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Independence from Spain
Audiencia of Guatemala (made up of most of Central America) declared independence from Spain. It joined the Mexican Empire, but left two years later to form the United Provinces of Central America. This lead to the formation of the nation of Nicaragua. Honduran liberal Francisco Morazán lead the UPCA, who could not maintain peace with the constant struggle between liberal and conservative, and the country failed. Source: About.com, which provides quick, general information on most topics. -
Nicaragua's Independence Declared
Nicaragua's independence was oficially declared from the weak-governed United Provinces of Central America. Nicaragua's independence was formally declared by a Constituent Assembly in 1838 after the federation dissolved in 1837. This information comes from http://countrystudies.us/, a very simple yet informative website that gives a general explamation of the content, getting its information from "Tim Merrill, ed. Nicaragua: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1993." -
José Santos Zelaya Takes Over
After 35 years of relative tranquility in Nicaragua, Liberal José Santos Zelaya takes control, establishing a dictatorship that created the most controversial time in Nicaraguan history. Zelaya created strong nationalist feelings in Nicaragua and modernized its infrastructure. Zelaya was born of "unmixed blood" in Nicaragua, studied in Europe and America. He has a "Napoleonic" nature of leadership. Source: DigitalHistoryProject.com, which aims to procide history online to many people. -
Zelaya's Fall from Power
Opposition to his regime peaks and, with the help of the U.S. Marines, Zelaya is driven from power. Zelaya dampened his military actions in 1909, as recommended by Mexico, but he continued to try to influence surrounding nations and find a counter-weight to U.S. power. The Taft administration wanted to see Zelaya out of power. Source: The book "The New World Power: American Foreign Policy" which aims to summarize U.S. foreign policy actions in 1898-1917 for the general public. -
U.S. Forms National Guard in Nicaragua
With isolationist sentiment growing in the U.S., the government decided to remove the marines from Nicaragua but not before they established a National Guard there that would maintain order when the troops left. The Nicaraguan Congress decided to form a National Guard, but the bill that did so had no mention of formal cooperation with the U.S. government. Source: This comes from the book "Armies without Nations" which aims to show how public violence helped form central american governments. -
United States Puts Marines Back in Nicaragua
After the country falls into chaos after the prior removal of U.S. troops, Marines are places back in Managua, fearing a civil war and leftist victory. According to one source (HistoryToday.com, referenced in "Samoza Seizes Power" block) President Calvin Coolidge had successfully used negotiation tactics to avoid a civil war in Nicaragua a year prior, in 1926, and his administration looked down on the use of force overall. -
Samoza Garcia Fills Power Gap
With United States domestic problems and failure of the armed forces to successfully subdue the violence in Nicaragua, President Herbert Hoover removes the marines from Nicaragua. Immediately following this, Samoza Garcia, the new director of the National Guard, fills the power gap. Herbert Hoover did this as following his "Good Neighbor" policy towards other nations. Source: University of Virginia "Miller Center", which provides much fairly accurate historical information for students. -
Samoza Garcia Seizes Power
On this day, Anastasia Samoza Garcia forces his wife's uncle, President Juan Bautista Sacasa, to resign and instructed the Nicaraguan Congress to establish himself as his uncle's replacement. This replacement was only meant to be temporary, as in December of the same year, presidential elections were held, which Samoza Garcia won by an astounding majority. Source: "HistoryToday.com," a British illustrated magazine that aims to history to as wide of an audience as possible. -
Somoza García Assassinated
García's strict grasp on the Nicaragua's infrastructure made him many enemies, including a "disgruntled citizen" who assassinated him. The established succession system, based off of the National Guard director, made his eldest son the next ruler. García was shot by a poet and musician in the chest at a a party in León. The bullet wounds proved to be fatal in the following days. Source: latinamericanhistory.about.com, a source of widespread general information on Latin American history. -
Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was Formed
This organization, taking much of its ideology from Sandino, became the primary force opposing the Debayle regime. Growing from University students to a small Marxist revolutionary group, it challenged the National Guard militarily. It was made apparent that change in Nicaragua would come through violence, not peace. The FSLN promoted Marxism under the false conception that Sandino was a Marxist (he was not) Source: Brown.edu, proving accurate historical information from Brown University. -
Anastasio Somoza Debayle Formally Takes Power
Debayle formally became president, but not without strong opposition, to which Somoza responded, without the finesse of his father, with further political repression. This threatened to destroy Nicaragua's economy and society. Debayle was elected in his own right, right after his older brother, who served as president right out of his father's term, died of a heart attack. Source: Encyclopedia.com, a website of general information on things/people for general audiences. -
Earthquake that Destroyed Managua
This was the turning point for the opposition to Debayle's regime. National Guard members looted the destroyed city, and the international relief was used to benefit Debayle and his family. Thus, nearly all political figures drifted over to the opposition. Somoza order the city be evacuated (although few did so) and police were ordered to shoot looters on site. No distribution of food was provided for. Source: History.com, a mainstream website aimed to provide history to the general audience. -
Debayle fled Nicaragua and the FSLN entered Managua
A five-member junta was established, pledging political pluralism, a mixed economic system, and nonaligned foreign policy. Despite assuming a country in ruins, the population strongly supported the new government in hopes of a sharp contrast from the Somoza dictatorship. Currently, "Liberation Day" is recognized on July 19th and it holds much significance to the people of Nicaragua. Source: Nicaragua-community.com, a blog aimed to provide reliable information on Nicaragua.
