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Early Days of Nicaragua
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Long before the coming of the Leathernecks, Nicaragua had been a prize
fought for by world powers. In the year 1687, though all of Central America
lay under Spanish claims, Great Britain made a treaty with an Indian chieftain
and designated the man to be King of the Mosquito Protectorate (a strip of
swamp land stretching along the east coast from Cape Gracias a'Dios to
Bluefields Lagoon).
Spanish authority over Central America ended on 1 July 1821, when
representatives from the provinces of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras,
Salvador, and Costa Rica met at Guatemala City to issue a declaration of
independence. Plagued by revolutions throughout South America, Spain did not
have the resources to challenge the rebels at Guatemala City. Free from the
rigors of war, the rebels devoted their entire energies to forming a
confederation modeled after the federal government of the United States.
Within two years after the declaration of independence from Spain, a Central
American Republic was exercising some degree of control over the five states.
Unfortunately, there were several stumbling blocks in the path toward
stable government. Poor roads, exaggerated local pride, and the conflict
between anticlerical Liberals and the staunchly Catholic Conservatives
combined to destroy the union. For a time, the Liberals were able to retain
power, but by 1839, the republic had disappeared, leaving Nicaragua an
independent state.<1>
Nicaragua suffered the same ills which had proved fatal to the Central
American Republic. Liberal still battled Conservative, but the hatred of one
for the other was based on economic factors and civic pride rather than upon
any religious principles. Whether a Liberal or a Conservative, the Nicaraguan
had an abiding distrust of the national government.
To attribute the continuing strife within Nicaragua to economic
differences or to the hatred of politicians out of power for those controlling
the nation would be to ignore the spirit of localismo. This was a fierce
civic pride, which magnified economic jealousy and enabled petty leaders to
raise armies to crush,a rival town or overthrow the national government. Over
the years, of course, such rivalry waned until the principal motive for
rebellion became the hatred of the "outs" for the "ins." Nevertheless,
localismo was for many decades the main cause of warfare between Conservatives
and Liberals.<2> Since compromise was impossible, the rival factions went to
war, and for years, Nicaragua trembled under the lash of rebellion.
During these years of turmoil, Nicaragua blossomed forth as a
strategically important area. As a result of the victory over Mexico, the
United States had annexed California and the Southwest. Since the trek across
desert and mountains to the Pacific Coast was both long and dangerous and the
sea journey around Cape Horn was no easier, Nicaragua and the Isthmus of
Panama became vital to America's transcontinental communications.<3> American
diplomats successfully obtained transit rights across the isthmus.<4> In the
meantime, gold had been discovered in California, and the increased traffic
across Central America lured private investors into the area.
Leader in the development of a Nicaraguan transit route was an American,
Cornelius Vanderbilt, who already had begun a rail line across the Isthmus of
Panama. At first, Vanderbilt and his partners, Joseph L. White and Nathaniel
J. Wolfe, had hoped to construct an inter-oceanic canal; but when this proved
impracticable, they organized the Accessory Transit Company to transport
freight and passengers from Greytown up the San Juan River, across Lake
Nicaragua, then overland to San Juan del Sur.<5>
American expansion and the increasing importance of Nicaragua had not
gone unnoticed in Great Britain. With a firm foothold north of Bluefields
Lagoon, it was a simple matter to expand the Mosquito Protectorate. Once
Mexico was beaten and the United States was certain to retain California, the
British, in February 1848, seized the town of San Juan del Norte, renamed it
Greytown and declared it a free city, made independent by the authority of the
Mosquito King. The annexation of Greytown placed the British in control of
the mouth of the San Jean River. Commodore Vanderbilt obtained permission to
establish the Accessory Transit Company from the Nicaraguan government, but
now his use of the river was subject to the whims of the British Consul at
Greytown.
During the 1850's, then, Nicaragua was rocked by two conflicts, the
shooting war between Liberals and Conservatives and a war of nerves between
the United States and Britain. Anglo-American troubles began in 1851, when
the municipality of Greytown attempted to gain closer control over
Vanderbilt's company by forcing it to move its stores nearer the heart of the
city. The company naturally refused. A mob then rowed out from Greytown, did
some damage to Vanderbilt's warehouses and offices and trampled on the
American flag.
