Facts about Nicaragua
The insurrection left approximately 50,000 dead and 150,000 Nicaraguans in exile.
Nicaragua's is an agrarian economy that has historically been based on the export of cash crops such as bananas, coffee, sugar, beef and tobacco.
At the end of the first millennium C.E., the territory of Moscow and the Moscow Oblast was inhabited by the Slavic tribes of Vyatichi and Krivichi.
Ninety percent of Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands.
Chamorro's main contribution to Nicaragua was the disarmament of groups in the northern and central areas of the country.
Some Nicaraguan historians point to the 1972 earthquake that devastated Managua as the final nail in the coffin for Somoza.
Nicaragua is nominally Roman Catholic, but practicing Roman Catholics are no longer the majority and are declining while evangelical Protestant groups including Mormons are growing rapidly.
Nicaragua has the second largest black population in Central America after Panama.
The refusal to rebuild Managua flooded disaffection among the ranks of young Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.
The per capita income of Nicaragua had been reduced by over 80 percent during the 1980s, and a huge government debt which ascended to US$12 billion.
By the end of that month, with the exception of the capital, most of Nicaragua was under FSLN control, including Leуn and Matagalpa, the two largest cities in Nicaragua after Managua.
Somoza's utter hatred of the FSLN and heavy-handed treatment of anyone he suspected to be a Sandinista sympathizer gave many ordinary Nicaraguans the idea that the Sandinistas were much stronger than was the case.
The celebration is derived from the British Maypole for May Day celebration, as adapted and transformed by the Afro-Nicaraguans on the Caribbean Coast.
Nicaragua has historically been an important source of poetry in the Hispanic world, with internationally renowned contributors, the best known being Rubйn Darнo.
Nicaragua was considered by the Spanish Kingdom as a very important colony, considering it had a natural route in which it would permit transportation of goods from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
La Prensa, Nicaragua’s leading newspaper was heavily censored and when an article was not approved, the paper would have a blank area where censored articles were deleted before going to print.
According to the Ministry of Tourism of Nicaragua (INTUR), the colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua is the preferred spot for tourists.
Nicaragua experienced economic growth during the 1960s and early 1970s largely as a result of industrialization, and became one of Central America's most developed nations despite its political instability.
Most of Nicaragua's population lives in the western region of the country in the departments of Managua, Granada and Leon.
On July 19, 1979 the FSLN army entered Managua, culminating the Nicaraguan revolution.
In 1976 a synthetic brand of cotton, one of Nicaragua's economic pillars of the epoch, was developed.
On June 16, the formation of a provisional Nicaraguan government in exile, consisting of a five-member Junta of National Reconstruction, was announced and organized in Costa Rica.
Whites and Mestizos make up the majority (86 percent) of the population of Nicaragua with approx.
Somoza was in turn assassinated by Rigoberto Lуpez Pйrez, a Nicaraguan poet, in 1956.
Nicaraguans do not limit their cuisine to corn; locally grown vegetables and fruits have been in use since before the arrival of the Spaniards.
After the United States imposed a trade embargo in 1985, Nicaragua's inflation rate rose dramatically.
According to the World Bank, Nicaragua's GDP was around $4.9 US billion dollars.
Under the Somozas, limited spending on education and generalized poverty, which forced many adolescents into the labor market, constricted educational opportunities for Nicaraguans.
In 2005, finance ministers of the leading eight industrialized nations (G-8) agreed to forgive some of Nicaragua's foreign debt, as part of the HIPC program.
The five-member junta entered the Nicaraguan capital the next day and assumed power, reiterating its pledge to work for political pluralism, a mixed economic system, and a nonaligned foreign policy.
Nicaragua was engaged in a civil war for over two decades, which resulted in the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza by the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas in 1979.
Meanwhile, the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was inhabited by other peoples, mostly Chibcha language groups.
The Nicaraguan unit of currency is the Cуrdoba (NIO) and was named after Francisco Hernбndez de Cуrdoba, its national founder.
Little did anyone realize at the time that this small group would change Nicaragua's history so drastically.
Much of Nicaragua's early politics following independence was characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of Leуn and the conservative elite of Granada.
Many of Nicaragua's dishes include fruits such as mango, papaya, tamarind, jocote, pipian, banana, avocado, yucca, and herbs such as culantro, oregano and achiote.
The reduction in inflation, economic growth and privatization has not helped with Nicaragua's many social issues.
The lowland area runs from the Gulf of Fonseca to Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake Nicaragua.
Lake Nicaragua is the second largest freshwater lake in Latin America (twentieth largest in the world), and is home to the world's only freshwater sharks (Nicaraguan shark).
Joined by waters, the people of eastern Nicaragua traded with, and were influenced by, other native peoples of the Caribbean.
The dish has several variations including the addition of coconut oil and/or grated coconut which is primarily prepared on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast.
Spanish has many different dialects spoken throughout Latin America, Central American Spanish is the dialect spoken in Nicaragua.
