, is navigable for 65 m. The See also:hydrography of Nicaragua is curious in two respects: as in the Amazonian region all the large rivers flow east, none escaping to the Pacific; and the main watershed does not correspond with the main cordillera, which is inferior in this particular both to the volcanic mountains and to the plateau region. The See also:geology, See also:fauna and See also:flora of Nicaragua may be studied in connexion with those of the neighbouring countries (see CENTRAL AMERICA).

See also:

Climate.—The climate is mild and healthy for Europeans on the uplands, such as those of Segovia and Chontales, which have a mean elevation of 2000 to 3000 ft. above sea-level. But elsewhere it is distinctly tropical, with two seasons—wet from May to See also:November on the Pacific slope, and from June to See also:December on the Caribbean, and dry throughout the See also:winter months. The mean See also:annual temperature is about 80° Fahr., falling to 70° at night and rising to 90° at See also:noon in summer. Nicaragua comes within the See also:zone of the wet north-east trade-winds, which sweep inland from the See also:Atlantic. The See also:rain-fall is heavy along the west side of the lacustrine basin, with an annual mean at Rivas of 102 in., but this figure is sometimes greatly exceeded on the east coast, where rain is See also:common even in the dry season. Observations made at Greytown in 1890 showed the extremes of temperature to be 89° Fahr. in See also:September for the maximum and 70° Fahr. in January for the minimum; the rainfall for the whole See also:year amounted to 297 in., the rainiest See also:month having been See also:July (52.5 in.) and the driest, May (4.9 in.). Earthquakes are See also:felt at times on the Pacific slope, but in Nicaragua they are less violent than in the neighbouring countries. Inhabitants.—Accurate See also:statistics as to the growth and See also:distribution of the See also:population cannot be obtained, and the figures given below are based on estimates which can only be approximately correct. The See also:census of 1882 gave the See also:total as 275,816; this appears to have risen in 1890 to 375,000, in 190o to 500,000, and in 1905 to 550,000, or II inhabitants per sq. m. There can thus be no doubt that the population is increasing with extra-See also:ordinary rapidity, although there is hardly any See also:immigration. The number of Europeans and their pure-blooded descendants is about 1200, and tends to increase. Spanish and See also:German elements preponderate in the See also:foreign colonies.

The most densely peopled region and the See also:

focus of See also:civilization is the lacustrine depression and the surrounding uplands. Here are all the large towns, and hither See also:European settlers were attracted from the first by the temperate climate, See also:rich See also:soil, and natural waterways. The development of Nicaragua, unlike that of most American countries (notably See also:Brazil and the United States), has been from west to east. The great See also:mass of the population is a composite See also:race, descended chiefly from the native " Indians," their Spanish conquerors, many of whom were Galicians, and the negro slaves introduced during the colonial See also:period. Intermarriage with British, Dutch, and See also:French with Caribs and Creoles has further complicated the See also:ethnology of the country, producing " Indians " with See also:fair See also:hair and See also:blue eyes, and half-castes with European features and See also:Indian or See also:negroid coloration, or with European coloration and Indian or negroid features. The prevailing See also:language is a degenerate See also:form of Spanish, nearer to Galician than to Castilian. Most of the native dialects have ceased to exist, but a corrupt form of English is spoken on parts of the east coast. All who speak Spanish are classed as Ladinos; the half-castes generally are termed Mestizos; and the name of Sambos or Zambos is confined to the descendants of Indian and negro parents; these are also incorrectly called Caribs. The number of the uncivilized Indians, whose camps or villages are situated in open glades among the forests of the plateau region, is usually estimated at 30,000; but this would seem to be an exaggeration. Pure-blooded Indians are not numerous, as whole districts were depopulated and whole tribes exterminated by the Spanish colonists and the buccaneers. A few may be descendants of the See also:Aztecs and Mayas, whose temples, sculptures, See also:burial-grounds, &c., have not yet been fully explored. For a See also:general See also:account of this ancient civilization and of the Indian tribes see CENTRAL As1ERICA and MEXICO: See also:Archaeology.

