COSTA RICA, FLAG OF

national flag with horizontal stripes of blue, white, red, white, and blue; the version flown by the government incorporates the national coat of arms. Its width-to-length ratio is 3 to 5. Like other parts of the United Provinces of Central America, Costa Rica originally flew the federal flag of blue-white-blue stripes with a coat of arms in the centre. Adopted when Central America freed itself from Mexico in 1823, it drew its design inspiration from the flag of Argentina, one of the earliest Spanish colonies to proclaim independence. Even after the five parts of the federation became independent countries (by 184041), Costa Rica based its flags on the Central American banner, although the 184042 version reversed the stripes to white-blue-white. On September 29, 1848, a distinctive new design was created at the suggestion of Pacfica Fernndez Oreamuno, wife of President Jos Mara Castro Madriz. An admirer of France (the scene of revolution in 1848), she recommended the addition of a red stripe to the flag. Placed in the centre and double the width of the other stripes, this new stripe was to symbolize the civilization of the century and the sun casting on Costa Rica the first rays of its true independence. This basic flag has continued in use since that time. However, the coat of arms that appears on the flag used by the government was altered slightly in 1906 and 1934 and, most recently, on October 21, 1964. Currently the coat of arms contains a scene showing volcanoes on a stretch of land between two seas; a ship sails on each sea, and above are seven stars, representing the provinces of the republic. (See also the flag histories of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.) Whitney Smith History In 1502 Christopher Columbus' fourth Atlantic voyage brought him to the shores of Costa Rica, where he remained for 18 days refitting his ships. Relations with the natives became friendly enough that they brought him a number of items of gold, possibly prompting Columbus to name the land Rich Coast, although there is some dispute over the origin of the name. Other more promising regions forced Spain to neglect the area, however, and the few Spanish colonists clung to the coast for 60 years. In 1564 the Spanish crown established the Meseta Central village of Cartago as the first permanent settlement. Theoretically under the political jurisdiction of the captain general of Guatemala and the spiritual guidance of the bishop of Len in Nicaragua, Costa Rica was ignored by both administrations. The absence of great mines meant the collection of few taxes from the Ticos, as Costa Ricans called themselves; consequently Spain provided little help in developing the infrastructure of the province. Compared with other colonies Costa Rica lacked a large labour force, so essential in the Spanish scheme of conquest. Costa Rican Indians were not numerous, and they resisted capture and disappeared into the forests rather than succumb to the encomienda, Spain's usual system of forced labour. Lacking products for a great overseas market, the Costa Ricans eked out a subsistence economy based on cacao and tobacco. Hence most people were small landowners with a close personal interest in local affairs. Historians often give credit to these developments for the growth of the democratic ideals that have become associated with Costa Rica. It should be noted, however, that some persons who became rich established a small finca- (estate-) based oligarchy which led the nation in the independence era. Independence When Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1821, Costa Rica, with other parts of Central America, joined the short-lived Mexican Empire. In 1823 Costa Rica helped create the United Provinces of Central America but, disenchanted with the strife in the other four states of the federation, severed its ties in 1838. Already a pattern of isolationism had been formed, and in the many attempts to revive the federation the Costa Ricans have invariably shown little interest. From the 1840s a constant stream of oxcarts carried coffee from the Meseta Central to Pacific ports and ships bound for Europe. This trade brought British investment. Farmers with even small acreage could derive an adequate if simple existence, and the ground was laid for a society that demanded schools and roads from its government and found political participation necessary to achieve these goals. Costa Rica's policy of isolationism did not completely save it from foreign troubles. In 1825 the province of Guanacaste seceded from Nicaragua and joined Costa Rica, creating an issue that was contended until the boundary treaty of 1896. Sharing the San Juan River with Nicaragua, Costa Rica also shared some of the canal and filibustering fevers that nearly destroyed its neighbour. Material progress came to Costa Rica during the era of General Toms Guardia, who dominated the nation from 1870 until 1882. His government curtailed liberty and increased the debt, but it also brought increases in coffee and sugar exports as well as widespread construction of schools. A new constitution, adopted in 1871, remained in effect until 1949. The emphasis on agricultural exports strained transportation, and, with mainly British funds, Costa Rica sought to link the Meseta Central with the seaports by railway. The chief promoter was an American, Minor C. Keith, who made a fortune with the opening of his rail line between Cartago and Limn. With vast land grants, Keith then entered the banana business. By the late 19th century, bananas were beginning to rival coffee as the chief source of Costa Rican foreign exchange, especially after Keith's investments were merged with others to form the United Fruit Company in 1899. The last decades of the century were also marked by a gradual decline in Roman Catholic church activity in secular affairs. The Jesuits were expelled for a few years, cemeteries were secularized, and public education was expanded. In 1886 free public education became compulsory; normal schools, a museum, and a national library were founded. Though the government continued to support the church, the constitution of 1871 provided for religious toleration. Strengthening the tradition of democracy for which Costa Rica was to become famed throughout Latin America was the victory in 1890 of President Jos Joaqun Rodrguez in what is considered the first entirely free and honest election in all Central America. The economy Costa Rica is neither rich, as its name (Rich Coast) implies, nor as poor as many of its neighbours. The country's wealth is better distributed among all social classes than elsewhere in Central America. Through the 1980s, the standard of living declined somewhat as a result of economic stagnation and inflation, and Costa Rica lost to Panama its place as the Central American country with the highest per capita gross national product. The government controls key utilities, including electricity, water, telephone, and port and rail facilities, and the entire population is eligible for free medical care, but private