by LaVonne Redelinghuys

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: February 17, 2009

Costa Rica

The Central American nation of Costa Rica is an appealing destination for travelers in search of beautiful scenery, exotic wildlife, and fun in the sun on its plentiful beaches. Costa Rica boasts both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, a central mountain range, several major rivers, and active volcanoes. Roughly the size of West Virginia, much of the country can be seen on a short visit or even as a stop on a Central American cruise or as an excursion on a trip to the Caribbean.

Pre-Columbian History

Pre-Columbian Costa Rica was inhabited by Mesoamerican natives as early as 10,000 years ago. Archeological evidence suggests that many civilizations were quite sophisticated as evidenced by the presence of aqueducts, jewelry, and mysterious bolas, which are perfectly spherical carved stones.

Sadly, very little native culture has survived European colonization as most indigenous people in the region died from mistreatment by the Spanish and diseases brought from Europe such as smallpox. Efforts to learn more about ancient Costa Rica are ongoing as archeologists continue to find and study artifacts of ancient Costa Rican cultures.

Spanish Colonization to the Modern Era

On his final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first known European to make landfall in Costa Rica. Optimistic that the area would be rich in gold, the Spanish named the area Costa Rica, meaning "rich coast." The Spanish were disappointed that they did not find the riches they had hoped for and essentially abandoned conquest of the region, but a few determined colonists were able to establish an independent agrarian society relatively free of colonial rule. Since Costa Rica had relatively little in the way of indigenous people to serve as laborers and landowners were generally too poor to purchase slaves, the neglected colony was relatively impoverished for several generations. However, the absence of European domination and lack of a worker underclass eventually helped Costa Rica evolve into an egalitarian and democratic society.

Costa Rica's commitment to democracy has come with a price, however, as occasional dictatorial uprisings and a brief civil war in 1948 have threatened the country's political stability. Since 1953, Costa Rica has had free and peaceful presidential elections.

Culture

A majority of Costa Ricans are descendants of Spanish colonists with only about 6% of the population being of Amerindian, Asian, or African descent. Compared to its Central American

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