📰 Nicaragua

Nicaragua,[19] officially the Republic of Nicaragua,[20] is a country in Central America, comprising 130,370 km2.1 With a population of 7,097,329 as of 2026,[21] it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala corpus and Honduras corpus, and the largest by area in all of Central America.2

Nicaragua is bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Costa Rica corpus to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.3 The country also shares maritime borders with El Salvador corpus to the west and Colombia corpus to the east.4 Nicaragua's largest city and national capital is Managua corpus, which is also the fourth-largest city in Central America, with a population of 1,055,247 as of December 2020.5 Nicaragua is known as "the breadbasket of Central America" due to having the most fertile soil and arable land in all of Central America.[22][23]6 The official language is Spanish, though different groups on the Caribbean coast (Mosquitia) speak their own languages and English.7 The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, including contributions by Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío.8

Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century.9 Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821.10 The Caribbean region (Mosquitia) followed a different historical path, being an independent kingdom under British protection from the 17th century until 1860 with the signing of the Treaty of Managua, which brought it into a union with Nicaragua, while its northernmost part was placed under Honduras by the Wyke-Cruz Treaty of 1859.[24]11 Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, American occupation and fiscal crisis, as well as the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s.12

Though nominally a unitary presidential republic, Nicaragua has experienced significant democratic backsliding since 2007 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega, resulting in large protests in 2018 and a subsequent crackdown.13 Following the 2021 election, it has been widely described as an authoritarian dictatorship,[25][26][27] and the next national elections were effectively canceled in 2026.[28]14 It is a developing country and has the second lowest GDP per capita (nominal) and fourth lowest GDP per capita (PPP) among Latin American and Caribbean countries.15 In 2025, Nicaragua was ranked as the second-most corrupt country in Latin America, after Venezuela corpus, by the Corruption Perceptions Index.16 Nicaragua's multiethnic population includes people of mestizo, indigenous, European, and African heritage.17

Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes",[29][30] Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest tropical rainforest of the Americas.[31]18 The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes have made Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination.[32][33]19 Nicaragua is a founding member of the United Nations[34] and is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement,[35] Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America,[36] and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.[37]20

Etymology

The etymology of Nicaragua is Nicānāhuac, which was the name the Nicaraos, a Nawat-speaking people, gave to the Greater Nicoya region of Nicaragua and Costa Rica corpus.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44]21 It means "here lies Anahuac" in Nahuatl and is a combination of the words "nican" (here),[45] and "Ānāhuac", which is a combination of the words "atl" (water) and "nahuac", a locative meaning "surrounded".22 Therefore, the literal translation of Nicanahuac is "here surrounded by water", which corraborates the theory that the etymology refers to the large bodies of water in and around the country, the Pacific Ocean, lakes Nicaragua and Xolotlan, and the rivers and lagoons.23 The name evolved through phonetic changes such as the "n" becoming an r and the ahuac in "anahuac" becoming agua as both "anahuac" and "agua" relate to the concept of water, which would have made it a convenient circumstance for the Spanish in renaming Nicanahuac to Nicaragua.24

Previous theories about the country's name came from the following: nican-nahua, which means "here are the Nahuas"; and nicarao-agua.25 However, in 2002, it was discovered that the real name of the cacique was Macuilmiquiztli and not Nicarao, ultimately debunking this theory.[46][47][48][49][40][50][51][52][53]26

History

Main article: History of Nicaragua

Pre-Columbian history

Paleo-Indians first inhabited what is now known as Nicaragua as far back as 12,000 BCE.[54]27 In later pre-Columbian times, Nicaragua's indigenous people were part of the Intermediate Area,[55] between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions, and within the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian Area.28 Nicaragua's central region and its Caribbean coast were inhabited by Macro-Chibchan language ethnic groups such as the Miskito, Rama, Mayangna, and Matagalpas.[55]29 They had coalesced in Central America and migrated both to and from present-day northern Colombia and nearby areas.[56]30 Their food came primarily from hunting and gathering, but also fishing and slash-and-burn agriculture.[55][57][58]31

At the end of the 15th century, western Nicaragua was inhabited by several indigenous peoples related by culture to the Mesoamerican civilizations of the Aztec and Maya, and by language to the Mesoamerican language area.[59]32 The Mangue, or Chorotega, were an ethnic group who had arrived in Nicaragua from what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas sometime around 800 CE.[52][58]33 The Nicarao people were a branch of Nahuas who spoke the Nawat dialect and also came from Chiapas, around 1200 CE.[60]34 Prior to that, the Nicaraos had been associated with the Toltec civilization.[58][60][61][62][63]35

