Costa Rica
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Was first discovered in 1502 by Christpher Columbus on his fourth voyage to the New World, but was not settled until 1564 when Juan Vásquez de Coronado, with settlers from Nicaragua, founded Cartago on the Meseta Central. Much like with other attempts to settle the Americas, the indegenous people fell victim to disease, which left the majority of the population European.
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Costa Rica was part of Guatemala until 1821. It then joined the independent Mexican empire (1821–23). After that the United Provinces of Central America (1823–38).
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In 1838 Costa Rica became an independent republic. They paractice a policy of isolation and stability, together with agricultural fertility, this atractted substantial British and US investment in the 19th century.Except for brief dictatorship of Federico Tinoco Granados (1917–19), Costa Rica has maintained a democratic tradition.
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Because of developing parties and left-wing extremist after World War II Costa Rica drafted a new constitution, which granted universal suffrage and abolished the armed forces in 1949. This is consistent with our interviewee that stated, "We also don't have any militia."
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Costa Rica suffered difficult economic times through the 70's and 80'sthat included reduced US aide because of political differences.
General Information on Costa Rica
Capital: San José
Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq miles)
Population: 4,221,000 (2005)
Currency: 1 Costa Rican colón = 100 céntimos
Religions: Roman Catholic 88.6%; other (mostly Protestant) 11.4%
Ethnic Groups: White 77.0%; Mestizo 17.0%; Black/Mulatto 3.0%; East Asian (mostly Chinese) 2.0%; Amerindian 1.0%
Languages: Spanish (official); other minority languages
If you would like to review the constitution of Costa Rica click the link below
http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=9161