Nicaragua

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{{Infobox_Country |native_name =Template:Lang |conventional_long_name =Republic of Nicaragua |common_name =Nicaragua |image_flag =Flag of Nicaragua.svg |image_coat =Nicaragua_coa.gif |image_map = LocationNicaragua.png |national_motto = Template:Lang
("For the World's benefit") |national_anthem =Template:Lang |official_languages = Spanish (official) (English and indigenous languages on Caribbean coast) |capital =Managua |latd=12 |latm=9 |latNS=N |longd=86 |longm=16 |longEW=W |largest_city = |government_type = Republic |leader_titles =President |leader_names =Enrique Bolaños |area_rank = 115th |area_magnitude =1 E10 |area=129,494 |areami²= 49,998 |percent_water =14.01 |population_estimate =5,465,100 |population_estimate_rank =107th |population_estimate_year =July 2005 |population_census = |population_census_year = |population_density =42.2 |population_densitymi² =109.2 |population_density_rank =127th |GDP_PPP = $16.05 billion |GDP_PPP_rank =125th |GDP_PPP_year=2005 |GDP_PPP_per_capita =$ 2,800 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =163rd |sovereignty_type =Independence |established_events = From Spain |established_dates =
 - Declared
September 15, 1821
- Recognized
July 25, 1850
|HDI = 0.690 |HDI_rank =112th |HDI_year = 2003 |HDI_category =medium |currency =Córdoba |currency_code = NIO |country_code = |time_zone = |utc_offset =-6 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |cctld = .ni |calling_code = 505 |footnotes = }}

Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicarágua, IPA Template:IPA) is a sovereign and democratic republic in Central America. Although it is the largest nation in the region, it is also the least densely populated per km². The country is bordered on the north by Honduras and on south by Costa Rica. Its western coastline is on the Pacific Ocean, while the east side of the country is on the Caribbean Sea.

The country's name is a portmanteau of Nicarao, employed by the Spanish colonialists for the Nahuatl-speaking indigenous tribe, and the Spanish word Agua, meaning water, named after one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world Lago Nicaragua and the indigenous leader Nicarao.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, Nicaragua was the name given to the narrow strip of land between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. Chief Nicarao ruled over that land when the first conquerors arrived. The term was eventually applied, by extension, to the group that inhabited that region: the Nicaraos or Niquiranos.

The pre-columbian Nicarao came to the area from northern regions after the fall of Teotihuacán, on the advice of their priests or religious leaders. According to tradition, they were to travel south until they encountered a lake with two volcanoes rising out of the waters, and stopped when they reached Ometepe, the largest fresh-water volcanic island in the world.

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History

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In 1524, Conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded the first Spanish permanent settlements in the region, including two of Nicaragua's principal towns: Granada on Lake Nicaragua and Leon east of Lake Managua. Settled as a colony of Spain within the kingdom of Guatemala in the 1520s, Nicaragua became a part of the Mexican Empire and then gained its independence as a part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1821 and as an independent republic in its own right in 1838. The Mosquito Coast based on Bluefields on the Atlantic was claimed by Britain as a protectorate from 1655 to 1850; this was delegated to Honduras in 1859 and transferred to Nicaragua in 1860, though remained autonomous until 1894.

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Today Nicaragua is renowned to be the safest country in Mesoamerica and one of the safest in the American continent, ironically, much of Nicaragua's early politics following independence were characterized by the rivalry between the liberal élite of León and the conservative élite of Granada. This rivalry sometimes spilled into civil war. Initially invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the conservatives, a United States adventurer named William Walker (later executed in neighbouring Honduras) saw the chance to take over the country. Walker named himself president in 1856 and offered the United States a new slave state. Out of fear towards the possibility of his plans for expansion, several Central American countries united to drive him out of Nicaragua in 1857, after which a period of three decades of conservative rule ensued.

Taking advantage of divisions within the conservative ranks, José Santos Zelaya led a liberal revolt that brought him to power in 1893. Zelaya ended the longstanding dispute with Britain over the Atlantic Coast in 1894, and reincorporated the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua.

Nicaragua offered assistance during World War 2, and was the first country in the world to ratify the UN Charter.

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Politics

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Nicaragua is a constitutional republic with an elected president holding executive power. The unicameral legislative body is the National Assembly, which has 92 members elected for 5-year terms. The President, and the runner-up are both members of the National Assembly, as well, and the government operates according to pseudo-parliamentary rules.