A collection of Nicaraguan antiquities is preserved in the See also:

National Museum at See also:Washington, U.S.A.; and the archaeological collection brought to See also:Europe by Dr W. See also:Lehmann in 1910 was exhibited in the See also:Berlin Museum of See also:Fine Arts. Chief Towns and Communications.—The See also:capital is Managua (pop. 1905, about 30,000) ; other important towns are See also:Leon (45,000), Granada (25,000), Masaya (20,000), See also:Chinandega (12,000), and the seaports of Corinto (3000) and Greytown (2500). These are de-scribed in separate articles. At the beginning of the loth century, Nicaragua had few See also:good roads, and none at all east of the main cordillera. Transport in the plateau region was mainly effected by means of See also:pack mules, over the roughest of tracks. But between 1900 and 1905 contracts were signed for the construction of three highways, leading respectively from Matagalpa, from Nueva Segovia and from the Pis Pis See also:mining district to the head of See also:steam navigation on the Segovia, about 16o m. above Cape Gracias. These highways were to be linked to the western system by 79 M. of road connecting Matagalpa with Momotombo. For the construction and upkeep of roads a tax varying from one to ten pesos is levied on all See also:males over eighteen years old. There are 16o m. of See also:state See also:railways, See also:running from Corinto to Leon, Managua, Granada and Diriamba, with branches to El Viejo and Momotombo. Contracts for additional lines were signed beta een 1900 and 1905.

The steamers which ply on the great lakes and the San Juan, besides other vessels which visit the principal Caribbean and Pacific ports, are national See also:

property; but from the 1st of January 1905 all the state railways were leased to a See also:syndicate for fifteen years and the steamers for twenty-five years. There are also 20 m. of private railway near the mouth of the Rio Grande, and private steam tramways on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua. Corinto is the headquarters of See also:shipping; it is visited by two-thirds of the 2 io0 vessels of 550,000 tons (including coasters) which annually enter the ports of the republic. The See also:coasting trade is restricted to vessels under the Nicaraguan See also:flag. At the beginning of the loth century most of the ocean-going steamers were owned in See also:Germany or the United States; British enterprise being chiefly represented by schooners trading from Jamaica to Bluefields and Greytown. Nicaragua jointed the postal See also:union in 1882, and the western pi-evinces have a fairly See also:complete telegraphic and telephonic system. See also:Industries and See also:Commerce.—The principal agricultural product is See also:coffee, the yield of which increased from 4,528,300 lb in 188o to 11,382,000 lb in 1890, and 26,400,000 lb in 1900. Coffee is grown principally in the Matagalpa region, on the uplands of the interior. The plantations are chiefly owned and managed by Germans, and the product is of good quality; but coffee-planting, like most Nicaraguan industries, suffers from the scarcity of labour. On the Caribbean coast bananas are cultivated and largely exported to the United States. In 1903 more than 2,000,000 bunches were consigned to New See also:Orleans. The cultivation of See also:cotton has been often attempted, but with little success.

See also:

Sugar is grown and there are many small sugar factories, but little of the output is exported. The See also:cocoa export is also small; See also:tobacco, See also:rice, beans and other crops are grown for See also:local use, See also:Rubber is collected in the forests, and plantations have been formed. Dye-See also:woods and See also:indigo are exported, but the demand for See also:vegetable dyes has decreased. See also:Cattle-rearing is success-fully pursued, live cattle and hides being important articles of export. See also:Cheese and See also:butter are manufactured in large quantities for See also:home See also:consumption. Horses and pigs are also reared, but not See also:sheep. In 1899 the See also:government sold about 52,000 acres of public land lying about 18 m. E. of Lake Nicaragua for the purpose of colonization. The purchaser undertook to introduce settlers from northern Europe, to import cattle for the improvement of the Nicaraguan breed, to plant rubber and See also:vanilla, and to provide See also:schools for agricultural instruction. The See also:sale of Nicaraguan See also:spirits is a state See also:monopoly. From the 1st of January 1904 it was leased to a syndicate of distillers for six years. See also:Gold-mining is carried on along the Caribbean littoral.

