coloration and Indian or negroid features. The prevailing
language is a degenerate form of Spanish, nearer to Galician than
to Castilian. Most of the native dialects have ceased to exist,
but a corrupt form of English is spoken on parts of the east
coast. All who speak Spanish are classed as Ladinos; the
half-castes generally are termed Mestizos; and the name of
Sambos or Zambos is confined to the descendants of Indian and
negro parents; these are also incorrectly called Caribs. The
number of the uncivilized Indians, whose camps or villages are
situated in open glades among the forests of the plateau region,
is usually estimated at 30,000; but this would seem to be an
exaggeration. Pure-blooded Indians are not numerous, as whole
districts were depopulated and whole tribes exterminated by the
Spanish colonists and the buccaneers. A few may be descendants
of the Aztecs and Mayas, whose temples, sculptures, burial-grounds,
&c., have not yet been fully explored. For a general
account of this ancient civilization and of the Indian tribes see
Central America and Mexico: Archaeology. A collection of
Nicaraguan antiquities is preserved in the National Museum
at Washington, U.S.A.; and the archaeological collection
brought to Europe by Dr W. Lehmann in 1910 was exhibited in
the Berlin Museum of Fine Arts.
Chief Towns and Communications.—The capital is Managua (pop. 1905, about 30,000); other important towns are Leon (45,000), Granada (25,000), Masaya (20,000), Chinandega (12,000), and the seaports of Corinto (3000) and Greytown (2500). These are described in separate articles. At the beginning of the 20th century, Nicaragua had few good roads, and none at all east of the main Cordillera. Transport in the plateau region was mainly effected by means of pack mules, over the roughest of tracks. But between 1900 and 1905 contracts were signed for the construction of three highways, leading respectively from Matagalpa, from Nueva Segovia and from the Pis Pis mining district to the head of steam navigation on the Segovia, about 160 m. above Cape Gracias. These highways were to be linked to the western system by 79 m. of road connecting Matagalpa with Momotombo. For the construction and upkeep of roads a tax varying from one to ten pesos is levied on all males over eighteen years old. There are 160 m. of state railways, running from Corinto to Leon, Managua, Granada and Diriamba, with branches to El Viejo and Momotombo. Contracts for additional lines were signed between 1900 and 1905. The steamers which ply on the great lakes and the San Juan, besides other vessels which visit the principal Caribbean and Pacific ports, are national property; but from the 1st of January 1905 all the state railways were leased to a syndicate for fifteen years and the steamers for twenty-five years. There are also 20 m. of private railway near the mouth of the Rio Grande, and private steam tramways on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua. Corinto is the headquarters of shipping; it is visited by two-thirds of the 2100 vessels of 550,000 tons (including coasters) which annually enter the ports of the republic. The coasting trade is restricted to vessels under the Nicaraguan flag. At the beginning of the 20th century most of the ocean-going steamers were owned in Germany or the United States; British enterprise being chiefly represented by schooners trading from Jamaica to Bluefields and Greytown. Nicaragua joined the postal union in 1882, and the western provinces have a fairly complete telegraphic and telephonic system.
Industries and Commerce.—The principal agricultural product is coffee, the yield of which increased from 4,528,300 ℔ in 1880 to 11,382,000 ℔ in 1890, and 26,400,000 ℔ in 1900. Coffee is grown principally in the Matagalpa region, on the uplands of the interior. The plantations are chiefly owned and managed by Germans, and the product is of good quality; but coffee-planting, like most Nicaraguan industries, suffers from the scarcity of labour. On the Caribbean coast bananas are cultivated and largely exported to the United States. In 1903 more than 2,000,000 bunches were consigned to New Orleans. The cultivation of cotton has been often attempted, but with little success. Sugar is grown and there are many small sugar factories, but little of the output is exported. The cocoa export is also small; tobacco, rice, beans and other crops are grown for local use. Rubber is collected in the forests, and plantations have been formed. Dye-woods and indigo are exported, but the demand for vegetable dyes has decreased. Cattle-rearing is successfully pursued, live cattle and hides being important articles of export. Cheese and butter are manufactured in large quantities for home consumption. Horses and pigs are also reared, but not sheep. In 1899 the government sold about 52,000 acres of public land lying about 18 m. E. of Lake Nicaragua for the purpose of colonization. The purchaser undertook to introduce settlers from northern Europe, to import cattle for the improvement of the Nicaraguan breed, to plant rubber and vanilla, and to provide schools for agricultural instruction. The sale of Nicaraguan spirits is a state monopoly. From the 1st of January 1904 it was leased to a syndicate of distillers for six years. Gold-mining is carried on along the Caribbean littoral. In 1898 the gold dust and bar exports from Bluefields were of the value of £25,760; in 1900, £62,000; and in 1907, £65,000. Copper, coal, petroleum, silver and precious stones are also found, and there seems little reason to doubt that the mineral resources of Nicaragua, though undeveloped, are nearly as rich as those of Honduras. Other industries include manufactures of leather, boots and shoes, furniture, bricks and pottery, cigars and cigarettes, beer, wine and spirits, candles and soap. The largest and most numerous commercial firms are German, but there are also French, British, and even Chinese establishments, although the immigration of Chinese is prohibited by law. The principal exports are (in order of value) coffee, bananas, gold, rubber, cattle and hides, dye-woods and cabinet woods. The principal imports are cotton and woollen goods, machinery and hardware, flour, beer, wine, spirits and drugs. The United States and Great Britain send respectively 60% and 20% of the imports, receiving 60% and 8% of the exports. The average yearly value of the foreign trade is about £1,200,000—exports, £700,000; imports, £500,000.
