Costa Rica

By austinwheat
  • Spanish Establishment
    Apr 16, 1522

    Spanish Establishment

    Costa Rica was first established as a Spanish colony in 1522 but because of its inability to trade with Panamá, lack of indigenous people with which to create encomiendas and lack of natural resources such as gold and silver earned it the reputation as "the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all America."
  • Joins with Central America

    Joins with Central America

    Costa Rica joins the United Provinces of Central America, which also includes El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
  • Independence

    Independence

    Costa Rica declares itself as an independent nation.
  • Banana plantations are established

    Banana plantations are established

    Bananas!
  • Civil War

    Civil War

    In 1948 Cosat Rica had a civil war, went through reforms and then abolished the army. Abolished the Army!
  • Tourism

    Tourism

    In the 1990's the Costa Rican government made an economic transition from heavy dependence on agriculture to tourism, capitalizing on the beautiful ecosystems of the country.
  • First woman president

    First woman president

    Laura Chinchilla is elected as the first woman president in 2010.