Local History

Generally, it is accepted that the origin of the city of Bluefields is connected with the presence on the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast of European pirates, subjects of powers at the time hostile to Spain. These pirates used the Escondido River to rest, to repair damages and to be provisioned. By then, the territory of the present municipality was populated by the native towns of Kukra and Branch. In the early 1600's, one of these soldiers of fortune chose the bay of Bluefields as his center of operations due to its tactical advantages, a Dutchman named Abraham Blauveldt, and from him originates the name of the municipality.

Consensus exists that the black Africans first appeared in the Caribbean coast in 1641, when a Portuguese ship that transported slaves wrecked in the Miskito Cays. From the original settlement the bay began to be populated; the British subjects burst in 1633 and from 1666 already they were organized into colonies, and by 1705 there were authorities already constituted. In 1730 the colony of Bluefields passed to depend on the British government of Jamaica. For this, the alliance of the English Miskito ethnic group was decisive, and the British provided them with armaments that allowed them to subdue to the other ethnic groups of the Caribbean coast, the Sumu and Rama.

In 1740 the Miskitos yielded to England the sovereignty on the territory, and for 1744 the transfer of English colonists was organized from Jamaica toward the Mosquito Coast; they brought along with them black slaves. French citizens were also installed. The area was a British Protectorate until 1796, when England recognized the sovereignty of Spain on the Mosquito Coast; the English subjects also abandoned the islands, but the Spaniards did not take firm positions in them.

The Moravian Church was installed in 1847, and in 1860 the Miskito Reserve was created in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, by an agreement between the British and American governments in which Nicaragua as a country did not have part, and the English crown intervened again putting it under its protection. The city of Bluefields was declared capital of that Reserve.

On the other hand, slaves originating in Jamaica that sought freedom on the Nicaraguan coast continued arriving during the greater part of the 19th century.

The plan of 'Europeanization' of the natives was completed by the 1880s, when English and Americans expanded the production of banana and wood, creating an enclave economy; by the sum of these factors for 1880 Bluefields was already a city of cosmopolitan character, with an intense commercial activity.

Economic growth also brought a marked process of social differentiation, by which the races and ethnic groups were distributed spatially and in terms of work: in the dome the white population represented the interests of the foreign businesses; the mulattoes worked as artisans and in working class occupations; the blacks had their niche in physical work, and the native population were employed as servants and for other smaller works. In 1894 the government of Nicaragua incorporated the Miskito Reserve into the national territory, extinguishing the Miskito monarchy and on October 11, 1903 Bluefields was proclaimed capital of the Department of Zelaya.

Zelaya was eventually divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions (RAAN and RAAS, respectively) of Nicaragua. Bluefields is now the capital of R.A.A.S in Nicaragua and has a population of 45,547 (2005). Its inhabitants are mostly Mestizo, Miskito, Creole, along with smaller communities of Garifuna, Chinese, Sumu, and Ramas. Bluefields is Nicaragua's chief Caribbean port, hence hardwood, seafood, shrimp and lobster, are exported. During United States interventions (1912-15, 1926-33) in Nicaragua, Marines were stationed here. In 1984, the United States mined the harbor (along with those of Corinto and Puerto Sandino). Bluefields was destroyed by Hurricane Joan in 1988 but has since been rebuilt.

The biggest cultural festival of Bluefields is the Palo de Mayo celebration, which takes a whole month. In line with ancient English practice, the festival starts the first of May to celebrate arrival of spring.

The Palo de Mayo festival originated in the nineteenth century. The black population (immigrants from the British Antilles, especially from Jamaica) took over a European custom and mixed this with their rhythm and dances, thus creating a unique cultural expression full of energy and colors. Fundamentally, the dancers dance around a pole, twisting colored ribbons while moving their bodies.

The San Jeronimo Festival is another local custom celebrated near the end of September. In a parade featuring local musicians, baseball teams and firetrucks, the men dress up as large women with over-exaggerated bosoms and behinds. They are chased and teased by children dressed as little red devils, who only leave them alone after receiving a treat. It is quite the colorful scene.