Brief History of Costa Rica

At the time Christopher Columbus came to Costa Rica in 1502, there were estimated to be only around 20 thousand inhabitants in this region; there were no major civilizations prior to the influx of European influences. Today, only 1% of the population of Costa Rica is indigenous to the time before Columbus.

Initially, even the Spanish colonization of Costa Rica fell behind the rest of the West because of the lack of gold and environmental challenges. Even after Costa Rica was colonized, its way of life differed from that of its Spanish colonial neighbors in that is was known more as "rural democracy" because of the absence of an oppressed mestizo class, due to the lack of intermarrying with native peoples.

Central America was granted independence from Spain in 1821. After a brief civil war over the question of becoming part of Mexico, Costa Rica became a member of a confederation of Central American States. The first head of state was Juan Mora Fernandez in 1824, who was best known for his land reforms, but who also inadvertently created a class of powerful coffee barons who later overthrew the first president of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Castro.

After some political turmoil and periods of military rule, General Tomas Guardia took control of the government in 1870. He is best known for his educational, military, and tax reforms.

1889 brought the first democratic election to the country. Then president Bernardo Soto, who ordered the election, lost, much to his surprise. After first refusing to relinquish power, he caved in to the wishes of the people and the tradition of democracy was born.

In 1948, civil war erupted after incumbent president Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia refused to relinquish power after an election. Calderón was defeated by Jose Maria (Don Pepe) Figueres Ferrer, who later proved to be one of Costa Rica's most influential leaders of all time, instituting ground breaking social and economic progress.

In recent history, governments of Costa Rica have alternated between the two major political parties, evidence that democracy is truly at work.

In 1987, then President Oscar Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for authoring a peace plan for neighboring Nicaragua. Costa Rica's current president is Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier, the son of the legendary Don Pepe.