NICARAGUA, a republic of Central America, bounded on the n. by the republic of Honduras. on the w. by the Carribean sea. on the s. by the republic of Costa Rica, and on the e. by the Pacific; lat. 10° 45' to 15° n.; low!. 83° 20' to 87° 30'; area about 48,000 sq.m.; pop. estimated at 250,000, of whom about 30.000 are whites, 10,000 negroes, the rest Indians areff,e0ikaa, Nicarag4 is •traversed by two of. mountains—the western, which follows the direction of the coast-line, at a distance of from 10 to 20 m. from the Pacific; and the eastern (a part of the great range of the Cordilleras), which runs nearly parallel to it, and sends off several spurs towards the Carribean sea. The former is generally high and volcanic, but sinks at times almost to the level of the plains. Between the two ranges lies a great interior basin, containing the lakes of Nicaragua (q.v.) and Managua. The principal rivers are the Rio Coco, or Segovia, forming part of the boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua; the Escondido, or Blewfields; and the San Juan, all of which flow into the Carribean sea. The eastern coast of Nicaragua is called the Mosquito coast. The country is in many places densely wooded—the most valuable trees being mahogany, logwood, Nicaragua wood, cedar, and Brazil wood. The pastures are splendid, and support vastherds of cattle. The chief products are sugar cane (softer and juicier than the Asiatic variety), cacao, cotton, coffee, indigo, tobacco, maize, and rice, with nearly all the fruits, etc., of the tropics—plauttiins, bananas, toma• toes, bread-fruit, arrow-root, citrons, oranges, limes, lemons, pine-apples, guavas, etc. The chief vegetable exports are sarsaparilla, aloes, ipeeacuanha, ginger, copal, gum arable, caoutchouc, etc. The northern part of Nicaragua is rich in minerals—gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead—but the mines are not so carefully worked now as under the Spaniards. The incessant political distractions of the country have notoriously all but
destroyed the material prosperity of the country. The trade is chiefly with Great Britain. In 1876 the exports amounted to $1,460,596; the imports to $1,031,098. The seat of government is Managua, with 8,000 inhabitants; the largest town and former capital is St. Leon, with a population of 25,000. The town of Nicaragua (q.v. in Sums.,Vol. X.) has a pop. of 8,500.
Nicaragua was discovered in 1521 by Gil Gonzales de Avila, and conquered by Pedro Arias de Avila, the governor of Panama in 1524 In 1821—the great year of revolution in Central America—it threw off allegiance to Spain, and after a desperate and bloody struggle, secured its independence by the help of the "liberals" of San Salvador. Nic aragua now became the second state in the federal republic of Central America. but on the dissolution of the union in 1839 became an independent republic. In 1847-48 a dispute broke out between Nicaragua and Great Britain about the Mosquito coast, which led to some hostilities, and was only finally settled in 1860. Meanwhile, in 1855, a civil war had broken out between the so-called "conservatives" and "liberals," which resulted in the victory of the latter, who were, however, obliged to call in the help of the since notorious col. William Walker (see FILLIBUSTER4 By the constitution of Aug. 19, 1858, the republic of Nicaragua is governed by a president, who is elected by universal suffrage, and holds office for four years. There are two legislative chambers—the senate anti the house of representatives. Liberty of speech and of the press exists, but is not absolutely guaranteed. The Roman Catholic religion, however, is the only one publicly tolerated, but the services of other religious bodies may be privately performed.