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All about costa rica essay
All about costa rica essay
Costa Rica and democratic observations
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Costa Rica is known for having Latin America’s oldest democracy, as it was established and uninterrupted since the 1950s. More importantly, it is one of the few countries without a standing military force. Today, they are under a presidential constitutional republic, lead by Laura Chinchilla, whom is the president since 2010. Costa Rica is in Central America, between Nicaragua (north) and Panama (south east). Christopher Columbus first visited it during his fourth and last voyage to the New World. Its conquistador was Juan Vasquez Coronado, a pacifist whom won the trust of the natives in the area.
Costa Rica, or Rich Coast, was named for Gil Gonzales Davila after the golden bands that the natives wore in their noses at the time of colonization (Costa Rica - History & Culture). For this colony independence came almost instantaneously as it was not forced by any war. Spain had left this part of the colonies alone as they focused on the minerals that Peru and Mexico. Since both Peru and Mexico wanted their independence at this time, Spain was using must of the resources to fight against them, leaving them no capital to take care of Central America. As a result, it was easier for the Central America colonies to declare independence because it was already a reality to them. Since this time Costa Rica was known for their tolerant attitudes as whites, Creoles, Spaniards, blacks and Indians coexisted without any issues.
In 1823, at the time of independence Costa Rica joints the Federal Republic of Central America with Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua (La Federacion Del Centro De America). The president of all the providences, the so-called federal government, was Francisco Morazán a liberal. As president of the provinces...
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...eguatemala.com/centroamericahis.html>.
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Rankin, Monica A. The History of Costa Rica. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2012. Print.
Tirmenstein, Lisa. "Costa Rica in 1856: Defeating William Walker While Creating a National Identity." Costa Rica in 1856: Defeating William Walker While Creating a National Identity. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. .
"United Provinces of Central America (historical Federation, Central America)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .
Puerto Rico. The. Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2007. 2.
Central America is very unique and has made amazing products and is well known for them. Central America produces items we use or eat everyday. They produce bananas, coffee, shellfish, sugar cane, and timber. (Doc B) There is lots of tourism because of the amazing scenery. (Doc D) Other the major production and tourism, there has been a drastic decrease in population. About 17 million
Milanich, Jerald T. and Susan Milbrath., ed. First Encounters: Spanish Exploration in the Caribbean and the United States1492-1570. Gainesville: U of Florida P, 1989.
An International Conference, October 18, 19 and 20 2001., Museo Del Oro, Casa Simón Bolivar, Historic Center of Cartagena, Cartagena De Indias, Colombia. Toronto, Canada: Department of History at York University, 2001. Print.
When the country of Colombia is mentioned, chances are individuals automatically start composing images of famous actors and musicians that have rooted from Colombia such as Shakira and Sofia Vergara, the excellent reputation Colombian coffee has made across the globe, or even the beautiful Emeralds that surround the astonishing land. Of course all of those things matter, but Colombia is a country that is definitely swept under the rug and under appreciated. Colombia’s history, independence movements, governmental structure, and culture are just a few of the topics that make Colombia so unique.
Rodríguez, Ana Patricia. 2009. Dividing the Isthmus: Central American transnational histories, literatures & cultures. U.S.: University of Texas Press, 130-167
In 1801, the Panamanian communities began the move toward independence. In November of 1821, General José de Fábrega met with the separatists in the Capitol, and the group called for a national assembly, in which representatives from every region in Panama came to convene on November 10th. At this assembly it was officially declared that Panama was severing its ties to the Spanish, and ...
Cuba is the largest single island of the West Indies archipelago and one of the more influential states of the Caribbean region. After discovery by Christopher Columbus on October 27, 1492, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez de Cuellar established a permanent settlement with 300 Spaniards in the town of Baracoa on the northeastern coast of Cuba in 1511. Spain relies heavily on Cuba as their main source of pure sugar. This earned Cuba the nickname Pearl of the Antilles for its vast beautiful region during the 18th century. The country has an unusual geographical and cultural unity that has given the Cuban people a strong sense of identity and a pride in their heritage.
There were a few main points that led up to the Latin American independence movement. In, 1797 the Britain blockade of Spain took place for two years, which cut off resources and revenues for the country. In doing so, Britain had almost proved to Mexico that they could survive on their own in the New World without Spain. About 10 years later in 1808, Spain was in serious trouble with France and Napoleon Bonaparte had taken over Spain and appointed his brother King of Spain. Spain was in there own sort of disarray at this time so after proving to themselves
After gaining independence, Latin American countries had difficulty in how to govern the newly instated states. In the chaos, people took advantage of this and instated themselves as dictators. They had simply took the position from the Spanish that they tried to vanquish (class notes). The power structure remained and the people who fought for independence were largely ignored and continuously oppressed. These dictatorships had remained in power until very recently. Paraguay was finally freed from the dictatorship in 1989 (Chapter
After gaining independence from Spain and Portugal in the 1820s, Latin American colonies had a lot ahead of them. They had to establish their own governments and economies in the midst of recovering from wars. Founding these was going to be difficult as they had been under colonial rule for a long time and there was a lot of unrest in the colonies. Although it would have been difficult there was great potential for a strong economy and democracy. This potential stemmed from a few things. A strong economy would have been possible because Latin America is rich with minerals, gold, and silver. Democracy also seemed attainable, in part from the ideas that started independence movements, including enlightenment ideas and the successful revolution in the United States. A democracy appeared to be very possible but there were also concerns that the newly freed colonies would struggle to establish a strong government, these concerns were addressed by Simon Bolivar in The Jamaica Letter.
The United States of America and Costa Rica’s constitutions have several similarities and differences. The United States and Costa Rica have two of the most successful constitutional republics in the history of the world. They are alike in several ways, however, there are some major differences that allows them to thrive in their own environments. There are many components that describe the two countries: physical structure, traditions and how the constitutions were established, how the constitutions work, languages, military, religion, education, voting rights, presidential elections, and structure of the legislative branch, presidential terms, vice presidents, and Supreme Court justices.
Wilson, Samuel M. Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press,1990.
"Dominican Republic." Gale Encyclopedia of World History: Governments. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Student Resources in Context. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
LaFeber, Walter. Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America. New York: W.W. Norton, 1984. Print.