page_title: United States occupation of Nicaragua
section_title: Estrada's rebellion (1909)
hierarchical_section_title: United States occupation of Nicaragua / Conflicts / Estrada's rebellion (1909)
context_page_description: The United States occupation of Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933 was part of the Banana Wars, when the US military invaded various Latin American countries from 1898 to 1934. The formal occupation began in 1912, even though there were various other assaults by the U.S. in Nicaragua throughout this period. American military interventions in Nicaragua were designed to stop any other nation except the United States of America from building a Nicaraguan Canal.
  Nicaragua assumed a quasi-protectorate status under the 1916 Bryan–Chamorro Treaty. President Herbert Hoover opposed the relationship. On January 2, 1933, Hoover ended the American intervention.
context_section_description: In 1909 Nicaraguan President José Santos Zelaya of the Liberal Party faced opposition from the Conservative Party, led by governor Juan José Estrada of Bluefields who received support from the U.S. government as a result of American entrepreneurs providing financial assistance to Estrada's rebellion in the hopes of gaining economic concessions after the rebellion's victory. The United States had limited military presence in Nicaragua, having only one patrolling U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Bluefields, allegedly to protect the lives and interests of American citizens who lived there. The Conservative Party sought to overthrow Zelaya which led to Estrada's rebellion in December 1909. Two Americans, Leonard Groce and Lee Roy Cannon, were captured and indicted for allegedly joining the rebellion and the laying of mines. Zelaya ordered the execution of the two Americans, which severed U.S. relations.
  The forces of Chamorro and Nicaraguan General Juan Estrada, each leading conservative revolts against Zelaya's government, had captured three small towns on the border with Costa Rica and were fomenting open rebellion in the capital of Managua. U.S. Naval warships that had been waiting off Mexico and Costa Rica moved into position.
  The protected cruisers USS Des Moines (CL-17), USS Tacoma (CL-20), and collier USS Hannibal (AG-1) lay in the harbor at Bluefields, Nicaragua, on the Atlantic coast with USS Prairie (AD-5) en route for Colón, Panama, with 700 Marines. On December 12, 1909, Albany with 280 bluejackets and the gunboat USS Yorktown (PG-1) with 155, arrived at Corinto, Nicaragua, to join the gunboat USS Vicksburg (PG-11) with her crew of 155 allegedly to protect American citizens and property on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua.
  Zelaya resigned on December 14, 1909, and his hand-picked successor, Jose Madriz, was elected by unanimous vote of the liberal Nicaraguan national assembly on December 20, 1909. U.S. Secretary of State Philander C. Knox admonished that the United States would not resume diplomatic relations with Nicaragua until Madriz demonstrated that his was a "responsible government ... prepared to make reparations for the wrongs" done to American citizens. His request for asylum granted by Mexico, Zelaya was escorted by armed guard to the Mexican gunboat General Guerrero and departed Corinto for Salina Cruz, Mexico, on the night of December 23, with Albany standing by but taking no action.
  As the flagship of the Nicaraguan Expeditionary Squadron, under Admiral William W. Kimball, Albany spent the next five months in Central America, mostly at Corinto, maintaining U.S. neutrality in the ongoing rebellion, sometimes under criticism by the U.S. press and business interests that were displeased by Kimball's "friendly" attitude toward the liberal Madriz administration. By mid-March 1910, the insurgency led by Estrada and Chamorro had seemingly collapsed and with the apparent and unexpected strength of Madriz, the U.S. Nicaraguan Expeditionary Squadron completed its withdrawal from Nicaraguan waters.
  On May 27, 1910, U.S. Marine Corps Major Smedley Butler arrived on the coast of Nicaragua with 250 Marines, for the purpose of providing security in Bluefields. United States Secretary of State Philander C. Knox condemned Zelaya's actions, favoring Estrada. Zelaya succumbed to U.S. political pressure and fled the country, leaving José Madriz as his successor. Madriz in turn had to face an advance by the reinvigorated eastern rebel forces, which ultimately led to his resignation. In August 1910, Juan Estrada became president of Nicaragua with the official recognition of the United States.
caption: A map of Nicaragua.
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