Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1856
Costa Rica quashes the expansionist aims of the war hawks in the USA by defeating William Walk-
er and his invading army at the epic Battle of Santa Rosa.
1889
Costa Rica's first democratic elections are held, a monumental event given the long history of co-
lonial occupation, though blacks and women were prohibited by law to vote.
1890
The construction of the railroad between San José and Puerto Limón is finally completed despite
years of hardships and countless deaths due to accidents, malaria and yellow fever.
1900
The population of Costa Rica reaches 50,000 as the country begins to develop and prosper due
to the increasingly lucrative international coffee and banana trades.
1914
Costa Rica is given an economic boost following the opening of the Panama Canal. The canal was
forged by 75,000 laborers, many thousands of whom died during construction.
1919
Federico Tinoco Granados is ousted as the dictator of Costa Rica in one of the few episodes of
brief violence in an otherwise peaceful political history.
1940
Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia is elected president and proceeds to improve working conditions
in Costa Rica by enacting minimum-wage laws as well as an eight-hour day.
1940s
