Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, IPA: ), is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.

History of Costa Rica

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In Pre-Columbian times the Indigenous people in what is now known as Costa Rica were part of the Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been updated to include the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian area in the south-Atlantic region of the country, defined by the presence of groups that spoke Chibchan languages. It is still unknown if any of these groups created the famous stone spheres of Costa Rica, between 200 BC and AD 1600.

Conquest

The country was visited by Christopher Columbus in 1502, during his fourth expedition. He arrived at Cariay, in front of the Quiribrí island (present day Isla Uvita). The subsequent conquest and colonization of the area was complicated by its distance and the fierce indigenous resistance, however it paled in comparison to the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

More on [ Costa Rica ]

Americas - International Herald Tribune

McCain vows to end 'partisan rancor'
By ADAM NAGOURNEY AND MICHAEL COOPER Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
John McCain sought to move from a convention marked by an effort to reassure the party base to an appeal to a broader electorate.
At McCain's convention, big money still talks
By Michael Luo Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:29:59 -0000
For all of John McCain's efforts to purge big money from politics, large donors still wielded sizable influence over the RNC.
McCain's challenge: To cast Republican ticket as anti-establishment
By PETER BAKER Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
As John McCain accepted the Republican Party's nomination, he sounded a rousing insurgent's call to topple the establishment - except that he and his party head the establishment.
Foreign policy factions vie for McCain's heart
By David E. Sanger Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:31:37 -0000
Hidden from view during much of the Republican convention here, a fierce struggle has been under way to mold the foreign-policy approach of John McCain.
To counter Palin, Obama to dispatch female surrogates
By PATRICK HEALY AND JEFF ZELENY Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
With the McCain-Palin team courting female voters, the Obama camp plans to deploy prominent Democratic women.
Canada to hold early elections
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:25:25 -0000
Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada plans to dissolve Parliament on Sunday and call early elections in hopes of strengthening his minority government's hold on power.

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