Nicaragua History

History
Nicaragua originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, with the English colonizing it in the 17th century and later coming under the British rule, as well as some minor Spanish interludes in the 19th century.

It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and the northernmost part of it was later transferred to Honduras in 1960. Nicaragua is also home to the second-largest rainforest of the Americas.

Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, leading to the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s. 

Timeline
1524 - The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded 1838 - Nicaragua finally became an independent Republic 1961 - 1990 During the war between the Contras and the Sandinistas, 30,000 people were killed

Links

 * "Nicaragua: A Country Study," a book published in 1993, electronic version hosted by countrystudies.us
 * A very brief history of Nicaragua from Bainbridge