Pre-Colombian

Archaeologists suggest that humans have lived in the Costa Rican rain forests for thousands of years. There is not much known about the tribes which inhabited Costa Rica, as many of them died off from exposure to diseases brought over by the European colonists; and the heavy rains of Costa Rica washed away much of the evidence of their settlements. In the Central Pacific region, the closest known indigenous peoples were the Quepoa (pronounced kay-po-uh). Originally from the area of Colombia now known as Bogota, the Quepoa were a fierce tribe whose women were skillful archers and were courageous warriors. They settled an area high in the hills of Manuel Antonio, near to where the Hotel Si Como No is situated.

Probably the most well-known evidence of pre-Colombian civilization in Costa Rica has been the discovery in the Diquis Valley (located in the southwest zone of the country) of hand sculpted monolithic stones that are perfectly spherical. They are of varying size and their exact purpose is unknown.

Christopher Columbus

Costa Rica was discovered on September 18, 1502 by Christopher Columbus during his fourth exploration of the New World. Because of damage to his boat following a tropical storm, he was forced to anchor near Puerto Limon on the Carribean side of Costa Rica. During his stop he encountered the extremely friendly natives with whom he exchanged gifts. Upon his return to Spain, he excitedly described the abundant, green area where he had stopped as “la costa rica” or the rich coast, a name which has endured for several hundred years.

European Settlement

It would be another 60 years until the first permanent settlement of Spaniards made Costa Rica their home. Cartago, in the Central Valley, was the first area settled and Costa Rica officially became a colony of Spain.

Because Costa Rica was lacking in material resources and Cartago was located so far from the Spanish Colonial military headquarters in Guatemala City, the country grew up with a sensibility unique from its Central American neighbors. Unlike other Spanish colonies, the tradition of an upper class landowner enslaving the natives to work their farm was never the norm. Small villages cropped up in the Central Valley in which everyone would work 6 days a week and rest on Sunday. This resulted in an agrarian and egalitarian society. Chief crops at this time were cacao, tobacco, sugar, beans, plantains & corn. Cartago continued in this way until the 18th century when new settlements began in the Central Valley cities of Heredia, San Jose & Alajuela. Finally in 1723 the Irazu Volcano erupted, devastating much of Cartago thus ending its reign as the largest city in Costa Rica.

Independence

In 1821, Mexico declared independence from Spain not only for itself but for all of Central America. Before long, the rest of Central America declared independence from Mexico. Unaware of what was occurring in the rest of Central America, Costa Rica discovered their independence a month after it had been granted to them. Independence was followed by a short civil war between the Conservatives (old world Spanish elite) & the Liberals (New World elite who had been denied status under the Spanish reign). The Liberals won and thus formed a constitutional republic, moving the capital of Costa Rica from Cartago to San Jose in 1823. After colonial independence, the countries of Central America formed the Central American Federation. Costa Rica continued on its own path while remaining a member.

Independent Costa Rica’s first leader was Juan Rafael Mora Fernandez, who reigned from 1824-1833. Under his leadership roads were built, new towns created, a newspaper was published, a flag was adopted (designed by Mora’s wife) & a currency was coined. While the rest of Central America was ravaged by post-independence civil wars, Costa Rica was building a nation.

In 1824, the Nicoya Peninsula joined Costa Rica, seceding from Nicaragua. Costa Rica formally withdrew from the Central American Federation in 1838.

Juan Santamaria

Juan Santamaria is a national hero, though he was only a child when he performed his heroic act. In 1856, a mercenary from the southern United States by the name of William Walker arrived in Nicaragua where he took over the government, naming himself President. His intention was to conquer all of Central America, enslave its population and establish a far reaching empire for the Confederacy. After he took over Nicaragua, he set his sights on Costa Rica. President Mora assembled an army of volunteers numbering about 9000 and set off for the Nicoya Peninsula where they were able to push the invaders back into Nicaragua. Back in Nicaragua, near Rivas, Walker’s army sought shelter in a wooden fort. Juan Santamaria, a drummer boy from Alajuela, volunteered to burn down the fort forcing Walker and his army into the open. Santamaria took a torch and ran towards the wooden fort; during this run he was shot repeatedly but was still able to throw the torch to burn the fort. This act of heroism from a young boy, helped to ensure Costa Rica’s victory and continued independence.

Introduction of Coffee

In 1808, Cuba introduced the coffee bean to Costa Rica who discovered that the climate in the Central Valley is ideal for coffee growing. This discovery led to a coffee export boom in Costa Rica, catapulting it to the status of wealthiest nation in Central America. With the growing coffee exportation business in Costa Rica, a need arose for a central rail line to transport the coffee from the Central Valley to the port at Limon. A North American named Minor Keith was contracted to construct the rail lines that would cut through rain forest and swamp. After several problems and budget issues, the government gave Keith 800,000 acres of land which ran along the rail lines as well as a 99 year lease to run the railroad as payment to complete the line. It was finally completed in 1890 but was far from turning a profit. In order to try to make some extra money and help recoup some of his losses, Keith began exporting bananas to New Orleans which he had planted along side the railroad tracks as sustenance for his laborers. North Americans really liked the bananas and by the turn of the century, bananas had surpassed coffee as Costa Rica’s highest revenue export.

Social Change & Politics in the 20^th & 21^st Centuries

As with most Central American countries, Costa Rica got off to a violent beginning involving a series of dictators and coups. The coffee barons, the church & the military were all competing for control of the country. Over the years, the country attempted to adopt a democratic constitution on multiple occasions but they were inevitably repealed when the elite began to fear loss of power. Eventually, higher taxes were forced on the coffee families which began to finance social reforms. Early in the 20th century, Costa Rica had established a free education system, a mandatory minimum wage, and child protective laws.

In the 1948, Costa Rica underwent another brief civil war after President Rafael Calderon championed the rights of the working class and the business community staged a strike, threatening economic crisis. After 2 months of strife which involved Nicaraguan & U.S. forces, the fighting ended with a democracy headed by Jose Figueres Ferrer who enacted close to 1000 decrees, many of which still survive today. He was able to enact a constitution in 1949 which granted citizenship & suffrage to women, blacks, indigenous peoples & Chinese migrant workers. He began to tax the wealthy, nationalize the banks & establish a welfare system.The most radical action which he took was to abolish the military which he considered a threat to democracy.

In 1984, during the Contra in Nicaragua, there was pressure from the conservatives of Costa Rica to reform an army and join the U.S. in fighting against the Communist Sandinistas which the Pentagon agreed to finance. In May of that year 20,000 anti-military protesters staged a peace march through San Jose. The issue was debated for the next 2 years until President Oscar Arias was elected in 1986. He pledged to keep Costa Rica neutral and rid the Contras from the country where they had set up camps & airstrips. He was committed to negotiating a resolution and uniting Central America in peace. A public ceremony saw school children planting trees on top of a CIA airfield. His efforts helped to end the war in Nicaragua and in 1987 he was granted the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the 1970s an oversupply of coffee world wide resulted in exports and wealth decreasing in Costa Rica. During this time, environmentalists & economists began to attract eco-tourists to Costa Rica. Tourism surged from the 70s on up through today with exponential growth in the number of tourists visiting as well as the income arising from tourism. Also during this time environmental protection was ramped up so that today about a third of the land in Costa Rica is environmentally protected by the government.

In 2010, Laura Chinchilla was elected the first female president of Costa Rica.

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