Violeta Chamorro was the first woman to be popularly elected as President of a Latin American nation and first woman president of Nicaragua.
Politics of Nicaragua takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.
Players from these teams comprise the National team when Nicaragua is competing internationally.
Nicaraguan labor force is estimated at 2.261 million of which 29 percent is occupied in agriculture, 19 percent in the industry sector and 52 percent in the service sector (2003 est.
Jose Santos Zelaya managed to negotiate with the Britain's Queen Victoria for the annexation of this region to the rest of Nicaragua.
The population is 54 percent urban and an estimated 1.4 million Nicaraguans live outside of Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, resulting in part from difficulty in recovering from civil war and unjust rule.
According to the World Bank, Nicaragua ranked as the 62nd best economy for starting a business, making it the second best in Central America, after Panama.
Education is free for all Nicaraguans and mandatory as well for elementary–age children.
Luis Somoza Debayle, the eldest son of the late dictator, officially took charge of Nicaragua after his father's death.
Much to the surprise of the US and the Contra forces, Chamorro did not dismantle the Sandinista People's Army, though the name was changed to the Nicaraguan Army.
Gallopinto is Nicaragua's national dish, it consists of red beans and rice.
Fearing the possibility of his plans for expansion, several Central American countries united to drive him out of Nicaragua in 1857, ironically supported by American industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had earlier sponsored Walker.
When the Spaniards first arrived in Nicaragua they found that the Creole people had incorporated foods available in the area into their cuisine.
Every year about 60,000 Americans visit Nicaragua, primarily business people, tourists, and those visiting relatives.
Round thatched huts and canoes, both typical of the Caribbean, were commonly crafted and used in eastern Nicaragua.
On his fourth voyage, Columbus sailed alongside and explored the Mosquito Coast on the east of Nicaragua.
Primarily in the nineteenth century, Nicaragua saw several waves of immigration from other European nations.
In 1502 Christopher Columbus was the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed south along the Central American isthmus.
Zelaya ended the long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom over the Atlantic Coast in 1894, and incorporated the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua.
Nicaragua's pre-Colombian population consisted of the Nahuatl-speaking Nicarao people of the west after whom the country is named, and six other ethnic groups including the Miskitos, Ramas and Sumos peoples along the Caribbean coast.
Luis Felipe Corea, the Nicaraguan minister in Washington, wrote to United States Secretary of State John Hay expressing support of such a canal by the Zelaya government.
Nicaragua has also experienced lengthy periods of military dictatorship, the longest one being the rule of the Somoza family for much of the 20th century.
Nicaragua (Spanish: Repъblica de Nicaragua, is a democratic republic in Central America.
Nicaragua's tropical east coast is very different from the rest of the country.
The population there more closely resembles that found in many typical Caribbean ports than it does the rest of Nicaragua.
Nicaraguans do not limit their cuisine to corn; locally grown vegetables and fruits have been in use since before the arrival of the Spaniards.
The Sбnchez-Merry Treaty with Nicaragua was signed in case the negotiations of a canal through Colombia fell through, although it was later rejected by John Hay.
Nicaraguan Sign Language is of particular interest to linguists.
Staying safe in Nicaragua. "Why are you going to Nicaragua? ... As far as the crime, Nicaragua is one of the safest countries in Central America. While the statistics of crimes in Latin America the statistics are a little bit high, Nicaragua is seconds in the world-wide ranking behind Southern Africa.
HolidaysDateEnglish NameRemarksJanuary 1New Year's DayMany Nicaraguans celebrate New Year's Day at the pool.February 1Air Force DayHeld on 1 February in honor of the nation's air force.April 13Holy ThursdayCelebrated nationally on the first Thursday of April.May 1Labour DayCelebrated nationally on the first of May.12 more rows
Temperature varies little with the seasons in Nicaragua and is largely a function of elevation. The "hot land" is characteristic of the foothills and lowlands from sea level to about 750 meters (2,461 ft) of elevation. At night temperatures drop to 21 to 24 °C (69.8 to 75.2 °F) most of the year.
Nicaragua's story is no different; its ending, however, is full of hope. The name “Nicaragua” comes from the Nahuatl-speaking tribe who originally inhabited the country; their capital city was Nicarao. Later, when the Spanish arrived, the combined the name of the capital with the spanish word for water: “agua.”Jan 14, 2012
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America after Haiti. Poverty is largely a rural problem in Nicaragua, although there are pockets of poverty in the capital, Managua, and in other urban areas. Close to half (43 per cent) of the people in Nicaragua live in rural areas.
The west of Nicaragua was colonized by Spain and has a similar culture to other Spanish-speaking American countries. The eastern half of the country, on the other hand, was once a British protectorate, and English spoken domestically along with Spanish and indigenous languages.
Gallo Pinto
La Purisima is a uniquely Nicaraguan festival held on December 7, celebrating the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. The holiday — Nicaragua's biggest of the year — is a mixture of Halloween, Christmas, and even a little bit of the Fourth of July.