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Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkosta ˈrika]), is a republic in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.[1] Among Latin American countries, Costa Rica ranks 4th in terms of the 2007 Human Development Index, and 48th worldwide.[2] Costa Rica is ranked 5th in the world in terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, up from the 15th place in 2006.[3][4] In 2007 the government of Costa Rica stated that they want to be the first country to become carbon neutral by 2021.[5][6][7]
History
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In Pre-Columbian times the indigenous people, in what is now known as Costa Rica, were part of the international Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been updated to include the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian area. It was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met.
The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl (named after Nitin) cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) came in the sixteenth century. The central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of these died from diseases such as smallpox[8] and mistreatment by the Spaniards.
The first European to reach what is now Costa Rica was Christopher Columbus in 1502.[9] During Spanish Colonial times, the largest city in Central America was Guatemala City.
Costa Rica's distance from this hub led to difficulty in establishing
trade routes and was one of the reasons that Costa Ricans developed in
relative isolation and with little oversight from the Spanish Monarchy ("The Crown"). While this isolation allowed the colony
to develop free of intervention by The Crown, it also contributed to
its failure to share in the prosperity of the Colonies, making Costa
Rica the poorest Spanish Colony in Central America.[10] Costa Rica was described as "the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all Americas" by a Spanish governor in 1719.[11]
Another contributing factor to this poverty was the lack of indigenous people used as forced labor.
While many Spaniards in the other colonies had tribal members working
on their land, most of the Costa Rican settlers had to work on their
own land themselves. For all these reasons Costa Rica was by and large
unappreciated and overlooked by the Crown
and left to develop on its own. It is believed that the circumstances
during this period led to the formation of many of the idiosyncrasies
that Costa Rica has become known for, while at the same time setting
the stage for Costa Rica's development as a more egalitarian society
than the rest of its neighbors. Costa Rica became a "rural democracy"
with no oppressed mestizo or indigenous class. It was not long before Spanish settlers turned to the hills, where they found rich volcanic soil and a climate that was milder than that of the lowlands.[12]
Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a
joint declaration of independence from Spain. After a brief time in the
Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide Costa Rica became a state in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823 to 1839. In 1824 the capital was moved to San José, but due to an intense rivalry with Cartago,
violence briefly ensued. Although the newly independent provinces
formed a Federation, border disputes broke out among them, adding to
the region's turbulent history and conditions.
Costa Rica's membership in the newly formed Federal Republic of
Central America, now free of Spanish rule, was short lived; in 1838,
long after the Central American Federation ceased to function in
practice, Costa Rica formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign.
The distance from Guatemala City to the Central Valley of Costa Rica,
where most of the population lived and still lives, was great. The
local population had little allegiance to the government in Guatemala
City, in part because of the history of isolation during Colonial
times. Costa Rica's disinterest in participating as a province
in a greater Central American government was one of the deciding
factors in the break-up of the fledgling federation into independent
states, which still exist today. However, all of the Central American
nations still celebrate September 15th as their independence day, which
pertains to the independence of Central America from Spain.
General map of Costa Rica.
Most Afro-Costa Ricans, who constitute about 3% of the country's population, descend from Jamaican immigrants who arrived during the 1880s to work in the construction of railways connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limón on the Caribbean coast.[13] U.S. convicts and Chinese immigrants also participated in the construction project, conducted by US businessman Minor C. Keith.
In exchange for completing the railroad, the Costa Rican government
granted Keith large tracts of land and a lease on the train route,
which he used to produce bananas and export them to the United States. As a result, bananas came to rival coffee as the principal Costa Rican export, while foreign-owned corporations (including the United Fruit Company) began to hold a major role in the national economy.
Historically, Costa Rica has generally enjoyed greater peace
and more consistent political stability compared with many of its
fellow Latin American nations. Since the late nineteenth century,
however, Costa Rica has experienced two significant periods of violence. In 1917-19, Federico Tinoco Granados ruled as a dictator until he was overthrown and forced into exile. Again in 1948, José Figueres Ferrer led an armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election. With more than 2,000 dead, the resulting 44-day Costa Rica Civil War was the bloodiest event in Costa Rican history during the twentieth-century. Afterwards, the new, victorious government junta,
led by the opposition, abolished the military and oversaw the drafting
of a new constitution by a democratically-elected assembly. Having
enacted these reforms, the regime finally relinquished its power on 8 November 1949 to the new democratic government. After the coup d'etat,
Figueres became a national hero, winning the country's first democratic
election under the new constitution in 1953. Since then, Costa Rica has
held 12 presidential elections, the latest being in 2006. All of them
have been widely regarded by the international community as peaceful,
transparent, and relatively smooth transitions.
Geography
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On the Río Savegre, just below San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca Highlands of Costa Rica.
- See also: List of volcanoes in Costa Rica, Islands of Costa Rica, and Category:Waterfalls of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean
(to the west), with a total of 1,290 kilometers (802 mi) of coastline
(212 km / 132 mi on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km / 631 mi on the
Pacific). It is about the size of West Virginia and shares that state's reputation for excellent whitewater kayaking/rafting opportunities.
Two of the country's most renowned rivers in that regard are the Rio Pacuare and the Rio Reventazon
located near the city of Turrialba about two hours east of San Jose.
Other notable whitewater areas are the Sarapiqui Valley area, several
Pacific coast rivers near Quepos, and the southern Pacific drainage
area around San Isidro de General.
Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km / 192 mi of
border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km / 397 mi of border).
In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometers (19,730 sq. mi) plus 589.000 square kilometers of territorial waters.
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,810 metres (12,500 ft), and is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m / 11,257 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.
Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island stands out because of its distance from continental landmass (24 km² / 9.25 sq mi, 500 km or 300 mi (480 km) from Puntarenas coast), but Calero Island is the largest island of the country (151.6 km² / 58.5 sq mi).
Costa Rica protects 23% of its national territory within the Protected Areas system. It also possesses the greatest density of species in the world.[14]
Politics
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- See also: Military of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong constitution. Although there are claims that the country has had more than 115 years of uninterrupted democracy,[15] their presidential election history shows otherwise (see List of Presidents of Costa Rica).
Nonetheless, the country has had at least fifty-nine years of
uninterrupted democracy, making it one of the most stable countries in
the region. Costa Rica has been able to successfully avoid the
widespread violence that has plagued most of
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