Both Chorotegas and Nicaraos originated in Mexico's Cholula valley,[60] and migrated south.[58]36 A third group, the Subtiabas, were an Oto-Manguean people who migrated from the Mexican state of Guerrero around 1200 CE.[64]37 Additionally, there were trade-related colonies in Nicaragua set up by the Aztecs starting in the 14th century.[58]38

Spanish colonial era (1523–1821)

Further information: Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish conquest of Nicaragua

In 1502, on his fourth voyage, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama.[55][58]39 Columbus explored the Mosquito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua[65] but did not encounter any indigenous people.40 20 years later, the Spaniards returned to Nicaragua, this time to its southwestern part.41 The first attempt to conquer Nicaragua was by the conquistador Gil González Dávila,[66] who had arrived in Panama in January 1520.42

In 1522, González Dávila ventured to the area that later became the Rivas Department of Nicaragua.[55][58]43 There he encountered an indigenous Nahua tribe led by chief Macuilmiquiztli, whose name has sometimes been erroneously referred to as "Nicarao" or "Nicaragua".44 The tribe's capital was Quauhcapolca.[67][68][69]45 González Dávila conversed with Macuilmiquiztli thanks to two indigenous interpreters who had learned Spanish, whom he had brought along.[70]46

After exploring and gathering gold[67][55][58] in the fertile western valleys, González Dávila and his men were attacked and driven off by the Chorotega, led by chief Diriangén.[67][71]47 The Spanish tried to convert the tribes to Christianity; Macuilmiquiztli's tribe was baptized,[67][58] but Diriangén was openly hostile to the Spaniards.48 Western Nicaragua, at the Pacific Coast, became a port and shipbuilding facility for the Galleons plying the waters between Manila corpus and Acapulco.[72]49

In 1524, the first Spanish permanent settlements were founded.[66]50 That year, the conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaragua's main cities: Granada on Lake Nicaragua, and then León, west of Lake Managua.[55][58]51 Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors.[58]52 Córdoba was later publicly beheaded for having defied his superior, Pedro Arias Dávila.[55]53 Córdoba's tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo.[73]54

The clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture.55 The series of battles came to be known as the "War of the Captains".[74]56 Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner;[55] although he lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and established his base in León.[75]57 In 1527, León became the capital of the colony.[58][75]58 Through diplomacy, Arias Dávila became the colony's first governor.[73]59

Without women in their parties,[58] the Spanish conquerors took Nahua and Chorotega wives and partners, beginning the multiethnic mix of indigenous and European stock now known as "mestizo", which constitutes the great majority of the population in western Nicaragua.[59]60 Many indigenous people were killed by European infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence.[66]61 Many other indigenous peoples were captured and transported as slaves to Panama and Peru between 1526 and 1540.[55][58]62

In 1610, the Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the city of León.[76]63 The city was rebuilt northwest of the original,[75][76] which is now known as the ruins of León Viejo.64 During the American Revolutionary War, Central America was subject to conflict between Britain and Spain.65 British navy admiral Horatio Nelson led expeditions in the Battle of San Fernando de Omoa in 1779 and on the San Juan River in 1780, the latter of which had temporary success before being abandoned due to disease.66

Independent Nicaragua (1821–1909)

See also: History of Nicaragua § Fight for independence

The Act of Independence of Central America dissolved the Captaincy General of Guatemala in September 1821, and Nicaragua soon became part of the First Mexican Empire.67 In July 1823, after the overthrow of the Mexican monarchy in March of the same year, Nicaragua joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America, a country later known as the Federal Republic of Central America.68 Nicaragua definitively became an independent republic in 1838.[77]69

The early years of independence were characterized by rivalry between the Liberal elite of León and the Conservative elite of Granada, which often degenerated into civil war, particularly during the 1840s and 1850s.70 Managua corpus rose to undisputed preeminence as the nation's capital in 1852 to allay the rivalry between the two feuding cities.[78][79]71 Following the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848, Nicaragua provided a route for travelers from the eastern United States to journey to California by sea, via the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua.[55]72