enterprise is still strong and influential in policy-making. Repeated efforts to diversify the economy have failed to reduce the traditional dependence on agriculture, but there has been some success at diminishing Costa Rica's reliance on the two traditional export crops, coffee and bananas. Despite stringent efforts to reduce spending, the Costa Rican government operates at a deficit, a condition that increases the country's already large international debt and high rate of inflation. Resources Costa Rica's agricultural land and climate are its most important natural resources. The country has few mineral resources. The most important are yet unexploited bauxite deposits in the General and Coto Brus valleys and copper in the Cordillera de Talamanca. There is manganese on and near the Nicoya Peninsula, gold on the Osa Peninsula and parts of the Pacific slopes, and magnetite on scattered beaches, particularly on the southern Caribbean coastline. Geologic conditions are promising for petroleum in the southern Caribbean coast, but exploration has proved disappointing. Much of Costa Rica's timber reserves were wastefully cleared to make way for pasture or cropland. The best remaining stands of tropical hardwoods are in protected parks and forest reserves. Hydroelectric power has the potential to supply domestic needs with enough surplus for export. The largest facility is the Arenal hydroelectric and irrigation project in Guanacaste, which opened in 1979. The land Relief Two mountain chains together run almost the entire length of Costa Rica. These are, in the north, the Cordillera Volcnica, noted, as the name implies, for its volcanic activity, and, in the south, the Cordillera de Talamanca. The Cordillera Volcnica may be divided into three ranges: from northwest to southeast, the Cordillera de Guanacaste, the Cordillera de Tilarn, and the Cordillera Central. The Cordillera de Talamanca is a massive granite batholith, quite different geologically from the volcanically active northern ranges. Costa Rica's highest point is Mount Chirrip, in the Talamanca system, at 12,533 feet (3,820 metres). Two of the highest peaks in the Cordillera Volcnica, Iraz (11,260 feet) and Pos (8,871 feet), have paved roads reaching to the rims of their active craters. These volcanoes overlook the densely populated upland basin called the Meseta Central (Valle Central), and they pose a serious natural hazard, as do earthquakes for most parts of the country. The Meseta Central is separated into two parts by the continental divide. The eastern part is drained by the Reventazn River to the Caribbean, and the western sector forms part of the basin of the Ro Grande de Trcoles, which flows into the Pacific. Another large structural valley, the Valle del General, lies at the base of the Cordillera de Talamanca in the southern part of the country. To the north and east of the mountainous central spine lie the Caribbean lowlands, about one-fifth of the country and less than 400 feet in altitude. The Pacific lowlands, which contain several small valleys and plains, include only about one-tenth of Costa Rica's territory. Climate Thermal convection and onshore breezes bring abundant rains to the Pacific coast in the wet season, generally May to October in the north and April to December in the south. Northeasterly trade winds on the Caribbean provide ample year-round precipitation. The higher mountain ranges have warm temperate climates, the Pacific slopes having alternatingly wet and dry seasons, while the Caribbean side has year-round rainfall. San Jos's weather records report monthly averages of rainfall from well under 1 inch (25 millimetres) in February to more than 12 inches (300 millimetres) in September, with more than 70 inches (1,800 millimetres) the yearly average. Temperatures vary with altitude, San Jos at 3,760 feet reporting a mean of 69 F (21 C), a nearby station at 7,665 feet reporting a mean of 59 F (15 C), and another at 682 feet reporting a mean of 80 F (27 C). The people Ethnic and religious groups Costa Rica is noted for having the largest percentage of Spanish population in Central America. The Meseta Central, with more than half the nation's population, is the most predominantly Spanish region in both its manner of living and its ancestry. Spanish is spoken with distinctive national accents and usages. In Central America, a Costa Rican is called a Tico, for Costa Ricans replace the diminutive ending -tito with -tico, a practice known elsewhere but uncommon in Central America. The population of Guanacaste provincia, which makes up about 8 percent of the country's total, is a blend of colonial Spanish, Indian, and African peoples; their spoken Spanish is more like that of Nicaragua than that of the Meseta Central. People of African ancestry live mostly in the Caribbean lowland provincia of Limn, which contains overall about 7 percent of Costa Rica's population. They are the descendants of workers brought from the West Indies to build railroads and raise bananas, and most of them speak both Spanish and a Jamaican style of English, the majority being descended from people who came from that island. There are also a substantial number of Chinese, many of whom are also the descendants of imported labourers. Less than 1 percent of Costa Rica's population is Amerindian. The Bribr and Cabcar peoples are the most numerous and inhabit valleys in the Cordillera de Talamanca. The Boruca and Trraba groups live in the hills around the Valle del General. There are also a few hundred Guatuso peoples living on the northern plains in Alajuela provincia. Most of Costa Rica's Indians are rapidly becoming assimilated, but those on the Caribbean side in the southern Talamanca region maintain their separate ways, including their animistic religions. Although Costa Rica's Amerindian groups are legally assigned to protected reserves, the land is infertile, and the Amerindians, most of whom survive through subsistence agriculture, are among the country's poorest people. About 90 percent of Costa Ricans are Roman Catholics. Roman Catholicism is the official religion, and it is supported with a small part of the national budget. Most of the remaining population is Protestant, the majority of whom live in Limn province. A small Jewish congregation resides in San Jos. Demographic trends At the mid-20th century, Costa Rica's population growth rate was among the highest in the world. As general prosperity and urbanization increased, however, the population growth rate decreased, despite a drop in both the general and the infant mortality rates. Life expectancy is substantially longer than for most other Central American nations. European immigration and customs have molded Costa Rican history and influenced its character. However, in the 1980s, immigration of largely mestizo refugees from Nicaragua and other Central American countries and from Cuba became important, representing a growing influence on the character of the country. Costa Rica has also become a mecca for retirees from the United States, tens of thousands of whom now live there.