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Nicaraguan History

A Struggle for Power

Nicaragua was first settled in 1522 by the Spanish and derives its name from the chief of the area’s leading Indian tribe during the Spanish Conquest.

Pre-colonial Nicaragua was occupied by two distinct ethnic groups. Both central and western regions were inhabited by tribes related to the Aztecs and Maya, which migrated southwards from Mexico. A different group, originated supposedly from Colombia, came from the opposite direction and occupied the Caribbean lowlands.

The arrival of Spanish colonists in the early 1500s brought the fall of most of the western and central populations by means of imported disease and forced labor. The eastern populations survived due to a certain lack of interest from Spanish colonists and later on, support from the British, which were challenging Spanish influence in the Caribbean Islands.

While under the Spanish rule, Nicaragua was incorporated in the Captaincy-General, a disposal region, also known by the Spanish term “audencia” of Guatemala. At its climax in the mid-16th century, this region stretched across the whole of Central America, from southern Mexico to Panama. Two main conflicts dominated the political economy of the country and indeed the entire region throughout the colonial era.

Firstly the conflict arose between the Spanish and rival imperial powers, represented mostly by the British, French and Dutch, which made frequent inroads into Spanish-monopole territory. Secondly it was the internal strife over the trading policy. On one side there were the wealthy landowners who were supported by the trade monopolies in the mining and agriculture commodities, which were the pillar of regional economy. The landowners were descendents of the original Spanish colonists and were backed up by the moral authority of the Catholic Church. In the fronting camp there were the anti-clerical “liberals” who were promoting a free trade system.

In 1821, the Captaincy-General of Guatemala has declared its independence. There were efforts were made from Mexico to bring Nicaragua to bounder, but in 1823 the five provinces, now the contemporary states of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras, has declared full autonomy under the name of United Provinces of Central America. Internal feuding inevitably led to the rapid disintegration of the United Provinces. In 1838 Nicaragua has declared itself a sovereign state with a democratic system of government and as a compromise to the British influence, in the year of 1855 Managa was founded as the country’s capital.

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