With Annexation Comes An Annual Debate

By Beach Times Staff

Fiestas all across the region will this week mark the 184th anniversary of the Nicoya territory annexation to Costa Rica.

But amid all the color and noise of the festivals, comes the annual debate over who owned what and should it have happened.

“The annexation of Nicoya and its history is something that we have to keep stressing every chance we get,” said Nicaraguan-born historian Dr Chester Zelaya Goodman, who says the region was always Nicaraguan territory.

“There has always been the tendency of Nicoyans and Costa Ricans to say that the Nicoya Party didn’t belong to Nicaragua and this is not true,” says the historian.

Other experts on the issue refer to the heated argument at the time between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

“Nicoya did not want to join Costa Rica,” says Nicaraguan writer, Dr Jaime Marenco. “Historians from Costa Rica admit this fact in their writings. There was a lot of pressure that included house burning.

“Costa Rican citizens have been told they do not have an army, but they have a bigger police than any other country.”

The historian and museum owner is among a cluster of historians and Nicaraguan intellectuals who believe political pressure marked the annexation decision, more than free interests.

Dr Ramón Valdez, a Nicaraguan historian, says the decision was met with protest several times before the government finally exerted pressure to push it forward.

Similar sentiment is observed in Nicaraguan newspapers each year when opinion pages often fill with anti-annexation editorials as the Costa Rican anniversary approaches.

Yet according to Luis Fernando Sibaja, Costa Rican historian and professor at the University of Costa Rica, the joining process was a “democratic decision without any violence.”

Part of the annual debate comes from whether or not the territory belonged to Nicaragua in the first place.

According to documents from the National Archive of Costa Rica, the territory, referred to at the time as the Nicoya Party, was autonomous, reporting to the Captain General of Guatemala.

The region was then divided into provinces under the leadership of the Federal Republic of Central America, whose central government was located in Guatemala City.

“During the era of the colonies, the Nicoya Party had a very particular condition because they did not belong to Nicaragua or to Costa Rica,” read archive documents.

Since the Nicoya area was so close to the province of Costa Rica, there were strong commercial relations between the two and, according to the archives, a “great identification with the Costa Rican way of being.”

To add to the situation, the Puntarenas port was bursting with economic interests, and the trip from Rivas or Managua by land, often in the rainy season, was beginning to wear on people.

Dr Sibaja says the people of Nicoya wanted to secure a commercial water route through the Tempisque River that allowed them to reach Puntarenas, and from there, access to the Panamanian and South American markets.

According to archives, the people of the Nicoya Party called for an open meeting to define their situation on July 25, 1824.

© Zoraida Diaz

CULTURE: The Templo Colonial de San Blas, located in downtown Nicoya, is considered one of the oldest structures in all Costa Rica dating back to the 16th Century. As part of the Annexation celebrations, a group of Nicoyan sculptors and painters are exhibiting their work here in San Blas from 9am to 7pm until Sunday.

The annexation decision was made under the slogan De la Patria, Por Nuestra Voluntad, or, “from our homeland by our will,” outlining territory west of the Tempisque River up to the Pacific Ocean, and north of the Río Salto up to Río La Flor and Lake Nicaragua.

“The relationship of Nicoya with Costa Rica made the union easy, because the commercial relations were good and a proper political integration would complement the already existing commercial integration,” reads the historical archive.

Some historians say it was a temporary accord; however, in an 1858 border agreement, Nicaragua agreed to let Costa Rica keep the Nicoya Party in exchange for a portion of Bahía Salinas.

Dr Sibaja says it was because Nicaragua was vying for the inter-ocean channel that later became the Panama Canal. They never got the canal, but the prospect made them less concerned with Nicoya.

“Nicaragua kept half of Bahía Salinas,” says Dr Sibaja. “The rest of the Nicoya Party territory was not important to them because no important economic activity took place there.

“Today the importance of this area is just the tourist potential it has. The huge development of Guanacaste during the last decades has produced important changes in the economy and the lifestyle of the population, making the people of Nicaragua regret the agreement that gave the Nicoya Party to Costa Rica.”

“In Nicaragua we did not pay much attention to the Nicoya party, its people and its problems,” says Dr Marenco. “People who left Nicaragua for political reason always went to their ranches in Guanacaste.”

Today, many argue there is still tension between the two countries, particularly regarding border issues at the Río San Juan.

Dr Zelaya says the subject of the Nicoya Annexation is often used to bolster patriotic or anti-patriotic sentiment, depending on “what would be of interest at the moment”.

“The union has generated some friction between nations, and the press and some governments have not helped,” says Dr Marenco. “However, the most important factor is the conflict for the Río San Juan.”

The doctor says most modern-day conflicts can be traced to historical contexts, noting Nicaragua’s long history of conflict.

“In 1821, when we became independent, we started an endless war that still goes on,” he says. “We expected to get peace with the revolution of the Sandinistas, but we did not. Today, the same political parties are still fighting.”

According to Dr Zelaya, modern Nicoya gathers much of its traditions and folklore from Nicaragua, which is seen in the food, the music, and the language.

“If the Nicoya Party hadn’t been annexed from Nicaragua I believe that maybe it wouldn’t be so different,” he says.

And although Dr Sibaja adds that the annexation benefited Costa Rica not just in terms of territory but through “cultural enrichment”, Dr Marenco says tensions and stereotypes remain more acute than some are willing to admit.

“The problem is how Costa Rica perceives Nicaragua,” says Dr Marenco.

Dr Zelaya acknowledges the tension, adding that it is unfortunate the country’s shared traditions are often lost in the tangle of shared disputes.

“It is a true shame that instead of assuming a positive attitude and bringing us to develop and take advantage of the richness of both countries, resentments continue to be used by many to promote division.”

“We don’t see the great challenges that unite us.”