Again in February 1853, the British tried to disrupt the transit service.
Local company representatives refused to obey an order that they raze their
new buildings at Puntas Arenas. Fortunately, an American warship, the CYANE,
dropped anchor in the harbor; and on 11 March, Orderly Sergeant James Thompson
landed with a detachment of Marines to guard American property in and near
Greytown. This handful of Leathernecks plus the ominous guns of the CYANE
prevented any repetition of the mob's outrage of two years before. On 13
March, the Marines were withdrawn.
Relations between the British consul at Greytown and officials of the
transit company remained tense. On 16 May, the river steamer ROUTH carrying
Solon Borland, the American Minister to Nicaragua, chugged to a stop off
Puntas Arenas. That evening, Borland went ashore to visit the American
commercial agent in Greytown. A mob surrounded the agent's house, hurled
broken bottles and stones at the Minister, and kept him a virtual prisoner for
some 48 hours. Once the mob had dispersed, Borland began the long journey to
Washington, where he reported the details of the outrage to the Secretary of
State. Upon learning the facts, the United States immediately demanded the
punishment of those responsible; but there was no one left at Greytown to
assume responsibility for the riot. Every member of the municipal council as
well as the mayor had either resigned or fled to Jamaica. Since there could be
no recourse to diplomacy, the problem was handed over to the United States
Navy.
Charged with the task of exacting satisfaction was the captain of the
CYANE, Commander George H. Hollins. Commander Hollins faced a difficult
decision. He realized that he could extract no apology for the attack on
Minister Borland. His only alternative was to punish the men responsible, but
the ringleaders had disappeared. All he could do was bombard the town, and
this he tried to do in the most humane manner possible. Hollins allowed 24
hours in which to evacuate the town, then commenced firing. Beginning at 0900
on 13 July, 177 shells plowed into Greytown. That afternoon a landing party
of Marines and seamen completed the destruction of the town and on the
following day, crossed over to Puntas Arenas to demolish a powder magazine.
In the meantime, Nicaragua was in the midst of another series of
rebellions. Conservative victory in the election of 1853 brought the usual
reaction--a rebellion of the Liberals. For a time, government troops were
successful; and Francisco Castellon, defeated Liberal candidate for President,
was exiled to Honduras. There he won the support of the Honduran government
and re-entered the fray. In spite of this assistance, the Liberals were
unable to win a conclusive victory, so Castellon began looking further afield
for reinforcements.
The Liberal campaign was dragging on when Castellon poured out his
troubles to a visiting Californian, Byron Cole, who offered an easy solution
to the problem. Cole contacted his close friend, a diminutive native of
Tennessee, William Walker. In return for cash and land grants, Walker offered
to provide 300 "colonists subject to military duty" for service in the Liberal
army.
William Walker was no novice at dabbling in revolution. Earlier in his
career, he had organized a private army and invaded Lower California.
Disease, starvation, and the lack of support by the natives combined to defeat
him; but he escaped to California ready to embark on some new adventure.<6>
In the summer of 1855, Walker arrived in Nicaragua with the first
contingent of "colonists." The fighting that followed was directed almost
exclusively by the tiny American. A truce was granted, and in October 1855, a
new Liberal government took office. Patrico Rivas, a moderate Conservative,
took office as President, a move designed to appease the opposition, while
Walker looked out for the Liberal cause as Commander in Chief of the Army.
In February 1856, Walker forced Rivas to revoke the charter of the
Accessory Transit Company and turn over its rights to a new concern.
Cornelius Vanderbilt vowed revenge.
Walker seemed eager to lead Nicaragua out of the wilderness, an objective
he could best accomplish as chief executive. Pride in his adopted country,
personal ambition, and his own greed caused Walker to bolt the Liberal party,
accept nomination by the Conservatives, and become the only American to hold
office as President of Nicaragua.
