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Chief Nicarao
  • Nicaragua is named for Nicarao, chief of the tribe that lived around present-day Lake Nicaragua about 1500.
  • 1524 - Hernandez de Cordoba founded the first Spanish permanent settlements in the region, inclidong Granada on Lake Nicaragua and Leon east of Lake Managua.
  • 1625, the English arrived in Nicaragua and declared it a British Protectorate called the Mosquito Kingdom, which extended from Belize to the San Juan River
  • After British left Nicaragua belonged to the Spanish Mexican Viceroyalty and later to the Central America United Provinces Federation
  • 1821 received independence from Spain
  • 1838 became an independent republic
  • 1838 to 1936 continual rivalry between the Liberal elite of Leon and the Conservative elite of Granada often resilting in civil war.
  • 1936 to 1979 Anastasio Somoza Garcia and later his sons ruled Nicaragua
  • 1979 massive uprising led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) deposed the Somoza'a after a guerrilla struggle beginning in the 1960's
  • 1990 Free democratic election held and Mrs. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro became President
  • 1990 to present several democratic elections and governments have brought progress and stability to Nicaragua

Last Updated (Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:59)

 
eartquakemanagua

Nicaragua faces many challenges not the least of which are earthquakes and weather. During the twentieth century Nicaragua suffered four major earthquakes and four hurricanes plus droughts and other floods.

  • There were seventeen natural disasters in the twentieth century - one every five or six years.
  • Eleven of the disasters occurred between 1972 and 2001 or one every three years.

Last Updated (Tuesday, 09 February 2010 16:02)