In 1898 the gold dust and See also:

bar exports from Bluefields were of the value of £25,760; in 1900, £62,000; and in 1907, £65,000. See also:Copper, See also:coal, See also:petroleum, See also:silver and See also:precious stones are also found, and there seems little See also:reason to doubt that the See also:mineral resources of Nicaragua, though undeveloped, are nearly as rich as those of Honduras. Other industries include manufactures of See also:leather, boots and shoes, See also:furniture, bricks and pottery, cigars and cigarettes, See also:beer, See also:wine and spirits, candles and See also:soap. The largest and most numerous commercial firms are German, but there are also French, British, and even See also:Chinese establishments, although the immigration of Chinese is prohibited by See also:law. The principal exports are (in See also:order of value) coffee, bananas, gold, rubber, cattle and hides, dye-woods and See also:cabinet woods. The principal imports are cotton and woollen goods, machinery and hardware, See also:flour, beer, wine, spirits and drugs. The United States and Great See also:Britain send respectively 6o% and 20 % of the imports, receiving 6o % and 8 °A° of the exports. The average yearly value of the foreign trade is about £1,200,000—exports, £700,000; imports, £500,000. See also:Money, Weights and 1~7easures.–There is one See also:bank of issue, the Bank of See also:London and Central America, which has a capital of £260,000 (£130,300 paid). The monetary unit is the silver peso or See also:dollar of too cents, which weighs 25 grammes, •900 fine. The current See also:coin consists largely of Mexican and Central and South American dollars; but little coin is in circulation. The currency is mostly See also:paper, notes being issued directly by the See also:treasury and by the bank.

The notes issued by the bank must be covered to the extent of 40 % by gold and silver; the actual bank reserve is stated to be from 65 to Too % of the notes issued. The value of the paper peso fluctuates; in 1904 the See also:

premium on gold stood at 640 %. The value of the silver peso in fractional silver money is about nineteen pence; in a single coin about twenty pence. The exportation of silver pesos is prohibited. In 1899 a See also:nickel coinage was introduced. The metric system of weights and See also:measures was legalized in January 1893. See also:Finance.—The See also:revenue of the republic is derived mainly from customs duties, liquor, tobacco and slaughter taxes, railways and steamers, the postal and See also:telegraph services, and the See also:gunpowder monopoly. The principal spending departments are those of See also:war and marine, See also:internal development, and finance. The published accounts, however, present no continuous or clear view of the national receipts and disbursements. Revenue and See also:expenditure vary considerably, but neither often falls below £300,000 or rises above £500,000. In 1886 the republic contracted a railway See also:loan in London to the amount of £285,000 at 6% See also:interest, and in July 1894 the interest fell into See also:default. In 1895 an arrangement was made for the reduction, of interest to 4%, the beginning of See also:amortization, and the creation of " coffee warrants " to be used in the See also:payment of export duties on coffee assigned for the service of the See also:debt.

In the four years 1897–1900 the sales of these warrants amounted to 1,028,990 gold pesos or (at 23d., the average See also:

