Today in History -
September 15
The
independence of Costa Rica, is a
process that lasted several months,
and even years.
The date of the 15th of September was
adopted by the Central American
Federation 182 years ago, although it
in fact does not agree with the actual
date of the independence of the
country.
From whom and how Costa Rica became
independent is a subject of history
that fills many Costa Ricans with
doubts and confusion. The independence
of Costa Rica was not an single act,
but one of a process.
Let's look at the events as they
unfolded:
Firstly: Chiapas, today belongs to
Mexico, was declared independent by
Spain and called on Guatemala to do
the same. Chiapas was a province as
the rest of the other territories in
Central America.
Secondly:
Guatemala in an open town hall meeting decides
on the 15th of September to declare independent
that piece of land and not of all Central
America, as is commonly mistaken.
The decision is
then communicated to the other provinces. In
Costa Rica, they had no suspicion of what was to
come.
Third: A copy of
the act of independence arrives on the 27th of
September at the provincial capital of Leon, to
which Costa Rica belonged.
Fourth: On the 11th
of October, the province formed by Costa Rica
and Nicaragua is declared independent of Spain,
but dependent of the Empire of Iturbide, Emperor
of Mexico.
Fifth: On the 29th
of October, Costa Rica supports the position of
Leon to separate definitively from Spain,
although Costa Rica is still tied to Mexico.
Thus it wasn't
until the 1st of December when Costa Rica
approved to the Pacto de Concord, Costa Rica's
first constitution.
Costa Rica,
together with Nicaragua, for a period of time
followed the Empire of Iturbide until 1823, when
after the first civil war, an independent
government body was formed and located in San
José and declared itself an independent state.
Costa Rica
belonged to the República Federal
Centroamericana which in 1824, decided to
celebrate the 15th of September as the date of
independence.
Today, September 15, is a national day for the
five Central American countries: Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Panama was not part of the Central American
Federation and though it does not celebrate the
15th of September, it does unite with Costa Rica
in the festivities and joins in the friendly
relations of the two countries.
Man Commits
Suicide After He Tries to Kill Wife
Sunday,
in Cuidad Quesada, west of San José, was the scene of a
suicide, where a 42 year old man tried to kill
his wife, Milagro Rodriguez, but she managed to
get away.
One of their children tried to defend her, but
the fury of the father was so that he hurt the
boy with a knife with a cut to his right hand.
Later, the man decided take his own life it decided to end his own life. According to
neighbors, the man had been a police officers
and had few friends.
Neighbors also told that the threats the man
made against his wife had increased and only a
few days earlier she had denounced him before a
family court, however, had not called on the
police department for protection.
The couple had three children. The woman is
hospitalized and in stable condition.
Cost Rican
authorities find arsenal of illegal weapons,
explosives in home near Nicaraguan border
Police arrested
a government official and two other men on
weapons trafficking charges and discovered a
sizable arsenal of illegal guns and explosives
in a home near the Nicaraguan border,
authorities said Saturday.
The arrests and
weapons seizures came Friday in two towns in
northwestern Gunacaste province, the defense
secretary said in a statement.
The suspects were
only identified by their last names and ages.
They were a 34-year-old man named Anchia, a
53-year-old named Cascante, and a 44-year-old
named Rivas, who worked as a regional
representative for the secretary of health.
Cascante and
Anchia were carrying two shot guns and a pair of
grenades at the time of their arrests at a home
in the border town of La Cruz. Police searching
the residence found 40 Kalashnikovs, 36
grenades, 40 magazines of ammunition and
US$41,000 in cash.
Authorities are
investigating the origin of the weapons and
explosives, but believe they were flown from
Colombia to Nicaragua and then driven across the
Costa Rica border, the statement said.
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