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Departments

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For administrative purposes, Nicaragua is divided into 15 departments and two autonomous regions. The departments are Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Estelí, Granada, Jinotega, León, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rivas, Río San Juan. The two autonomous regions are Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte and Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur, often referred to as RAAN and RAAS respectively. Until they were granted autonomy in 1985 they formed the single department of Zelaya.

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Geography

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At approximately 129,500 square kilometers (50,000 sq mi)—roughly the size of the state of New York. Nicaragua contains 7% of the world's biodiversity and the second largest rainforest in the Americas. Close to 20% of the country's territory is protected as national parks or biological reserves. The country is bordered by Costa Rica on the south and Honduras on the north, with the balmy Caribbean Sea to the east. It is a warm land of lakes and mountains, rivers and volcanoes, sea and sun.

Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions: the Pacific Lowlands, the North-Central Mountains and the Atlantic Lowlands.

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The Pacific Lowlands

Located in the west of the country, these lowlands consist of a broad, hot, fertile plain. Punctuating this plain are several large volcanoes—there are upwards of 40 volcanoes in the country, including Mombacho and Momotombo. The lowland area runs from the Gulf of Fonseca, on Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake Nicaragua. From this lowland strip, the Maribios mountain range, with its 25 volcanic cones, towers overs some of the most impressive beaches in Central America.

This region is the most populous. About 27% of the nation's population lives in and around Managua, the capital city, on the southern shores of Lake Managua. Being on an open plain, Managua does not suffer the pollution of other Mesoamerican cities trapped in mountain valleys.

In addition to its beach and resort communities, the Pacific Lowlands is also the repository for much of Nicaragua's Spanish colonial heritage. Cities such as Granada and León abound in colonial architecture and artifacts.

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The Central Region

This is an upland region away from the Pacific coast, with a cooler climate than the Pacific Lowlands. About a quarter of the country's agriculture takes place in this region, with coffee grown on the higher slopes. An ecologically active area with mountains and ranges over 3,000 feet above sea level. Oaks, pines, moss, ferns and orchids are abundant in the massive cloud forests of the region. Large coffee plantations often welcome a weary visitor with a steaming cup of the homegrown product.

Hikers and backpackers walking along the tree-shaded paths can quench their thirst in the clear waters of the mountain springs.

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Lucky birdwatchers may be able to add a rare quetzal viewing to their inventory. Certainly they will see goldfinches, hummingbirds, jays or toucanets. Taking a branch of the famous Pan-American Highway, the traveler can drive through the heart of this region to the border with Honduras.

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The Atlantic Lowlands

This large rainforest region, with several large rivers running through it, is very sparsely populated and is considered the second-largest rainforest in the Americas after the Amazon in Brazil. The Río Negro forms the border with Honduras. The Caribbean coastline is much more sinuous than its generally straight Pacific counterpart: lagoons and deltas make it very irregular.

Nicaragua's tropical east coast is very different from the rest of the country. The climate is predominantly tropical with high temperature and high humidity. Around the area's principal city of Bluefields, English is widely spoken along with the official Spanish and the population more closely resembles that found in many typical Caribbean ports than the rest of Nicaragua, which further enriches the diversity of this country.

Nature lovers will find much to pique their interest in the tropical forests of the area. A great variety of birds can be observed including eagles, turkeys, toucans, parakeets and macaws. Animal life in the area includes several different species of monkeys, ant-eaters, white-tailed deer and tapirs.

A short flight away from Bluefields are the Corn Islands. These small, beautiful islands are fringed with white coral and are a popular resort area for Central Americans. Activities including bathing, surfing, fishing, and eating seafood, and the small island even has a mountain to climb.

See also:

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Economy

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The Nicaraguan unit of currency is the Córdoba (NIO) and was named after Francisco Hernández de Córdoba its national founder. It trades at around 16.450 to the U.S. dollar, trades at about 19.910 to the European euro, and trades at around 0.5139 to the Taiwanese dollar. Regardless of exchange rates, real value for foreign currencies tends to go much further in Nicaragua than the rest of the region.

