Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
You may notice, during your travels through the countryside, statues of a drummer boy
from Alajuela named Juan Santamaría. He is one of Costa Rica's most beloved national
heroes.
In April 1856 the North American mercenary William Walker and his ragtag army at-
tempted to invade Costa Rica during an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to conquer all
of Central America. Walker had already managed to sieze control of Nicaragua, taking ad-
vantage of the civil war that was raging there. It didn't take him long after that to decide to
march on Costa Rica, though Costa Rican president Juan Rafael Mora Porras guessed
Walker's intentions and managed to recruit a volunteer army of 9000 civilians. They sur-
rounded Walker's army as they lay waiting in an old hacienda (estate) in present-day
Parque Nacional Santa Rosa. The Costa Ricans won the battle and Walker was forever ex-
pelled from Costa Rican soil. During the fighting, Santamaría was killed while daringly set-
ting fire to Walker's defenses - and a national legend was born.
Pre-Columbian Sites
Monumento Nacional Arqueológico Guayabo (Turrialba)
Hacienda Barú (Dominical)
Sitio Arqueológico Finca 6 (Sierpe)
Finca Cántaros (San Vito)
Coffee Rica
In the 19th century the riches that Costa Rica had long promised were uncovered when it
was realized that the soil and climate of the Central Valley highlands were ideal for coffee
cultivation. Costa Rica led Central America in introducing the caffeinated bean, which
transformed the impoverished country into the wealthiest in the region.
When an export market was discovered, the government actively promoted coffee to
farmers by providing free saplings. At first Costa Rican producers exported their crop to
nearby South Americans, who processed the beans and re-exported the product to Europe.
By the 1840s, however, local merchants had already built up domestic capacity and
learned to scope out their own overseas markets. Their big break came when they per-
