Brief Political History of Costa Rica

This video explores the basics of Costa Rican history and politics to explain why Costa Rica is one of the richest and most stable countries in Latin America despite having begun as poor backwater in the Spanish Empire. It begins with Columbus third voyage and ends with the Presidency of Carlos Alvarado, it covers the 1948 civil war, the rule of the PLN and the development of the coffee industry.
Seligson, Mitchell A. (2017) "Costa Rica" Latin American Politics and Development Ed. by Harvey Kline, Christine Wade and Howard Wiarda. New York: Routledge Press.

[@elliottprats1910]

I just landed yesterday and will be here for 90 days and was interested in the history of Costa Rica - that was a good, quick, and precise overview.

[@elliottprats1910]

BySketch Your wife wants me to stay so I extended another 90 days last week, don’t worry I’ll send her home eventually.

[@farberam]

I went there to surf a few years back and totally fell in love with the country and daily plates of casado, can't wait to go back. this video really helped clue me into some deeper understandings about the country. thanks!

Costa Rica is a fantastic place. Thanks for watching.

[@johngergen4871]

Best clear, brief history I have yet viewed.

[@iverjosjq8540]

Thanks a lot for making this video pardner, my country is rich in it's history, however since many can't even localize is in a map because they confuse us with Puerto Rico so often most people ain't interested in it.

That must be so annoying, especially since they have so little in common.

[@iverjosjq8540]

@ Well, it is what it is, but at least it makes it more special when people pay interest into our country, just like you, or when somebody praises us per example.

[@edutours-costarica5256]

Congratulations, one of the best videos that I saw about my beautiful Costa Rica!!! RECCOMENDED

Thank you for the kind words!

[@kameronbrothers]

Much respect for the work you put into creating great videos!

[@NG-fq5lf]

Very educational, thank you so much for posting

[@xiangleightak]

WOW! This was amazing. Thank you

[@George-nt8uw]

Thank you. This is the best video on the history of Costa Rica. I especially thank you for taking more that 42 seconds in which to present it. You have my respect!

thank you George, I appreciate the kind words.

[@sarasuarez5529]

Gracias amigo para la información. no he vivido en Costa Rica desde que tuvo como nueve años y sólo lo que quiero hacer es aprender más de mí patrimonoa

[@mejsjalv]

En Costa Rica pronunciamos Cartago con el acento en la sílaba TA, probablemente al contrario de la mayoría de localidades que se llaman igual alrededor del mundo.

Así es. Por eso me confundí. Gracias por el dato.

[@Headies111242]

Mucha gracias mi amigo. This is excellent and immensely informative.

[@Headies111242]

As a teacher, the use of clear and concise language coupled with visuals was perfect.

[@chaseofori-atta2225]

Good overview of politics in Costa Rica!

[@thomass2935]

What a great video!! Thank you so much!

thank you for watching!

[@Atlasss97]

Fantastic video man

[@joules_sw]

Very precise

[@TheSmoothToad]

Think you shouldn’t brush over Juan SantaMaria can’t leave him out he’s this country’s hero. and the second battle of Rivas. Other than that great video

[@anyms2]

My grandfather ( Costa Rician) Left my pregnant grandmother (Pureto Rician) in NYC in 1931. My father never met his father, but was raised by a man from Spain living in NYC who was taken with my grandmother' beauty, and had two additional children, my aunts, in the late thirties before moving to California with her. I have a lost heritage. I still have no idea who my gandfather is/was, nor his family.

[@TheOGJeff]

How does that black marker put down color? LOL (I know, but it's funny)

[@Geo.StoryMaps]

Imagine the marker changes color everytime he writes a different color, It'd be changing so fast

[@charliebarcampos776]

BRAVO MUY BIEN HECHO.

[@rufusdavies379]

This is a brilliant resource, thank you. Where do you get your sources?

[@Ajre-qv2ms]

Nice

[@Dsaysalot]

Do you have any book recommendations about Costa Rican history? This video was a great introduction, would love to broaden that knowledge!

[@Dsaysalot]

From the Costa Rican perspective ideally! Any period of time. Maybe some of your personal favorites

@@Dsaysalot there are very few histories of Costa Rica in English that cover the country as such. (most look at it in relationship to Central America). Two good ones, however are the Costa Rica reader which is part of a series www.amazon.com/Costa-Rica-Reader-History-Politics/dp/0822333724/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP4OU22GWLCH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zQwyRwqRa-kHfPFq9R8IOLStSN_6i8xodMZwHHtTRBLICWnw_miGkYOF7yU8ZZkRIpKfiGjbf3Il70WLqTwE2p0yKkDJfN6DA5bi2-3pJzCZI83oMignTmoFhN5op7Bw_UrjpePcFaXNCYhaGeF0CLBnRRPe9snkLYHdy8vLK7W084uHtLG9vZwqANhbF-fXorcdSX4pTYtCsr68WajPxvVFZU2tw8Zmt90QRPGThtk.OOhXRJisYt1gx9vrHQvVhKoGSvtPxacJg-VKGaLP6vg&dib_tag=se&keywords=history+of+costa+rica&qid=1725320092&sprefix=history+of+costa+rica%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1 and this one that just came out: www.amazon.com/Costa-Rica-Reader-History-Politics/dp/0822333724/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP4OU22GWLCH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zQwyRwqRa-kHfPFq9R8IOLStSN_6i8xodMZwHHtTRBLICWnw_miGkYOF7yU8ZZkRIpKfiGjbf3Il70WLqTwE2p0yKkDJfN6DA5bi2-3pJzCZI83oMignTmoFhN5op7Bw_UrjpePcFaXNCYhaGeF0CLBnRRPe9snkLYHdy8vLK7W084uHtLG9vZwqANhbF-fXorcdSX4pTYtCsr68WajPxvVFZU2tw8Zmt90QRPGThtk.OOhXRJisYt1gx9vrHQvVhKoGSvtPxacJg-VKGaLP6vg&dib_tag=se&keywords=history+of+costa+rica&qid=1725320092&sprefix=history+of+costa+rica%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1

[@joules_sw]

​@@Dsaysalot "La isla de los hombres solos", "mamita yunai"

[@BibleSamurai]

howd all them jamaicans end up in the SE. Heard they were not allowed else where in the country or learn spanish.

[@TheNapoleonComplex1]

Did anything happen before 1492 in Costa Rica?

When I was doing these for my classes, because of time, I concentrated on colonization on. Subsequent ones include pre-columbian events.

[@TheNapoleonComplex1]

@ thanks! I'm visiting soon and want to try to see history as far back as possible

[@luisrvazquez3461]

Wars, conquests and expansion. My native ancestries, Cholultecas, came from Cholula, modern Central Mexico, took Guanacaste area and they were fighting against Huetares, going to Central Valley, when Vázquez de Coronado appeared and they joined peaceably. .

[@I_am_somebody_1234]

The Chorotegas and Huetares ruled the majority of CR, with the Malekus controling the north and the Cabécares ruling the south. Overall, a very different time, before Columbus arrived

[@multi-colorzart]

i dont know if you know but its pronounced cartAgo, not cártago

[@multi-colorzart]

great video though

I found about it too late. I thought it was pronounced like the city of Carthage. I was wrong.

[@mgd6087]

Car Tah go

[@OGMagnum]

my great great grandfather was Braulio Carrillo ‼️👍🏽

Really? Do you know much about him other than what is in the standard history books?

[@joules_sw]

Wtf that's really cool!

[@OGMagnum]

I don’t know much, unfortunately…

[@joules_sw]

@@OGMagnum mi abuelo era de segundo apellido Matamoros, que fueron unos cruzados que ayudaron a la reconquista de Iberia y la formación de España. Era gente muy brava para pelear con machete, seguro por esa misma costumbre guerrista. Menos mal yo no tengo ese apellido porque capaz alguien se ofende (como todo ahora🤣)

[@barca29np]

​@@joules_swquien te preguntó?

[@luisrvazquez3461]

Guanacaste was a Party of Nicoya, and Spanish separated entity,then they decided to join CR and not continue but they own. The map is wrong, peninsula of Nicoya joined too

[@andresdelvalle8387]

Costa Rica seems to be the ultimate central america's underdog

[@I_am_somebody_1234]

You skipped a very crucial part though, the depression of 1980. In it, CR failed to pay its debts (accumulated from the oil shocks in 1973 and 1979) and the currency imploded. It was a very important but ignored part of our country, since it directly lead to the consolidation of the 2 party system and the kickstart of the Industrial sector in CR, which is one of the main exports of Costa Rica (specially the manufacture of medical equipment, such as needles, which also explains why CR has such a good health system). Still, very good video!

[@alejandroangulo327]

Esas ruinas son las de Orosi No se confundan con "las ruinas de cartago" que estan al centro de la ciudad Es otra historia diferente

[@valeriolarissa4030]

7:19

[@windynate1826]

poor in spanish times = not exploited much = rich today rich in spanish times = exploited a lot = poor today this is how latin america works

To some extent yes. But Honduras, Paraguay, the DR and Nicaragua were equivalent backwaters and are much poorer than Costa Rica. Mexico on the other hand was the opposite and is much richer than any of those countries and richer than Peru and Bolivia too.

[@cord_x8364]

How is Costa Rica now? Hight tensions with Nicaragua and the new president is BAD

[@I_am_somebody_1234]

Nicaragua is a fuckfest but yeah that is not breaking news. Tho, yeah, our current political situation is kinda fucked since we have 6 mayor parties now and agreements betweeen them are hard to archieve

[@elliottprats1910]

One thing I think that’s odd here is citizens can only drive about every other day, it goes by license plate numbers. And this isn’t a Covid restriction activity either this was being done long before Covid according to everybody I’ve spoken to. That’s a pretty large infringement of personal liberty if you ask me, but then I’m an American from Texas so I’m used to having alot of freedoms.

[@erickr.8977]

It's to help the environment, If you look closely about the culture and surroundings of the country you would see helping, Preserving and saving the environment (Earth) is a big part of the country. I mean more than half of Costa Rica is Rainforest and it does hold more than 6% of the WOLRDS biodiversity in its borders. In my Opinion as a Costa Rican American the US should do this as well, I mean it doesn't hurt to ride a Bike or something else once or twice a week. People would also be helping the environment out as well.

[@Andreych95]

Its a vehicular restriction, too much trafic (ignore the other guy, it has nothing to do with traffic)

[@NG-fq5lf]

It is to help the environment, then again what does a texan knows about helping the environment. Here in the United States we don’t give 2 cents about the overall well-being of the planet

[@thechadwick01]

This is only in San jose the capitol because there is too much traffic and the roads and infrastructure is horrible.

[@mgd6087]

You must be under 60 years old. The U.S. had days when you could only fill up your tank on even or odd days according to your license plate #.

[@valeriolarissa4030]

5:45

[@valeriolarissa4030]

5:48