History of Nicaragua

The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Nicaragua has a predominantly tropical climate, alternating between two seasons: rainy and dry. This is a result of its geographic location between 11° and 15° latitude north and the humidity from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans which give it a fairly stable season. Nicaragua’s rainy season is from May to mid-November.

Leon is located in the Pacific Lowlands of Nicaragua and is a region with a tropical climate. During the rainy season, almost all days begin sunny with rains coming in the afternoon and night and are of short duration. The rainy season high temperatures range from 81° to 95°F. The coolest months are December and January. The warmest months are March, April, and May when temperatures range from 85° to 95°F.

Nicaragua is currently divided in four main regions as follow

Atlantic Region (Bluefields, Corn Islands, Laguna de Perlas)

Central Region (Boaco, Chontales)

North Region ( Esteli, Jinotega, Madrid, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia)

Pacific Region (Carazo, Chinandega, Granada, Isla de Ometepe, León, Managua, Masaya, Rivas, San Juan del Sur)