Money, Weights and Measures.—There is one bank of issue, the Bank of London and Central America, which has a capital of £260,000 (£130,300 paid). The monetary unit is the silver peso or dollar of 100 cents, which weighs 25 grammes, ·900 fine. The current coin consists largely of Mexican and Central and South American dollars; but little coin is in circulation. The currency is mostly paper, notes being issued directly by the treasury and by the bank. The notes issued by the bank must be covered to the extent of 40% by gold and silver; the actual bank reserve is stated to be from 65 to 100% of the notes issued. The value of the paper peso fluctuates; in 1904 the premium on gold stood at 640%. The value of the silver peso in fractional silver money is about nineteen pence; in a single coin about twenty pence. The exportation of silver pesos is prohibited. In 1899 a nickel coinage was introduced. The metric system of weights and measures was legalized in January 1893.
Finance.—The revenue of the republic is derived mainly from customs duties, liquor, tobacco and slaughter taxes, railways and steamers, the postal and telegraph services, and the gunpowder monopoly. The principal spending departments are those of war and marine, internal development, and finance. The published accounts, however, present no continuous or clear view of the national receipts and disbursements. Revenue and expenditure vary considerably, but neither often falls below £300,000 or rises above £500,000 In 1886 the republic contracted a railway loan in London to the amount of £285,000 at 6% interest, and in July 1894 the interest fell into default. In 1895 an arrangement was made for the reduction of interest to 4%, the beginning of amortization, and the creation of “coffee warrants” to be used in the payment of export duties on coffee assigned for the service of the debt. In the four years 1897–1900 the sales of these warrants amounted to 1,028,990 gold pesos or (at 23d., the average rate for this period) £98,610. In July 1905 the outstanding amount of the debt was £253,600. In 1905 a further loan of 12,500,000 francs (£500,000) was raised in Paris at 5%. The internal debt amounts to about £400,000.
Constitution and Administration.—The former constitution proclaimed on the 4th of July 1894 and amended on the 10th of December 1896, was superseded on the 30th of March 1905, when a new constitution was promulgated. By this instrument the legislative power is vested in a single chamber of 36 members (instead of 40, as under the old constitution), elected by universal male suffrage for six years (instead of two). The executive is entrusted to a president similarly chosen for six years (instead of four) and aided by a cabinet representing the five ministries of foreign affairs and education, finance, internal administration and justice, war and marine, and public works. For administrative purposes the republic is divided into 13 departments and 2 comarcas, each under a political head who acts as military commandant and controls education, finance, &c. The administration of justice is entrusted to numerous courts of first instance, three courts of appeal, and a supreme court. The active army of 4000 men can be increased to 40,000 in war. All able-bodied citizens between the ages of seventeen and fifty-five are compelled to serve one year with the colours and are then enrolled in the reserve. Roman Catholicism is the prevailing creed, but all religions are tolerated, and none receives any endowment or other special privilege from the state. The bishop of Leon, whose diocese is included in the archiepiscopal province of Guatemala, is the spiritual head of the Roman Catholics. There are numerous elementary schools, at which the teaching is free and compulsory, besides ten colleges for secondary or technical education, and two universities.
History.—For a general account of the Spanish administration during the colonial period, i.e. up to 1821, and of the subsequent attempts to unite all the Central American republics in a single