rate for this period) £98,650. In July 1905 the outstanding amount of the debt was £253,600. In 1905 a further loan of 12,500,000 francs (£5oo,000) was raised in See also:Paris at 5 %. The internal debt amounts to about £400,000. Constitution and See also:Administration.—The former constitution, proclaimed on the 4th of July 1894 and amended on the loth of December 1896, was superseded on the 3oth of See also:March 1905, when a new constitution was promulgated. By this See also:instrument the legislative See also:power is vested in a single chamber of 36 members (instead of 40, as under the old constitution), elected by universal male See also:suffrage for six years (instead of two). The executive is entrusted to a president similarly chosen for six years (instead of four) and aided by a cabinet representing the five ministries of foreign affairs and See also:education, finance, internal administration and See also:justice, war and marine, and public See also:works. For administrative purposes the republic is divided into 13 departments and 2 comarcas, each under a See also:political head who acts as military commandant and controls education, finance, &c. The ad-ministration of justice is entrusted to numerous courts of first instance, three courts of See also:appeal, and a supreme See also:court. The active See also:army of 4000 men can be increased to 40,000 in war. All able-bodied citizens between the ages of seventeen and fifty-five are compelled to serve one year with the See also:colours and are then enrolled in the reserve. See also:Roman Catholicism is the prevailing creed, but all religions are tolerated, and none receives any endowment or other See also:special See also:privilege from the state.

The See also:

bishop of Leon, whose See also:diocese is included in the archiepiscopal See also:province of See also:Guatemala, is the spiritual head of the Roman Catholics. There are numerous elementary schools, at which the teaching is See also:free and compulsory, besides ten colleges for secondary or technical education, and two See also:universities. History.—For a general account of the Spanish administration during the colonial period, i.e. up to 1821, and of the subsequent attempts to unite all the Central American republics in a single federal state, see CENTRAL AMERICA. The history of the Mosquito Reserve and of the relations between Nicaragua and Great Britain is told in full under MOSQUITO COAST. First discovered by See also:Columbus in 1502, Nicaragua was not regularly explored till 1522, when Gil Gonzalez See also:Davila penetrated from the Gulf of Nicoya to the western provinces and sent his See also:lieutenant Cordova to circumnavigate the great lake. The country is said to take its name from Nicaras or Nicaragua (also written Micaragua), a powerful Cholutec chief, ruling over most of the land between the lakes and the Pacific, who received Davila in a friendly spirit and accepted See also:baptism at his hands. Nicaragua's capital seems to have occupied the site of the present town of Rivas. The Spaniards overran the country with great rapidity, both from this centre northwards, and southwards from the Honduras coast. The occupation began with sanguinary conflicts between the two contending waves of intrusion. Granada was founded in 1524 on the See also:isthmus between the two lakes as the capital of a separate government, which, however, was soon attached as a special province to the captaincy general of Guatemala, which comprised the whole of Central America and the present Mexican state of See also:Chiapas. Hence, during the Spanish See also:tenure, the history of Nicaragua is merged in that of the surrounding region. Of its five earliest rulers " the first had been a murderer, the second a murderer and See also:rebel, the third murdered the second, the See also:fourth was a forger, the fifth a murderer and rebel "(See also:Boyle).

Then came the hopeless revolts of the Indians against intolerable oppression, the abortive rebellions of Hernandez de Contreras and See also:

