The History of Costa Rica

We take a look at the rich history of the small country in Central America. Costa Rica is known for its tranquility and nature, but this has not always been the case. The natural parks are breathtaking and the capital San José is also worth a visit. The city is not only fun for gambling and roulette, but also has museums, parks, theaters and historic buildings that are worth a visit. Quickly read more about the history of Costa Rica. 

Colonial history

Spanish rule began in 1522 when Gil González Dávila arrived in Costa Rica. He brought his troops with him and subjugated the populace. Costa Rica became the southernmost territory of the General Captaincy of Guatemala and part of New Spain.

For three hundred years Costa Rica remained a colony of Spain. This can still be seen today in the culture and languages ​​that are spoken. The country may have been lucky that there was little gold and silver to be found. This kept many Spanish colonials away. The sparsely populated country could not develop properly and remained very poor. Even the Spaniards thought it was a poor colony. 

Postcolonial History

Costa Rica has never given up in the struggle for independence. In 1810 this started to move more in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence. Costa Rica joined it, but broke away from the Mexican Empire two years later. Costa Rica wanted to form its own United States with other countries in Central America. This lasted for almost 20 years until the United States of Central America fell apart. Costa Rica has been independent ever since. 

America tried to stage a coup in 1856, but Costa Rica was not sensitive to this. More than ten years later, a democratic government was established, but it was not until thirty years later that the first democratic elections were held. It hasn't always been peaceful in Costa Rica. From 1917 to 1919 dictator Frederico Tinoco was in charge. Later in 1948 there was another civil war from which a new constitution was created. Universal suffrage was laid down in this and was also guaranteed. 

The Switzerland of Latin America

Costa Rica has been doing well since 1948. The country is beautiful, there are many tourists and everything seems to be going well in the field of politics. Because it is one of the most prosperous countries in that area, it is also called the Switzerland of Latin America. The poverty rate is falling, but there are problems with high unemployment, debt and the trade deficit. 

Costa Rica has had some rough years since 1978 and is not out of the woods yet. The socio-economic crisis is due to the fact that the country is dependent on the export of bananas and coffee. In particular, the prices of coffee have fallen enormously while the cost of petroleum has risen. Costa Rica has run up a lot of debt and declared a state of emergency in May 2022. Indeed, the government was chopped for ransomware. Problems that the beautiful country is still dealing with in 2023.