Nicaragua's economy has historically been based on the export of cash crops such as bananas, coffee and tobacco. It is renowned to produce the best rum in Latin America; the second best tobacco in the world; and have the third ranking in beef quality only behind Argentina and Brazil. During the Contra War in the early 1980's, much of the country's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, poor administration by the Sandinista regime and an economic blockade by the U.S. combined with the economic stagnation of the aligned Soviet bloc led to the virtual collapse of the economy. Inflation ran at that time at several thousand per cent. Since the end of the war almost two decades ago, many state-owned industries have been privatized. Inflation has been brought to manageable levels, and the economy has grown quite rapidly in recent years.

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As in many other developing countries, a large segment of the economically poor in Nicaragua are women. In addition, a relatively high percentage of Nicaragua's average homes have a woman as head of household: 39% of urban homes and 28% of the rural ones.

The country is still a recovering economy and it continues to implement further reforms, on which aid from the IMF is conditional. A new state agency (Pro Nicaragua) established in 2002 and the recent ratification of CAFTA have been instrumental for the democratically elected government of Nicaragua to launch an ambitious promotional campaign employing USA-educated nationals with executive expertise, to attract foreign investment and diversify the economy in such areas as Renewable Energy (Hydro, Geothermal, Wind Power and Biomass), Agribusiness and Forestry, Textiles and Apparel, Tourism, Contact Centers and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), Light Manufacturing and Assembly.

By the end of 2005 these initiatives had already successfully launched Nicaragua as one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and a preferred destination for tourism and business as well as a retirement haven for North Americans, Europeans and many others alike with its incentive packages (Law 306).

In 2005, finance ministers of the leading eight industrialized nations (G-8) agreed to forgive Nicaragua's foreign debt, as part of the HIPC program.

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Demographics

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According to the 2005 census, Nicaragua has a population of 5,483,400, an increase of 20% on the 1995 census figure of 4,357,099.

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Nicaraguans of European or Mestizo (to varying degrees) stock make up a combined 86% of the population, and effectively the largest majority. Although there are not always clear lines of differentiation due to the large and varying caucasoid composition across this group, the segment can be divided for the most part along the lines of 69% Mestizos and 17% of European descent (mostly Spanish, German and Italian).

In the nineteenth century, there had been a substantial indigenous minority, but this group was also largely assimilated culturally into the Hispanic mainstream. Primarily in the 19th century, Nicaragua saw several waves of immigration from other European nations. In particular the northern cities of Esteli and Matagalpa have significant 4th generation German communities. Most of the Mestizo and European descent population live in the western regions of the country as in the cities of Managua, Granada and Leon.

A minority comprising about 9 % of Nicaragua's population is considered black or afronicaragüense, and mainly reside in the country's sparsely populated eastern or Atlantic coast. The black population is mostly of West Indian (Antillean) origin, the descendents of indentured labourers brought mostly from Jamaica and Haiti when the region was a British protectorate. As the largest country in the region, Nicaragua also has the second largest black population in Central America after Panama. There is also a smaller number of Garifuna, a people of mixed Carib, Angolan, Congolese and Arawak descent.

Image:Nicaragua lake.JPG

The remaining 5 % is comprised of the unmixed descendants of the country's indigenous inhabitants. Nicaragua's pre-Colombian population consisted of the Nahuatl-speaking Nicarao people of the west after whom the country is named, and six other ethnic groups including the Miskitos, Ramas and Sumos along the Caribbean coast. While very few pure-blooded Nicarao people still exist, the Caribbean peoples have remained distinct. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the department of Zelaya - consisting of the eastern half of the country - into two autonomous regions and thus granted the African and indigenous people of this region limited self-rule within the Republic.

There is also a small Middle Eastern-Nicaraguan community of Syrian, Armenian, Palestinian and Lebanese people in Nicaragua with a total population of about 30,000, and an East Asian community of Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese people of almost 8,000. These minorities speak Spanish while maintaining their ancestral languages as well.

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Spanish is spoken by about 90% of the country's population; Nicaraguans speak standard Iberoamerican Spanish with some similarities to Galician Spanish—structurally similar to Argentinian Spanish which uses "vos" instead of "tu" along with the "vos" conjugation, but with a different intonation. The black population of the east coast region has English as its first language. Several indigenous peoples of the east still use their original languages.

Roman Catholicism is the major religion, but evangelical Protestant groups have grown recently, and there are strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast.

90 % of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands. The population is 54% urban. An estimated 2 million Nicaraguans live outside of Nicaragua, popular destinations are Costa Rica, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Germany, and Spain.

