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History of
Costa Rica
Human habitation can be traced back more than 10,000 years but
it appears Costa Rica was sparsely populated and a relative backwater in the
pre-Columbian era. There is little sign of major communities and none of the
impressive stone architecture that characterized the more advanced
civilizations of Mesoamerica to the north and the Andes to the south. When
Columbus arrived near LimĒn on September 18, 1502 on his third and last
voyage to the Americas, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous
inhabitants They lived in several autonomous tribes, all with distinct
cultures and customs. Costa Rica's only major archaeological site is at
Guayabo, 30 miles east of San Jose, where an ancient city, dating back to 1000
B.C. and though to have contained 10,000 people at its peak, is currently
being excavated. Many interesting gold, jade and pottery artifacts have been
found throughout the region and are on display in several museums in San Jose.
The Indians gave Columbus gold and he returned to Europe with
reports of a plentiful supply of the yellow metal. But the adventurers who
arrived to cash in found only hostile Indians, swamps and disease for their
trouble. Several early attempts to colonize the Atlantic coast failed for the
same reasons and for almost half a century Costa Rica was passed over while
colonization gathered pace in countries to the north and south. In 1562, the
Spanish main's administrative center in Guatemala sent Juan Vasquez de
Coronado to Costa Rica as governor and Cartago was established as the capital
the following year. With no Indian slaves to work the land, the colonists were
forced to work the land themselves, scratching out a meager subsistence by
tilling small plots. The impoverished colony grew slowly and was virtually
ignored by the Spanish rulers in Guatemala. By the late 18th century, the
settlements that would had been founded and exports of wheat and tobacco were
making economic conditions somewhat better.
Central America gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. The news
reached Costa Rica a month after the event. The question of whether Costa Rica
should join newly independent Mexico or join a new confederation of Central
American states resulted in a bitter quarrel between the leaders of San Jose
and their counterparts in Cartago and Heredia. A brief civil war in 1823 was
won by San Jose and Costa Rica joined the confederation.
Juan Mora Fernandez was elected the country's first head of state in 1824. His
progressive administration expanded public education and encouraged the
cultivation of coffee with land grants for growers. This quickly led to the
establishment of a new Costa Rican elite, the coffee barons, who quickly put
their power to use by overthrowing the first Costa Rican president, Jose Maria
Castro. His successor, Juan Rafael Mora, is remembered as the man who
mobilized a force of Costa Rican volunteers and defeated William Walker,
ending the persistent North American adventurer's ambitions to turn Central
America into a slave state and annex it to the United States.
After more than a decade of political turmoil, General Tom Guardia seized
power in 1870. Though he ruled as a military dictator, his 12 years in power
were marked by progressive policies like free and compulsory primary
education, restraining the excesses of the military and taxing coffee earnings
to finance public works. It was Guardia who contracted Minor Keith to build
the Atlantic railroad from San Jose to the Caribbean. The post-Guardia years
witnessed the fitful transition to full democracy.
The next important era began with the election of Dr. Rafael Angel CalderĒn
Guardia in 1940. His enlightened policies included land reform, a guaranteed
minimum wage and progressive taxation. But when CalderĒn's United Social
Christian Party refused to step down after losing the 1948 election, civil war
erupted. The anti-CalderĒn forces were led by Jose MarĄa (Don Pepe) Figueres
Ferrer who had been exiled to Mexico in 1942. Supported by the governments of
Guatemala and Cuba, he won the war which lasted 40 days and cost 2,000 lives.
Figueres became head of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic of Costa
Rica. He consolidated the reforms introduced by CalderĒn and introduced many
of his own: He banned the Communist Party, gave women the vote and granted
full citizenship to blacks, abolished the armed forces, established a term
limit for presidents and nationalized the banks and insurance companies. He
also founded the Partido de Liberacion Nacional. (The PLN won last year's
presidential election behind Don Pepe's son, now President Jose MarĄa
Figueres Olsen.
Don Pepe died in 1990 a national hero, his deeds having set the scene for the
social and economic progress that would earn Costa Rica the reputation as a
peaceful and stable island of democracy in one of the world's most politically
unstable, and often war-torn regions. When civil war broke out in neighboring
Nicaragua, Costa Rica was drawn reluctantly into the conflict, its northern
zone being used as a base first for Sandinista and later for
"contra" forces. In 1986, a young lawyer called Oscar Arias Sanchez
was elected president on the platform of peace. Arias' tireless efforts to
promote peace in the region were rewarded when the five Central American
presidents signed his peace plan in Guatamala City in 1987, an achievement
that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.
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