Although President Franklin Pierce extended diplomatic recognition to the
new government, the Walker regime was tottering. Cornelius Vanderbilt
employed his ships to run guns and men to the Liberals; and the British,
concerned over the fate of the Mosquito Protectorate, rendered aid to the
rebels. Cruelly adhering to a scorched earth policy, Walker destroyed even
the city of Granada; but his cause proved hopeless. The British evacuated
most of his troops, while Walker himself, on 1 May 1957, gained sanctuary
aboard the American warship ST. MARY'S.<7>
Walker's dream died hard. Late in November 1857, he and a band of his
followers slipped into Greytown harbor and pitched camp at Puntas Arenas.
American and British warships converged on the spot to round up the
freebooters. On 8 December Lieutenants James Lewis and John O. Payne led a
force of American Marines ashore at Puntas Arenas. Together with a battalion
of seamen, they surrounded Walker's camp, while the warships FULTON, SARATOGA,
and WABASH trained their guns on the knot of filibusters. Walker wisely
surrendered.<8>
Again in 1858, Walker mounted another expedition, only to be shipwrecked
in a gale off the coast of Honduras. In August 1860, however, he returned to
Central America. This time, he landed in Honduras in an attempt to secure a
base from which to invade Nicaragua. After some initial successes, the steam
warship HMS ICARUS interfered. Once he had brought Walker to bay, Captain
Norvell Salmon of ICARUS accepted the American's surrender and delivered him
to the Hondurans who ordered him shot. William Walker was executed on 11
September 1860.<9>
The brief, hectic career of William Walker caused the Liberal and
Conservative elements to unite, for a time at least, against foreign
intervention. After his death, the coalition dissolved with the Conservatives
gaining the upper hand. From 1863 to 1893, they avoided the pitfalls which
might lead to rebellion. Two rail lines were built during this era, the first
from Corinto to Leon and a second from Managua to Granada. Farmers enjoyed
greater prosperity, and the educational system was reformed. The Liberals, of
course, were not satisfied; but there was no burning issue upon which to base
a call to arms.<10>
Relations between Nicaragua and Great Britain also improved once the
Walker menace had ended. By the Treaty of Managua, 1860, Great Britain
recognized Nicaragua's sovereignty over the Mosquito Coast but extracted a
pledge of self-government for the Indians. Throughout the 30 years of
domestic stability, Nicaragua lived up to the terms of the agreement.<11>
Strange as it may seem, it was the Conservatives, members of the party in
power, who triggered the revolution which ended this era of peace. President
Roberto Sacasa was a Conservative from the city of Leon. Although he owed his
success to the aristocrats of Granada, he could not break the ties that bound
him to his native city. The manner in which Sacasa continued to reward his
Liberal friends aroused the wrath of his own party, and the Conservative ranks
split with the disgruntled element raising the cry of rebellion. Quick to
take advantage of the dissension within Conservative ranks was Jose Santos
Zelaya, a citizen of Managua. The Liberals sprang to arms and routed their
political foes.<12>
A renewal of civil strife in Nicaragua was an invitation for foreign
intervention. Early in 1894, a British warship anchored at Bluefields to halt
alleged infringement upon the treaty rights of the Mosquito Indians. By the
year's end, however, Britain forfeited control of the reservation to
Nicaragua.
The United States, also, was forced to intervene to protect American
property at Bluefields. On 6 July 1894, Lieutenant Franklin J. Moses led
ashore a contingent of Marines from the COLOMBIA. On the last day of the
month, reinforcements were landed from the MARBLEHEAD. Both detachments were
withdrawn on 7 August.
All in all, the Zelaya administration was among the most turbulent that
Nicaragua had yet to experience. In 1896, the Liberals balked when the
President decided to succeed himself in office; but he was able to enlist
enough Conservative strength to remain in office. From 2 to 4 May 1896, when
fighting near Corinto endangered American holdings, 15 Marines, under 1st
Sergeant Frederick W. M. Poppe, and 19 seamen stood guard.
War again broke out in 1898, as Zelaya extended his tenure for still
another term. The local United States consular agent requested the USS ALERT,
at anchor in the harbor of Bluefields, to stand by in case of an attack on the
city. On the morning of 7 February, the American flag rose union downward
over the consulate. In answer to this distress signal, a force of 14 Marines
and 19 seamen was landed. On the following day, the government forces agreed
to guarantee the safety of all foreigners, and the landing party was
withdrawn.