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Culture

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The "Nicas" are friendly and obliging people, with a matriarchal society. The population is very young with approx. 40% under 18 years of age. As a whole the country is rich in colorful folklore, music and religious traditions. A fusion of Old World and New World emerged as the national psyche creating a society largely founded on European-Iberian culture but enriched with Amerindian sounds and flavours. Nicaragua has historically been a literary treasure in poetry of the Hispanic world with internationally renowned contributors such as Ruben Darío who is widely acclaimed as the Father of Modernism and Prince of Spanish Literature.

Through education Nicaragua's Government promotes the formation of nationals, giving them a decisive, scientific and humanist conscience. Education is free and the same for all Nicaraguans. Elementary education is free and compulsory. Communities localted on the Atlantic Coast have access to education in their native language. Higher education has financial, organic and administrative autonomy, according to the law. Also, freedom of subjects is recognized.

Nicaraguan culture can further be defined in several distinct strands. The west of the country was colonized by Spain and its people are mostly Mestizos and European in composition; Spanish is invariably their first language.

Image:San Juan del Sur Nicaragua.JPG

The eastern half of the country, on the other hand, was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically a par with Spanish which is formally taught in schools, its culture is somewhat similar to Caribbean nations, although recent immigration by Mestizos has largely influenced younger generations and an increasing number of people are either bilingual at home or speak Spanish only. There is a large population of people of mixed African descent, as well as a smaller Garifuna population.

Of the cultures that were present before European colonization, the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who populated the west of the country have essentially been assimilated into the latino culture. In the east, however, several indigenous groups have maintained a distinct identity. The Sumos and Ramas people still use their original languages.

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Arts

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FAMOUS NICARAGUENSES

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Miscellaneous topics

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References

  1. Template:Note Christopher Andrew, Vasili Mitrokhin. The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World, Basic Books, September 20, 2005.
  2. Template:Note Matilde Zimmermann. Sandinista, Duke Universtiy Press, 2000.
  3. Template:NoteThe Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth addition, Ed. Peter N. Stearns, 2001. p. 954
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Further reading

  • After Revolution: Mapping Gender and Cultural Politics in Neoliberal Nicaragua Florence E. Babb
  • Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua Stephen Kinzer
  • The Civil War in Nicaragua: Inside the Sandinistas Roger Miranda and William Ratliff
  • Contradiction and Conflict : The Popular Church in Nicaragua Debra Sabia
  • The Contras, 1980-1989 : A Special Kind of Politics R. Pardo-Maurer
  • The Country Under My Skin : A Memoir of Love and War Gioconda Belli
  • Dark Alliance : The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion Gary Webb
  • The Death of Ben Linder: The Story of a North American in Sandinista Nicaragua Joan Kruckewitt
  • To Die in This Way: Nicaraguan Indians and the Myth of the Mestizaje 1880-1965 Jeffrey L. Gould
  • The Jaguar Smile : A Nicaraguan Journey Salman Rushdie
  • Life Is Hard: Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua Roger N. Lancaster
  • Life Stories of the Nicaraguan Revolution Denis Lynn Daly Heyck
  • Manufacturing Consent: The Poltical Economy of the Mass Media Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
  • Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs: Gender Identity Politics in Nicaragua 1979 - 1999 Lorraine Bayard de Volo
  • My Car in Managua Forrest D. Colburn and Roger Sanchez Flores
  • Nicaragua Thomas Walker
  • Nicaragua Betrayed Anastasio Somoza and Jack Cox
  • Nicaragua: Revolution in the Family Shirley Christian
  • The Patient Impatience: From Boyhood to Guerilla : A Personal Narrative of Nicaragua's Struggle for Liberation Tomas Borge
  • The Real Contra War: Highlander Peasant Resistance in Nicaragua Timothy C. Brown
  • Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution Matilde Zimmermann
  • Sandinista Communism and Rural Nicaragua Janusz Bugajski
  • Sandinistas: The Party And The Revolution Dennis Gilbert
  • Sandinistas Speak Tomas Borge
  • The Sandino Affair Neill MacAulay
  • Sandino's Daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle Margaret Randall and Lynda Yanz
  • Twilight Struggle: American Power and Nicaragua, 1977-1990 Robert Kagan
  • The War in Nicaragua William Walker
  • Washington, Somoza and the Sandinistas : Stage and Regime in US Policy toward Nicaragua 1969-1981 Morris H. Morley
  • Washington's War on Nicaragua Holly Sklar
  • With the Old Corps in Nicaragua George B. Clark
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External links

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