Costa Rica: A Historical Timeline

1492 – While sailing in search of a western route to Asia, the Genoan explorer Christopher Columbus inadvertently arrives in the Americas.

1502 – Columbus reaches the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, near what is now the city of Limón.

1540 and beyond - Costa Rica becomes part of the viceroyalty of New Spain.

1561 – The first successful wave of colonization in Costa Rica is led by Juan de Cavallon (Spain).

1562 – Juan Vasquez de Coronado is appointed Governor of Costa Rica.

Late 1700s – Arabica coffee seeds are brought from Cuba and planted in Costa Rica’s Central Valley.

1821 – Mexico and Central American states gained independence from Spain.

1823 – The United Provinces of Central America—comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua—are now joined by Costa Rica.

1824 – Don Juan Mora Fernandez is elected as Costa Rica’s first Head of State. The province of Guanacaste secedes from Nicaragua and
is annexed to Costa Rica. Slavery is outlawed in Costa Rica.

1829 – Coffee exports surpass those of cacao, tobacco, and sugar. Don Juan Mora Fernandez is elected for a second term (1829-1833).

1849 – California Gold Rush prompts a need for more efficient ways to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Cornelius Vanderbilt
gets permission to build a canal (self-funded) in Nicaragua and earns exclusive navigation rights for his Accessory
Transit Company.

1849-59 – President Juan Rafael Mora of Costa Rica leads the Central American fight against William Walker’s army in Nicaragua.
Walker serves as president of Nicaragua from 1856-1857.

1859 – President Mora is ousted by rebels.

1860 – William Walker returns to Central America and is executed after being captured in Honduras.

1870-82 - General Tomas Guardia invites outside investors to develop a railway system in Costa Rica. Black workers are brought
from Jamaica to help clear lands and build railroad tracks.

1874 – Banana cultivation is introduced to Costa Rica by Minor Cooper Keith (US) who was already involved in the building of
the Costa Rican railway. Keith later confounded the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International).

1917 - Federico Tinoco ousts President Alfredo Gonzalez, but the US refuses to recognize his government.

1940-44 – Workers’ rights are introduced by President Rafael Angel Calderon, the founder of the United Christian Socialist Party.

1941 – After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US pressured Latin American countries to fight against Axis interests in their
countries. An internment camp is erected in San José to house German-Costa Rican prisoners and others of Italian or
Japanese descent.

1948 – President Calderon’s party refuses to concede the election win to Otilio Ulate. A disputed presidential election
leads to a six-week civil war. José Figueres Ferrer forms an army and joins in the fight to turn over the
presidency to Otilio Ulate.

1949 – José Figueres Ferrer (cofounder of the National Liberation Party) leads the country for 18 months before
handing over power to Ulate. The new constitution abolishes Costa Rica’s army, gives voting rights to
women and people of African descent, and establishes a social security system.

1953 - José Figueres Ferrer is elected president (and again in 1970).

1958-74 – The National Liberation Party dominates the Costa Rican government. The first NGO in the country—the
Caribbean Conservation Corporation—was established by US herpetologist Dr. Archie Carr in order to
protect Tortuguero’s sea turtles.

1963-64 – Irazú Volcano erupts for two years. Volcanic ash and mud caused 20 deaths and the destruction of local
homes and agriculture. A consortium of universities from the US and Costa Rica founded the Organization
for Tropical Studies and create a research station for tropical biologists.

1968 - Arenal Volcano erupts and, over the course of three days, devastates the small towns of Pueblo Nuevo and
Tabacon and leads to many casualties.

1978 –Rodrigo Carazo, a conservative, wins the presidential election midst of concerns about the country’s
economic decline.

1982 – Newly elected president, Luis Alberto Monge, institutes an austerity program to control economic
problems, including billions of dollars of foreign debt. The US begins to pressure Costa Rica to
take sides in the Sandinista conflict in Nicaragua.

1985 - US-backed Contras in Nicaragua begin fighting against Sandinista troops. 1986 - Oscar Arias gets
elected president while running on a neutral platform.

1987 – President Oscar Arias orchestrates a peace treaty between Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras. Arias is awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for this accomplishment.

1990 – Arias is succeeded by Rafael Calderon, son of former president, Rafael Angel Calderon (1940-44).
Austerity measures during his presidency lead to a drop in his party’s popularity.

1998 – Costa Rica approves a biodiversity law to protect the country’s biodiversity and create
sustainable models for conservation.

2000 – Costa Rica and Nicaragua resolve their disputes over navigation rights on the San Juan River
(that forms part of the border between both countries).

2003 – President Abel Pacheco, of the Social Christian Unity Party, makes plans for the privatization
of public utilities and telecommunications. Massive protests ensued around the country.

2004 – Corruption investigations focus on three former presidents and possible illegal contractor payments.

2006 – Tight presidential race between Oscar Arias and Otton Solis. Arias wins after challenges and a vote
recount. Proposed free trade deal with the US sparks worker protests.

2007 - Costa Rica announces plans to become the world’s first voluntarily "carbon neutral" country by 2050.

2009 – Costa Rica joins the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the US, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Under the agreement, certain US exports to member countries will
no longer be tariffed. 2009 –Former president Rafael Angel Calderon is convicted of corruption and given a five-year jail sentence.

2010 – Laura Chinchilla is the first woman to be elected president in Costa Rica. A global biodiversity
summit in Japan awards Costa Rica the 2010 Future Policy award. Border disputes between Costa Rican
and Nicaragua are brought to the attention of the United Nation’s International Court of Justice (ICJ).

2011 - UN International Court of Justice works to de-escalate border tensions between Nicaragua and Costa Rica;
ordering both nations to pull back troops from the disputed area.

2013 - Costa Rica-based Liberty Reserve is shut down and its founder, Arthur Budovsky, is arrested for possible
money laundering schemes involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

2014 – An Associated Press article prompts an investigation into possible US-backed programs to destabilize
the Cuban government that operated undercover in Costa Rica.

2015 – The International Court of Justice rules in favor of Costa Rica in a land dispute with Nicaragua
over Isla Portillo on the river San Juan.

2018 – Carlos Alvarado wins the presidential election against evangelical candidate, Fabricio Alvarado.
Costa Rica’s constitutional court rules in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples and
gives Congress 18 months to correct the laws.

2019 – Costa Rica wins the United Nations Environmental Program’s Champions of the Earth award for its
leadership in environmental policies.

2020 – Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalize same-sex marriages.