Pre-20th-Century History
Mystery shrouds
Pre-Columbian Costa Rica: few archaeological monuments have been found
and no proof of a written language has ever been discovered. Recorded
history tends to begin with Christopher Columbus, who stayed for 17 days
in 1502 and was so impressed by the gold decorations worn by the
friendly locals that he promptly dubbed the country Costa Rica, 'the
rich coast'. Despite the lure of untold wealth, colonization was slow to
take hold and it took nearly 60 years for Spanish settlers to make a
dent in the tangled jungle. Once the process started, however, Costa
Rica, like its similarly colonized neighbors, suffered the effects of
European invasion. The indigenous population did not have the necessary
numbers to resist the Spanish, and their populations dwindled quickly
because of susceptibility to European diseases.
The hoped-for hoardes of
gold never materialized and Costa Rica remained a forgotten backwater
for many years. The 18th century saw the establishment of settlements
such as Heredia, San José and Alajuela. It was not until the
introduction of coffee in 1808, however, that the country registered on
the radars of the 19th-century white-shoe brigade and frontier
entrepreneurs looking to make a killing. Coffee brought wealth, a class
structure, a more outward-looking perspective and, most importantly,
independence.
A bizarre turn of events
in 1856 provided one of the first important landmarks in the nation's
history and served to unify the people. During the term of
coffee-grower-turned-president Juan Rafael Mora, a period remembered for
the country's economic and cultural growth, Costa Rica was invaded by US
military adventurer William Walker and his army of recently captured
Nicaraguan slaves. Mora organized an army of 9000 civilians that,
against all odds, succeeded in forcing Walker & Co to flee.
The ensuing years of the
19th century saw power struggles among members of the coffee-growing
elite and the institution of the first democratic elections, which have
since been a hallmark of Costa Rican politics.
Modern History
Civil war, however, did
raise its ugly head in the 1940s when ex-president Calderón and his
successor, Picado, lined up against the recent ballot-winner Ulate
(whose election win was not recognized by Picado's government) and José
Figueres. After weeks of warfare, Figueres emerged victorious, formed an
interim government and handed the presidency to Ulate.
The constitution of 1949
gave women and blacks the vote and, controversially, dismantled the
country's armed forces - giving Costa Rica the sobriquet of 'the only
country which doesn't have an army'. President Oscar Arias received the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his attempts to spread Costa Rica's
example of peace to the rest of Central America. The peace has, in
recent years, been disturbed by upheavals of a different kind. In July
1996, Hurricane César caused several dozen deaths and much of southern
Costa Rica was cut off from the rest of the country. The Interamericana
highway was closed for about two months and the damage was estimated at
about US$100000000.00 . The ill-famed Hurricane Mitch of November 1998
caused substantial damage to Costa Rica, but the most catastrophic
events occurred in the countries to the north, especially Honduras,
Nicaragua and El Salvador. In February 1998, the Social Christian Unity
Party's Miguel Angel Rodríguez won the presidency with almost exactly
50% of the vote. A conservative businessman who made the economy his
priority, he went on to privatize state companies and encourage foreign
investments in an effort to create jobs.
By the time the February
2002 elections rolled around, however, Ticos were mumbling about
a lack of government transparency and shady deals between political
mates. These grass-roots misgivings resulted in a 'no win' election, and
pollsters returned to the ballot box in April 2002. Rodríguez's
successor, Abel Pacheco, of the conservative Social Christian Unity
Party, was elected to step up to the president's ring.
Recent History
Pacheco began by promising
to eliminate public debt within four years. He launched a
conservationist platform banning new oil drilling and mining, and
proposed legislation guaranteeing citizens the right to a healthy
environment. But a campaign finance scandal clouded his presidency,
leading some opponents to demand his resignation, but he eked out the
rest of his term and handed power back to Oscar Arias in May 2006.
Arias won the 2006
election after a hotly-contested ballot recount, narrowly beating the
Citizens' Action Party (PAC). President Arias is seen as
business-friendly and supports the ratification of the Central American
Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), but his National Liberation Party (PLN)
only has 25 of 57 seats in the national assembly. PAC, the largest
opposition party, campaigned on a largely anti-CAFTA platform, arguing
that in its current form, the trade agreement will harm small-scale
farmers and intensify poverty. The nation is still divided on many of
these issues.
