154 Anniversary of Batalla de la Hacienda San Jacinto Fight

In San Juan del Sur, Like in the rest of Nicaragua we are in celebrations of INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Nicaragua's independence became a fact in September 1821. The inhabitants of the Spanish province of Nicaragua, as well as people from other colonies in this region, felt it was time for complete independence. The bloody independence wars in other regions of the continent and other factors evoked the following dream: the birth of a new, small nation, free and sovereign. Read here how Independence Day is celebrated in Nicaragua, and get to know more about the history of the independence of Nicaragua, obtained on September 15.
A little history

There were several factors that made the colonies decide to split from Spain: the independence of regions in the north (from England), the French revolution that brought new ideals, the strong control and tax system imposed on the region by the Spanish crown, and the progressive weakening of this same government.

In South America, and during a certain period also in Mexico, the mestizos and American creoles (Spanish born in the new world) started bloody wars against the crown to obtain their independence. In Central America the situation was different.

Nicaragua formed part of the Spanish 'Captaincy General of Guatemala', which included the territories from Costa Rica up to Chiapas (nowadays a region in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico).

The independence ideas reached the region and the leaders started a negotiation process that ended in September 1821, when they wrote an Act of Independence which was recognized by the representative of the Spanish crown. Among the people who were the driving force behind the Central American Independence was the Nicaraguan Miguel Larreynaga, who is still remembered on the ten córdoba bills.

Now that Spain was out of the picture, Nicaragua and all other regions from Central America decided to join the Mexican Empire, but this only lasted a few years. The small countries from the isthmus therefore decided to form the 'Federation of Central American States', which did not last long either due to particular interests of the leaders of every province. Consequently, Nicaragua gained complete independence on April 30th, 1838.


An independent Nicaragua

The independence brought forth a continuous conflict over power by the strong cities of León and Granada, and their political parties (León housed the liberals and Granada the conservatives).

A few years later, this confrontation provoked a historical incident which threatened the new nation. During the conflict, the conservatives got a mercenary army involved from North America, headed by William Walker. After obtaining military stability in the country, William Walker decided to take over control of the country and declare himself president with the idea to annex the region to the United States.

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