El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-07-04

tim or Sucn a series OF revolutions as
the republic of Nicaragua. Since Cen
trail America threw off the yoke Of
Spanish domination in 1921, prolonged
periods of peace have been unknown.
After becoming free from Spain, Mic
aragua became part Of the Fedora
ton of Central America, a federation
whose constitution was modelled at
ter that of the United States. and in
which Nicaragua was one of the
states. The following year the whole
Of Central America became q part of
Iturbides Empire of Mexico. The
existence of this empire was short
lived, and upon the fall of Iturbide,
Nicaragua again became a part of the
Federation of Central America. Later
jealcusies arose between the states OF
the federation. and as a result 1t was
dissolved. Nicaragu thereupon, in
1888. declared itself an independent
nation.
The Mosquito Coast.
But Nicaragua's troubles with out
side nations did net end with its in
dependence from Spain nor with its
advent into the family of nations.
The British government had long made
pretensions to control the eastern part
Of the present republic, known as the
Mosquito Coast It was along this
had their headquarters. The British
government repudiated their acts,
but later took advantage of their DOM
nation of the eastern coast in Cen
trail America, and established a sort of
prctectorate over the Mosquito Coast
The son of a native chief Of the Mos
quito indians who had been educated
in England, was brought back and
tremendously crowned king Of the
Mosquitoes with an old cooked hat for
a crown.
During the years which followed
lying within its boundaries. In 1S47
to that portion of the Mosquito Coast
LYNX within its boundaries. In 1S47
England again took a hand. hoisted
the Mosquito flag, and served notice
upon. Nicaragua that the independence
of the Mosquitoes would be maintained.
In order to make this notice effective,
the English provoked an attack by the
Nicaraguans. A squad Of marines
was landed, apparently to guard Brit
ish interests and then the ship sailed
away The Nicaraguans fell into the
trap. attacked the British. brought
on a little war. were defeated. and fl
nally forced to relinquish all claim
upon the Mosquito Coast. The preten-
sions of the British continued for a
number Of years and finally ended
about 1860.
Establishing Boundaries.
It was more than 80 years later
that the boundaries of Nicaragua, as
they exist today, were established. The
Mosquito Coast IN 1894 formally &C
knowledged itself part Of the Mic
araguan republic. The subJugation OF
the Indians and negroes who made
up the population Of this country was
NJ
under Zelaya, and is regarded as the
one brilliant piece of statecraft exc
cuted under his rule. 1t is this same
territory in which the late Estrada
revolution had its inception. and which
Is now proposed by some to be set
apart as a separate republic.
The many revolutions which have
followed each other in Nicaragua in
rapid succession nearly always have
been engendered by the rivalry between
the Liberal city OF Leon and the Con-
sentative city of Grana da- When Mic
aragua became a republic in 1888, the
control of the Conservative party
that is to say. Of Granada-fell into the
hands Of half a dozen families. They
established a dynasty which has con-
tinued to the present day. On the 9TH
er hand, each leader in Leon stood
by himself. and when he arose to
power 1t was only through individu
al prowess and not by reason of influ
entail family connections. One of the
first leaders Of the Liberal Leonese
was Trinidad Cabanas. a native of
Honduras His power was ended by
his complete defeat by Don Fruto
Chamorro. Chamorro then made him
self supreme dictator
Later a president named Zavala
came into power and decided that he
would establish permanent peace in
Nicaragua by smoothing out the ami
mosities Of Leon and Granada. He
induced the two cities to agree upon
a third, city, lying almost midway be-
tween them. as the capital Of the coun-
try. But the selection of Managua as
the capital afforded only a temporary
rest from revolution.
ZeIaya's Political Craft.
When zelaya came into power his
success in maintaining himself was
achieved by the delicate hand with
which he balanced the contentious Of
the rival cities. playing upon their
inherited hatred in a masterful way.
If he found himself growing so unpop-
ular in Leon as to produce an incipi-
ent revolution there. he invited Gran
ada to suppress it; and when Granada
rebelled. as it did occasionally, the
Leonese were only too ready to feed
the ancient grudge they bore the
Grenadines. In this way there was a
state Of revolution nearly all the time.
but Zelaya was able to divert it from
an attack upon his own power into an
attack upon a rival city
The Is years of Zelayaism was ex-
tremely hard on the weather. people
of the republic. At one time he ban
ished 5000 and confiscated their prop
erty. 1t Is said that during those Is
years OF his rule more than Is. 900 cit
liens of the republic were forced into
exile and found refuge in other coun-
tries. The majority of those went TO
Costa Rica
The FilibuSter.
One OF the most remarkable eras IN !
the history Of the Nicaraguan revolu-
lions was the wsr of the Filibusters. |
During the fifties there were many /
Americans who believed in the doc |
trine of Manifest Destiny. that is. !
that the United States should take pos !
session Of all that territory lying be- J.
tween its southern boundary and the !
Of Panama 4
One of those who believed in this !
doctrine was William Walker, born in
1924. and who. as rowing young I