During the precolombian era, Nicaragua was home to several different groups: the Chorotegas or Mangue, the Nicarao and from Mexico the Maya, the Chibcha and the Mosquitos.

The country was explored by Gil Gonzales Dàvila between 1522 and 1523 and colonized the year after by the Spanish, who founded the towns of Leon and Granada.

In 1822 Nicaragua gained independece from the Spanish dominium through the foundation of the Mexican Empire.

In 1823 Nicaragua became part of the Central America Federal Republic. This Federation ended in 1839 and Nicaragua became a republic, marking the beginning of very hard times. During this period the United Kingdom conquered the Mosquito region in 1840. In 1856 the United States of America gained control of the country by organizing a military intervention from William Walker, self-proclaimed president.

The capital was transferred to Managua with intention to end the controversial fights between Leon and Granada.

Between 1857 and 1893 Nicaragua continued under conservative governments which, with the aid of a good agricultural policy, improved the economic conditions.

The liberal Zelaya, with the aid of the military, dethroned the president Sacasa in 1893, but he was also overthrown by the United State military in 1907, because he didn’t wanted any interference from this country in Central America.

The United States sent its troupes again to Nicaragua at the request of president Diaz, where they remained in the country almost without interruption from 1912 to 1933. The fights began again from the liberals with captain Sandino and finished after the arrival of Moncada at the presidency, with the help of United States.

The presence of military forces grew in the country and a national guard was formed which put in power its leader, Anastasio Somoza, from 1933 to 1956, the year in which he was assassinated.

Somoza governed with a dictatorial power seeking a policy closer to that of U.S.. He was against communism in Central America and he supported some military intervention. His son, Luis Somoza Debayle, was his successor, elected for six more years.

With ups and downs Somoza family kept the power for a long time, meanwhile the Frente Sandinista, that was in opposition to Somoza, grew in all the country.

In 1979 the sandinist were strong enough to control almost the entire country and some capital districts, so Somoza resigned and went to U.S.A..

The first 18 months of the new government was full of social activism, but in the summer of 1982 the situation got worse when the contras (antisandinist and anticommunist formation) put themselves togheter with the Honduras military forces, under the U.S.A. control.

Only with the elections of 25 February 1990 the country gained peace. Contrary to the predictions that gave Daniel Ortega, the sandinist candidate, as the winner, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro won the elections. The sandinist and the contras signed an agreement to stop the guerrilla war.

Since then Nicaragua has democratic elections which have produced the governments of Violeta Chamorro (untill 1997), Arnoldo Aleman (1997-2002), Enrique Bolaños (2002-2006) and the actual of Daniel Ortega (2007-2012).