History
Nicaragua acquired its name from Chief Nicarao, leader of an indigenous tribe that lived on the outskirts of present-day Lake Nicaragua.
In 1524 Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba arrived on the shores of Nicaragua to colonize the land in the name of Spain, where it remained for 300 years.
Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838.
In 1978 opposition to Nicaraguan governmental manipulation spread through the classes and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979.
In the 1980's the United States sponsored an anti-Sandinista faction in response to Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador.
In 1990 the Sandinistas agreed to nationwide elections in response to both domestic and international pressure. Nicaraguan voters elected Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. Her seven years in office stabilized the economy and privatized state owned enterprises.
Free elections in 1996, and again in 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, reflecting the maturing of Nicaragua's democratic institutions.
In 2007 Daniel Ortega was elected president and is committed to keeping Nicaragua on the path of recovery, stating "the winds of hope blow through Latin America and the Caribbean."
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