Nicaragua Research Paper

Prior to the Spanish colonization, Nicaragua was under the control of Indians tribes such as Nicarao, Misquito,Gotegas, and several others. Despite Nicaragua being the largest country in Central America, it is sparsely populated within its three natural regions: The Pacific Lowlands, Central Highlands, and the Caribbean Lowlands. The area was discovered by Europeans in 1502 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus, who set out on his fourth voyage to explore the eastern coast. However, it wasn’t until two decades later that Nicaragua was established as a Spanish colony. The first expedition was led by Gil Gonzalez de Avila in 1520, who sparked the interest in the Spanish conquest of Nicaraguan territory. His primary mission was to obtain

Swelled with success and assertiveness, Gonzalez and his troop moved into the region’s interior, but encountered resistance from an army of Niquiranos. Outnumbered, Gonzalez and his troops decided to retreat. They returned to Panama with large quantities of gold and pearls, thus reporting their find and eventually naming the region Nicaragua. Consequently, this of course created gold fever among many Spanish conquistadors. Within a few months, several Spanish forces invaded Nicaragua and each was led by a conquistador. Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, sent by the governor of Panama, Pedrarias, approached from Costa Rica. Pedro de Alvarado and Cristóbal de Olid- came from Guatemala through San Salvador and Honduras. However, Córdoba, eventually completed the Nicaraguan conquest effort. Whereas most invaders were interested only in gold, Cordoba came in with more permanent goals: He wanted to colonize Nicaragua. In order to do this, he needed to establish permanent settlements, thus leading to the founding of Granada and Leon in

The plains around the new site allowed it to become the center of ranching. Essentially, Nicaragua, being one of the poorer colonial possessions, it was low on the list of Spanish priorities and little serious effort was made to hang on to it. However, throughout the 1600s, that didn’t stop England, France, and the Dutch from competing with Spain for control over its colonies. In European countries created buccaneers and attacked each other’s settlements. In 1633, a dutch privateer, Abraham Blaauvelt, built one alongside the Mosquito Coast and allied with a local indegenous group who detested the Spanish, otherwise knwon as the Miskito Indians. Eventually, the British was thriving in trade off of the Coast to the point where it generated conflict between the British and the Spanish. Ongoing control over the Moskito Coast went on until the 19th century. In 1664, English buccaneers, followed by French buccaneers attacked Granada. Recognizing the loss in potential revenues, the buccaneer era was brought an end to, however that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be competition over its economic