John Bermejo (See also:Bermudez) against the See also:mother country (1J50), the See also:foundation of Leon, future See also:rival of Granada, in 161o, its See also:sack by the buccaneers under See also:William See also:Dampier in 1685, and, lastly, the See also:declaration of See also:independence (1821), not definitively acknowledged by Spain till 185o. Ih 1823 Nicaragua joined the Federal Union of the five Central American states, which was dissolved in 1839. While it lasted Nicaragua was the scene of continual bloodshed, caused partly by its attempts to secede from the confederacy, partly by its See also:wars with Costa Rica for the See also:possession of the disputed territory of Guanacaste between the great lake and the Gulf of Nicoya, partly also by the See also:bitter rivalries of the cities of Leon and Granada, respective headquarters of the Liberal and Conservative parties. During the brief existence of the Federal Union no fewer than three See also:hundred and ninety-six persons exercised the supreme power of the republic and the different states. The See also:independent government of Nicaragua was afterwards distinguished almost beyond all other Spanish-American states by an uninterrupted series of military or popular revolts, by which the whole See also:people was impoverished and debased. One out-See also:standing incident was the filibustering expedition of William See also:Walker (q.v.), who was at first invited by the Liberals of Leon to assist them against the Conservatives of Granada, and who, after seizing the supreme power in 1856, was expelled by the combined forces of the neighbouring states, and on venturing to return was shot at See also:Trujillo in Honduras on the 12th of September 186o. Under the administration of Chamorro, who became president in 1875, a difficulty with Germany occurred. The German government asserted that one of its consuls had been insulted, and demanded an See also:indemnity of $30,000 (about £2800), a demand to which Nicaragua only submitted after all her principal ports had been blockaded. The successor of President Chamorro was General Zavala, whose administration brought Nicaragua to a higher degree of prosperity than she had ever known. He was succeeded in 1883 by Dr See also:Cardenas, during whose See also:presidency the See also:attempt of General Barrios to unite the five Central American states was a cause of war between Guatemala and Honduras on one side, and Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica on the other. Cardenas had taken command of the united Nicaraguan and Costa Rican army when Barrios died, and on the 11th of See also:April 1885 a treaty of See also:peace was signed. See also:Don Evaristo Carazo succeeded Dr Cardenas as president of the republic in 1887, but died when he had served a little over two years, and was succeeded by Dr Roberto Sacasa.

Under Carazo's administration the boundary question between Nicaragua and Costa Rica had been settled by See also:

arbitration, the president of the United States acting as arbitrator. While Dr Sacasa was president of Honduras, Salvador and Guatemala signed a treaty, under which the United States of Central America were to be formed. The president of Nicaragua adhered to this treaty, but the National See also:Congress refused to ratify it.' Sacasa was overthrown by a revolution in 1893, and was succeeded by a provisional government, which in its turn was deposed soon after by another uprising, at the head of which was General Jose See also:Santos Zelaya. His position was regularized by the constitution of 1894, and he was re-elected president in 1898 for another See also:term of four years. Under his government the See also:incorporation of the Mosquito Reserve into the territory of Nicaragua took See also:place. In 1895 occurred the See also:Hatch incident, which led to the occupation of the See also:port of Corinto by a British See also:fleet. Mr Hatch, British See also:pro-See also:vice-See also:consul at Bluefields, being accused of See also:conspiracy against the Nicaraguan government, was arrested, along with other British subjects, and expelled. For this action Nicaragua was required to pay an indemnity of $15,000. An attempt to overthrow Zelaya was made in See also:February 1896, but it was crushed after several months of severe fighting. There were occasional disturbances subsequently, but none sufficient to overturn President Zelaya, who was again re-elected in 1902 and 1906. In 1907 he carried to a successful issue the war which See also:broke out in that year between Nicaragua and Honduras (q.v.). But he was believed to be planning the See also:conquest of other Central American states, and his policy of granting monopolies and commercial concessions to his own supporters aroused widespread discontent.

In See also:

October 1909 an insurrection broke out in the Atlantic departments. The See also:execution (after alleged See also:torture) of two citizens of the United States named See also:Grace and See also:Cannon, who were said to have fought in the revolutionary army under General See also:Estrada, led to the despatch of United States warships to Nicaragua; but in the See also:absence of full evidence President Zelaya's responsibility for the execution could not be proved.' On the 1st of December the United States broke off See also:diplomatic relations with Nicaragua, and in an See also:official See also:note Secretary See also:Knox described the Zelayan administration as a " blot on the history " of the republic. Fighting at Bluefields was prevented by the U.S. cruiser " See also:Des Moines" (18th December), an example followed at Greytown by the British cruiser " Scylla"; but elsewhere along the Atlantic coast the insurgents gained many victories. In the See also:battle of Rama (23rd December) they captured the greater part of the government troops. On the following See also:day Zelaya took See also:refuge on See also:board a Mexican gunboat, and sailed for Mexico. Dr Madriz, one of his supporters, had already succeeded him as president.

End of Article: NICARAGUA

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