Brief History of Costa Rica

Before the Spanish conquest, the territory of modern Costa Rica was poorly populated by several Indian groups (from 30 to 60 thousand people in total): immigrants from Mexico – the Chorotegs, immigrants from South America and the Caribbean islands. In 1502 H. Columbus explored the coast of Costa Rica, giving the country the name “New Carthage” (Nuevo Cartago). Since the Indians they met wore gold jewelry, the Spaniards called the country “Rich Coast” (Costa Rica). From 1513, the Spaniards began to conquer Costa Rica, meeting the resistance of the Indians. In 1568 Costa Rica received the status of a province within the captaincy general of Guatemala. The center of the province was the city of Cartago, founded in 1561.

In 1780, after the introduction of the state monopoly, a tobacco factory was established in San José. The economic center of the province moved to the city of San Jose.

In 1821 the governor of Costa Rica was removed, and a provisional provincial government was formed.

In 1821, according to localcollegeexplorer, the Constituent Assembly in Guatemala proclaimed Central America a federal republic under the name “United Provinces of Central America”, the head of each province was called the “head of state”, and she elected her own legislative assembly. J. Mora Fernandez (1784-1854) became the first head of state of Costa Rica. In 1838, due to contradictions between the provinces, the federation dissolved itself.

In 1848 Costa Rica was proclaimed a republic. In 1850 Spain recognized its independence. In 1848, the Constitution of Costa Rica introduced the post of president, elected for 6 years.

In 1870, General T. Guardia (1831–82) established a personal dictatorship. In 1871, the liberal Constitution of Costa Rica was drafted and adopted, which is still in force today. The governments of Costa Rica, having taken a loan from Great Britain for the construction of a railway, handed over 1/10 of the territory to the concession of the American company United Fruit, which began exporting bananas. Its alliance with coffee exporters determined the main direction of the economic and political life of the country in the 20th century.

Compulsory primary education was introduced in 1869, incl. for women. Since the 1880s the state was engaged in arr. lawmaking, the Civil and Criminal Codes were adopted, the penitentiary system was radically reformed, and the police were strengthened. At the same time, the border with Nicaragua was settled, and the province of Guanacaste finally became part of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica took part in World War II on the side of the Allies. Government R.A. Calderon Guardia carried out harsh measures against the German colonists living in Costa Rica, banned their organization, confiscated property. This strengthened the public sector of the economy, but split the establishment. The course of the social policy of the state was changed, a pact was concluded with trade unions, the Labor Code was adopted, the Communist Party was legalized and diplomatic relations were established with the USSR, although there was no exchange of embassies.

With the onset of the Cold War, the contradictions in the ruling circles of Costa Rica escalated and in 1948 escalated into a civil war. The engineer J. Figueres Ferrer founded the National Liberation Party (PLN) and came to power in 1948, and in 1953 he was elected president of Costa Rica. A course was taken to build a welfare state with the decisive role of the public sector in economic and political life and strict observance of democratic principles, the country was demilitarized, and the army was abolished.

In 1970–72 diplomatic relations with the USSR were transferred to a practical plane.

In the 1970s internal contradictions in the PLN escalated, and the party split. The Social Christian Unity party, formed in 1983, came to the fore and established close ties with business associations; in 1990, its leader R.A. became the president of Costa Rica. Calderon Guardia. He carried out an agrarian reform, increased the export of agricultural products, and launched housing construction. The liberalization of the economy and the privatization of the public sector led to an increase in unemployment and social tension.