A similar landing, 16 seamen and Marines and a Colt automatic gun, took
place at Bluefields on 24 February 1899. Again, a display of force was enough
to prevent both rebels and government troops from destroying American
property.<13>
The Zelaya administration combined Liberal idealism with graft and
aggression. On the credit side, the dictator overhauled the public school
system and strove ceaselessly to attract foreign industries to Nicaragua. The
achievements, unfortunately, were more than outweighed by the fact that he ran
the government for his own gain. The president and members of his cabinet
held a monopoly over the nation's business enterprises. Without any thought
for the future, they peddled Nicaragua's national resources to the highest
bidder. Goods needed by the national government were paid for in worthless
scrip, and soon the country was caught in the coils of inflation.
In the field of international affairs, Zelaya resurrected the dream of a
Central American republic and set out to bring all five states in the area
under his sway. Both the United States and European powers were eager to
restore peace in Central America, principally because war endangered their
investments in the region. Since President Theodore Roosevelt considered
European intervention as contrary to the Monroe Doctrine, it became the
responsibility of the United States to assist in maintaining order. Roosevelt
extended the good offices of his government, and representatives of the
Central American states met in Washington in 1907 to negotiate a general
treaty of peace. This covenant was signed, but more important, the, five
republics agreed to submit their future grievances to a Central American Court
of Justice.<14>
At the time, it appeared that Roosevelt had won a striking diplomatic
victory. Without resorting to force, he had averted the threat of European
lodgement in an area vital to the security of the United States. He had
extracted pledges from each of the Central American republics not to meddle in
the internal affairs of the others. Finally, the Central American Court of
Justice, with member judges from each of the five states, seemed capable of
keeping the peace. The only difficulty lay in the fact that Zelaya had no
intention of keeping his word.
William Howard Taft succeeded Roosevelt as President of the United
States. He inherited the recalcitrant Zelaya, but he also was bequeathed a
domestic economy rebounding from the depression of 1907. Since there was a
great deal of surplus capital available for investment abroad, Taft and
Philander Knox, his Secretary of State, hoped to employ this money in their
foreign policy. The result was known as "Dollar Diplomacy." Basically, their
plan was to have United States diplomats encourage foreign states to borrow or
buy from American banks and manufacturers. This would relieve the chronic
financial burdens of friendly nations, raise their standards of living, and,
by providing markets for American goods, insure continued domestic prosperity.
While Taft was encouraging Americans to invest aboard, President Zelaya
was having financial problems of his own. Graft and inflation again had
drained Nicaragua's treasury. The shortage of funds was a source of acute
embarrassment.
A great many Conservatives were growing weary of Zelaya. Throughout his
reign, the dictator had made the Granada aristocrats his whipping boys; now
the time had come for revenge. Eager to help the dissatisfied Nicaraguans
were the foreign businessmen who had seen their holdings sold from under them
according to the whims of a fickle president. In the autumn of 1909, the two
groups joined forces. Financed by foreign interests, the Conservatives landed
an army at Bluefields and took the offensive against Zelaya.
Chosen to lead the Conservative revolt was Juan J Estrada, governor of
Bluefields Province, an appointee of the Zelaya government. Estrada's
defection to Conservative ranks gave the rebels control of almost the entire
Caribbean coast.<15>
The United States at first refused to intervene. Had it not been for
Zelaya's folly, there might have been no landing by Marines. Shortly after
the revolt began, government forces captured two American citizens serving
with the Conservative army, Zeleya had them shot as traitors. Secretary of
State Knox protested at once. Convinced that the Conservatives represented
the majority of the Nicaraguan people, the United States severed diplomatic
relations with the Zelaya government.
The Nicaraguan dictator had victory within his grasp, for Estrada's
troops were falling back toward Bluefields. To remain in the good graces of
Secretary Knox, at least until the Conservative threat was exterminated,
Zelaya resigned as president in favor of Dr. Jose Madriz, another Liberal
politician. The United States, however, withheld recognition of the Madriz
regime.<16>
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