A Brief 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 Lim¢¢n 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 Jos‚‚, 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 artefacts 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 meagre 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 buela 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, Jos‚‚ 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 s 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
Calder¢¢n Guardia in 1940. His enlightened policies included land
reform, a guaranteed minimum wage and progressive taxation. But when
Calder¢¢n's United Social Christian Party refused to step down after
losing the 1948 election, civil war erupted. The anti-Calder¢¢n forces
were led by Jose Mar¡¡a (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 Calder¢¢n 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 Mar¡¡a 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.
Information supplied by the Green Arrow Guide
Costa Rican People
It is almost impossible to describe a people without succumbing to
generalities and omissions; nonetheless a perusal of certain statistics
and common values can help begin the lifelong process of getting to
know a people.
Ethnically Costa Rica has one of the most homogeneous populations in
all of Latin America. Ninety-seven percent is mestizo (of mixed blood,
generally Spanish with Native American) or of direct European descent.
Of the mestizos, the vast majority have a much higher percentage of
European blood and thus are considerably fair skinned. Afro-Caribbean
natives represent approximately 2% of the population. They did not
arrive in Costa Rica as slaves, as in most other regions of the New
World, but as migrant labor in the 1870's. They had been hired from a
host of Caribbean islands in order to help construct a railroad that
would run from San Joséé down to the Atlantic coast near Limon. Of the
original denizens of this land, the Native Americans, only about 30,000
remain. They represent less than 1% of the total.
The indigenous population exists in the present as eight separate
communities. Six native languages have survived the ravages of time,
and are now encouraged by government legislation that allows for
bilingual education. The majority of the indigenous groups are located
in the south of the country; the two largest groups being the Cabecares
and the Bribris. A 1977 Indigenous Bill established the right to land
reserves as well as creating programs to preserve and stimulate native
culture. The government has actually followed through with these
initiatives, but has simultaneously failed to help protect the land
rights versus the incursions of mining and squatting interests. The
indigenous people only earned their right to vote in 1994.
International standards would rank Costa Rica amongst those
nations with high literacy rates. Although the government's claim of a
93% literacy rate is considered to be inflated, the great majority of
its people can read and write. Education up to the sixth grade is
obligatory and the network of public schools is dispersed into the far
corners of the land. The country is now home to a handful of well
regarded Universities such as the National University and the
University of Costa Rica.
The country's population is believed to have surpassed the 3
million mark in the last couple of years. Family size is declining
steadily with parents who are now in their thirties having only 2 or 3
children, whereas they themselves come from families of 8 or 9. It
would not be at all uncommon for their grandparents to have 12 or 14
siblings. The annual population growth rate is now at 2.3 percent.
Another major factor adding to the steady increase of the population
has been a regular stream of illegal immigrants from Nicaragua, which
has extremely high unemployment.
A people may best be understood by values they hold dear. Foremost
amongst Costa Rican sources of pride are its democratic tradition and
its peace ethic. In a region plagued by civil wars, human rights
abuses, and until recently dictatorships, Costa Rica stands out as an
exception. Since 1949, when the army was abolished, the country has had
a fairly stable democracy. The new Constitution of 1949 included a
progressive labor code, upheld a system of social security, and
contained a set of social guarantees( such as a minimum wage), that
gave the average citizen rights that were ahead of their time. In many
ways this diminished the disparity between the upper and lower classes
and thus was conducive to cooperation and the resolution of conflicts
in a democratic forum. The government, albeit plagued by problems over
the decades, has shown a commitment to broad social welfare. This
commitment coupled with a strong support of public education and public
health has helped create a mature populace that has learned how to
solve problems without resorting to armed conflict.
Children are exposed to the "rights" that they have as citizens in
the public school system. The National Anthem includes the line, "let
work and peace always live." In 1987 the country's president, Oscar
Arias, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on Esquipulas II, a plan
to bring peace to Central America. Internationally the country receives
much praise for its abolishment of the army and its comparative
political stability for almost half a century. The average Costa Rican,
if questioned about his/her opinion, will most often concur that peace
is a noble and worthwhile aspiration, as well as a condition to be
treasured. Their closest neighbor, Nicaragua, stands as a clear
reminder of the hardships of a people living in a state of war, since
this nation experienced a revolution in 1979, and continued armed
struggle well into the 1980's.
A second, younger ethic that grows in the nation's citizenry is
environmental protection. Costa Rica stands out in the world with over
20% of its national territory in national parks, wildlife refuges, and
forest reserves. Another 10% is also bound by various restrictions in
land use, and ecotourism has become the nation's largest source of
economic revenue. Conservation organizations worldwide look upon Costa
Rica as a model to be emulated. Even in the 1990's the conservation
frontier expands, despite illegal logging, squatting, and bureaucratic
corruption. Government sponsored advertisements on television espousing
the protection of natural resources are fairly common, and a new
generation of Costa Rican biologists have emerged as staunch supporters
of conservation. Some statistics have claimed that the country may hold
over 5 percent of the world's species. The present generation of
teenagers cannot help but become aware of environmental issues. A
growing sense of pride is developing amongst Costa Ricans, in that they
stand in the forefront of the conservation movement. Once again
international acclaim only serves to further entrench this
environmental ethic. This nation stands as a shining example of what
can be done to preserve the world's biodiversity.
A third aspect of Costa Rica is simply the hospitality of its
people. Despite a growth in crime and drug problems, on average, the
country is a remarkably friendly environment. In the countryside there
is always a warm pot of coffee on the wood stove, ready to be served to
the unexpected visitor. The people are polite, curious, and inclined to
smile. The tourism of the last decade has brought with it an assortment
of con-artists, hustlers, and entrepreneurs, but nonetheless almost all
travelers are made to feel welcome.
Of course one cannot describe the people of a nation without
mentioning their religion. Costa Rica is a Catholic land, like most of
Latin America. A host of evangelical churches emerged in the 1970's and
have become well established, but nearly 80% of the population remains
Catholic. However, only about 20% of the Catholics attend mass
regularly. Holy Week is the time of year when there is the most
pronounced expression of the faith and the nation comes to a standstill
during this holiday.
Costa Ricans are also a people in the making. As the world becomes
more interconnected, the Ticos, as they call themselves, will be
exposed to new ideas, cultures, and technologies, and will thus have to
forge a new and dynamic identity.
