THE NAME:
From Nahuatl, named after the cacique Indian chief Nicarao Cali
THE PEOPLE:
The Nicaraguans
HISTORY
Originally inhabited by Indians who migrated from South America
1502: Discovery by Christopher Columbus
1520s: Settlement established by Hemandez de Cordoba
Administered as part of the Captaincy of Guatemala
1740-86: Britain daims Mosquito Coast as a protectorate
September 15, 1821: Independence
1821- 39: Member of the United Provinces of Central America
1856-57: U.S. soldier William Walker seizes presidency but is ousted by alliance of Central American states
1912- 33: Occupation by U.S. Marines
1934: Assassination of General Augusto César Sandino, whose guerrilla group had been defying the U.S . intervention since 1927
1936: Dictatorial Somoza regime
1962: Creation of FSLN, the Sandinista National Liberation Front
1979: Somoza flees the country; the Sandinistas take power
and then…..Wikipedia
GEOGRAPHY:
Pacific zone: coastal basins and valley near the coast with volcanic range of Las Maribias running parallel
Atlantic zone: swampy coastal lowlands (Mosquito Coast)
Central and northern zone: a sparsely populated wilderness of timbered plains and rolling hills
Max. altitude 2,107 m. (6,913 ft.) (Mogoton)
Area: 130,000 sq. km. (50,193 sq. mi.)
Density: 23 pers./sq. km. (59 pers./sq. mi.) (1986)
Arable land: 10% (1987)
Forest: 31%
Climate: Tropical, with a wet season from May to October; temperatures vary with altitude.
CAPITAL: Managua, pop. 608,020 (1979 est.)
LANGUAGE: Spanish (official)
On the Atlantic coast literacy programs are conducted in Miskito, Sumu, and English.
