Costa Rica History

Costa Rica was discovered in 1502 by Christopher Columbus and was given its name meaning “the rich coast.” Until 1821, Costa Rica remained a Spanish colony. Costa Rica then joined the Mexican Empire and then the Latin American Federation before finally gaining its own independence in 1838.

Costa Rica is a unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house. It is a democracy and the longest- running one in Latin America. For the past half of a decade, Costa Rica has had two major political party systems, the National Liberation Party (PLN) and the conservative Unity Social Christian Party (PUSC). Costa Rica is a very peaceful county and has been that way since 1899.     Return to Home Page