Editing History of Nicaragua (section)

==Fight for independence==

Nicaraguans were divided over Spanish monarchy and independence. In 1811, [[Nicolás García Jerez]], a priest decided to make concessions with pro-independence figures. He proposed holding elections for each barrios, in order to form a government junta. However, he soon declared himself as governor and threatened to punish rebellions by death.

Nicaraguans were divided over monarchy and independence. This division made Nicaragua the most active civil battleground in Latin America. The citizens of Leon were the first to act against the Spanish monarchy.<ref>https://library.ucsd.edu/research-and-collections/collections/notable-collections/latin-american-elections-statistics/Nicaragua/elections-and-events-18111856.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301023119/https://library.ucsd.edu/research-and-collections/collections/notable-collections/latin-american-elections-statistics/Nicaragua/elections-and-events-18111856.html |date=2021-03-01 }}></ref> They overthrew the local intendente Jose Salvador on December 13, 1811. Granada followed Leon's move with a vote of confidence and demanded the retirement of Spanish officials. The Spanish constitution of 1812 granted more independence to local administrations, and Garcia Perez was appointed as the intendente of Nicaragua.[[File:CentralAmerica1860MapSmall.jpg|thumb|Map of Central America (1860s), pictured is Nicaragua along with the [[Guanacaste Province]] which then belonged to Nicaragua but was incorporated with present-day Costa Rica in 1825.]]In 1821 Guatemala declared its independence and all central american provinces followed it. Nicaragua became [[Central America under Mexican rule|a part]] of the [[First Mexican Empire]] in 1822, was a part of the [[United Provinces of Central America]] in 1823, and then became an independent [[republic]] in its own right in 1838. The [[Mosquito Coast]] based on Bluefields on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] was claimed by the [[United Kingdom]] as a [[protectorate]] from 1655 to 1850. This area was designated to [[Honduras]] in 1859 and transferred to Nicaragua in 1860, though it remained [[wikt: autonomy|autonomous]] until 1894.

Much of Nicaragua's politics since independence has been characterized by the rivalry between the [[Constitutional Liberal Party|liberal]] elite of León and the [[Conservative Party of Nicaragua|conservative]] elite of Granada. The rivalry often degenerated into [[civil war]], particularly during the 1840s and 1850s.  Initially invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, a [[United States]] adventurer named [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] declared himself President in 1856 and made English the official language. (See [[Walker affair]].) Honduras and other Central American countries united to drive him out of Nicaragua in 1857, after which a period of three decades of Conservative rule ensued.<ref>Herring, Hubert, ''A History of Latin America&nbsp;– from the Beginnings to the Present&nbsp;– Chapter 28, Central America and Panama&nbsp;– Nicaragua, 1838–1909'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1968</ref> They were supported by the United States industrialist [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]], who had originally sponsored Walker in Nicaragua. Walker was executed in neighboring [[Honduras]] on September 12, 1860.<ref>{{cite news | title=William Walker | publisher=Goodfelloweb | url=http://goodfelloweb.com/Honduras/Trujillo/walker.html | access-date=2007-05-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070728133105/http://www.goodfelloweb.com/honduras/trujillo/walker.html | archive-date=2007-07-28 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Taking advantage of divisions within the conservative ranks, [[José Santos Zelaya]] led a liberal revolt that brought him to power in 1893. Zelaya ended the longstanding dispute with the United Kingdom over the Atlantic coast in 1894, and "reincorporated" the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua.