ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the Nicaraguan Revolution and describes US involvement during the nineteenth century when there was interest in building a canal through Nicaragua to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This strategic concern along with business interests explains why the US repeatedly intervened militarily in Nicaragua. Opposing one such intervention, Augusto César Sandino fought US marines between 1926 and 1933. After a peace agreement, Sandino was treacherously murdered by members of Nicaragua’s National Guard, a military force US advisors had helped create. The National Guard played a major role in keeping the Somoza family in power for decades. In the early 1960s, Carlos Fonseca and others began a movement named after Sandino to oust the Somoza dictatorship and accomplish revolutionary change, the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN). The chapter depicts the major events of the revolution and the prominent role of women. Factors that contributed to FSLN victory are explained as well as why the Reagan administration began the internationally condemned contra war against the revolutionary government. The chapter describes later developments, including the country’s relationships with Cuba and Venezuela, and how a prominent Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega, succeeded in winning multiple presidential terms. Ongoing social conflict is also explained.
