Waspán, North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, Nicaragua Genealogy

Guide to Municipality of Waspán ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.

History

 * The first contact of the old world (Europe) with the Atlantic Coast and Nicaraguan territory, was made on September 12, 1502 during the fourth voyage made by Christopher Columbus, who named "Cabo Gracias a Dios" upon entering the territorial sea of Nicaragua, which would later become the Comarca de Cabo Gracias a Dios and today.
 * In following centuries, due to its strategic position, it was the reason for incursions by Spanish expeditionaries and English pirates in the municipal territory.
 * In 1860, with the signing of the Treaty of Managua (between Nicaragua and England), the sovereignty of Nicaragua in the territory of the Mosquitia was recognized, assigning to the indigenous Miskitos a territory (reserve) between the Rama River and the Hueso River (current Puerto Cabezas), where the Miskitos could govern themselves and all the people residing within that district.
 * Both the municipality of Waspam and its capital were elevated to their respective categories on August 9, 1956.
 * The population of the municipality has been constantly affected by the movements to which it was subjected due to the war in the 1980s, with the transfer of large mass groups of Miskito indigenous people to Honduras and other areas of the region; After 1990, some family groups have returned to Waspán and their respective communities to restart their ways of life on their own communal lands, but a large majority have also preferred to stay in Puerto Cabezas.
 * The Municipality of Waspán has a population of approximately 61,400 people.

Civil Registration

 * 1945-2013 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Church Records

 * 1915-1986 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1940-2013 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Census Records

 * There are no records online for Waspán municipality.

Cemeteries
Indexes of burials in the cemeteries of the Waspán municipality may be found at findagrave.com
 * 1922-2007 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Cementerio Municipal de Waspán
 * Direction: Barrio Pancasán, Waspán