History of Costa Rica

 

1502

During his fourth journey, Christopher Columbus landed on Uvita, a small island offshore where now the city of Limón, a port on the Caribbean coast, is located. He named the country Costa Rica (= rich coast).

1540

Costa Rica was declared to be a Spanish province and was under control of the General Captaincy of Guatemala.

1563

Conquest and pacification of Costa Rica by Juan Vázquez de Coronado de Anaya.
Foundation of Cartago. The city was the administrative capital of the Spanish crown in the province of Costa Rica until 1823.

1723

An eruption of the Irazú Volcano destroyed Cartago.

1737

The construction of a church dedicated to Saint Joseph (San José) in Villa Nueva de la Boca del Monte was the decisive factor in the town’s emergence as the future capital.

1808

During Tomás de Acosta’s governorship, the coffee plant was introduced to Costa Rica.

1820

First coffee exports: 92 kilograms (202 lb) of coffee are shipped to Panama from the port of Puntarenas.

15 September 1821

The Spanish General Captaincy of Guatemala declared itself and all its provinces to be independent of Spain and joined the new empire of Agustín de Iturbide from Mexico.

1823

The capital changed from Cartago to San José after a civil war between the republicans (San José and Alajuela) and the supporters of the union with Mexico (Heredia and Cartago).

1823

The Mexican Emperor Agustín I was overthrown and Guatemala proclaimed, for itself and its provinces, the foundation of the Federal Republic of Central America.

1824

Nicoya seceded from Nicaragua and adhered to Costa Rica as the province of Guanacaste.

1825

The state of Costa Rica proclaimed its first constitution.

1838

Costa Rica left the Federal Republic of Central America and gained full independence.

1848

A new constitution defined Costa Rica as an independent republic.

1856

In the Battle of Santa Rosa, a Costa Rican voluntary army defeat the mercenaries of North American William Walker, who was forced to return to Nicaragua.

1870

Costa Rica got a new constitution.

1880

The first banana exports left Costa Rica.

1890

Inauguration of the train from the Central Valley to the Atlantic Coast.

1900

The underpopulation of Costa Rica was ended by a population explosion.

1910

A strong earthquake in Cartago on May 4th 1910 with 6.5 on the Richter scale claimed more than 700 lives and caused great destruction to the city.

1929/1930

The world economic crisis caused many company collapses and strong political and social tensions.

1940

Declaration of war on Germany and expulsion of all Germans.

1943

Creation of health insurance and pension fund, as well as introduction of Labour Law.

1948

Civil war of 44 days with 2000 victims. José Figueres Ferrer “Don Pepe” emerged from the fight against the group of Calderonistas as winner with his group.
Abolition of the army and establishment of the electricity utility. Suffrage for women, black and indigenous people. Adoption of a new constitution that is still basically in effect today.

1963

Visit of the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Five days before his visit, Irazú Volcano erupted and welcomed the President with an ash fall. The eruption lasted 2 years.

1986

Franklin Chang Díaz was the first Costa Rican in space when he was on the space shuttle mission STS-61-C.

1983

Visit of Pope John Paul II.

1987

Oscar Arias Sanchez received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to pacify Central America, and for mediating in the Nicaraguan Contra War against the Sardinista regime.

1989

Costa Rica celebrated 100 years of democracy.

1990

First participation in the FIFA World Cup, where Costa Rica reached position 13.

1991

As one of the strongest earthquakes in Costa Rica’s history with 7.5 on the Richter scale, the one in the province of Limón caused great destruction and claimed 48 lives. The railroad line between San José and Limón was badly damaged and withdrawn from service.

1996

Claudia Poll won the first Olympic gold medal for Costa Rica in swimming.

2007

Referendum on the free-trade agreement CAFTA between the Dominican Republic, Central America, and the USA.

2009

The earthquake of Cinchona measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale was the strongest in younger time and claimed 27 lives.

2010

The boxer Hannah Gabriels won the world cup in super welterweight. She defended her title three times until 2011.

2012

The Costa Rican astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz was inducted in the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame with 8 participations in NASA space shuttle missions.

2013

In March 2013, the Chinese President Xi Jinping visited - beside the USA and Mexico - also Costa Rica.
US President Barack Obama visited Costa Rica in May. He was the 7th US President after Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, J.F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., and Bill Clinton who paid an official visit to Costa Rica.

2014

Costa Rica participates in the World Cup for the fourth time and makes it into the quarter finals for the first time. Costa Rica loses to the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out, 4-3.