HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 298

Nicaragua
Nicaragua, like H ONDURAS , was first seen by
Spaniards during the coastal exploration of
the Central American region carried out by
C HRISTOPHER C OLUMBUS during his final
voyage in 1502. Occupation of the region,
following the campaigns of H ERNÁN C ORTÉS
and his successors, culminated in the foun-
dation of the cities of León and Granada in
1524. Like the rest of the area, the province
of Nicaragua was an administrative depen-
dency of the Captaincy General of G UATE -
MALA and, therefore, of the Viceroyalty of
N EW S PAIN . Nicaragua was also briefly con-
trolled by the breakaway Mexican empire
of A GUSTÍN DE I TURBIDE . From 1823 to 1839
it was a member of the United Provinces of
Central America, after which it vigorously
asserted total sovereignty despite interfer-
ence from various interlopers.

the viceroyalty located at Mexico City), and
the islands of the Caribbean. Central Amer-
ica was also included within New Spain,
although P ANAMA , despite its contiguous
location, was not. Even though they lay
across the Pacific the P HILIPPINE I SLANDS as
well as various smaller islands far to the
west of Mexico were also theoretically part
of New Spain. This administrative structure
for New Spain survived with little modifica-
tion until the collapse of Spanish colonial
rule in most of the Western Hemisphere
during the early 19th century.
P ERU , the other viceroyalty created dur-
ing the first phase of Spanish conquest,
would be considered a single “kingdom”
until the late 18th century, when the sepa-
rate Viceroyalties of N EW G RANADA and L A
P LATA were carved out of the vastness of
South America.