San Juan de Nicaragua,formerly known asSan Juan del NorteorGreytown,[1]is a town andmunicipalityin theRío San Juan DepartmentofNicaragua.
San Juan de Nicaragua
San Juan del Norte | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
 | |
  San Juan de Nicaragua Location in Nicaragua  San Juan de Nicaragua Location in Central America | |
| Coordinates:10°55′N83°42′W/ 10.917°N 83.700°W | |
| Country |  Nicaragua |
| Department | Río San Juan |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 640 sq mi (1,657 km2) |
| Population (2005) | |
• Municipality | 1,307 |
| • Density | 2.0/sq mi (0.79/km2) |
| •Urban | 985 |
History
editSan Juan del Norte was founded by theSpanishand was a small fort andcustomsstation. Spanish explorers first reached the bay at the mouth of the San Juan River on 24 June (feast dayof SaintJohn the Baptist) 1539 and named itSan Juan del Norte(St. John of the North). Agarrisonwas first established in 1541 asSan Juan de la Cruzby Nicaraguan governor Rodrigo Contreras.
In 1707 and again in 1762, the area was captured by an alliance ofMiskitos,Zambos(Afro-Indians), andEnglish.After 1762, settlement of the area began and a 1778 commercial treaty permitted residency of Spaniards. The eastern coast of Nicaragua had long fallen underBritishinfluence with theMosquito Coastbeing a protectorate from 1740 but the Spanish asserted control over San Juan del Norte after the1786 Convention of London.The town was declared afree portby the Spanish but the Spanish were ousted in 1821 with the independence ofCentral America.
In 1841, the town was occupied by the Miskitos withBritishassistance and, in 1848, the town was occupied directly by the British. It was rechristenedGreytownafter the thenJamaicanGovernorCharles Edward Greyand nominally ceded to theMiskito Kingdom,a Britishprotectorateto the north.
A year later, the town began rapid growth as the eastern terminus of a transport operation owned byAmericanCornelius Vanderbilt'sAccessory Transit Companythat carried thousands of travelers each month from theAtlanticto the Pacific side ofCentral Americaon their way toSan Franciscoduring theCalifornia Gold Rush.Sail and steam-ships traveled fromNew York CityandNew Orleansin theUnited Statesto Greytown. From there, small boats transported passengers up the San Juan River and across Lake Nicaragua. Then, mules, horses, orstagecoachescarried them over the smallisthmusbetween the lake andSan Juan del Sur,Rivason the Pacific where they would embark on ships traveling the coast betweenPanamaand Nicaragua andCalifornia.
However, the town's prosperity was cut short when, on 13 July 1854, theUnited States NavysloopUSSCyanebombardedand totally burned the town, supposedly in retaliation for local actions against American citizens. The action was a culmination of a confrontation between Americans and the townspeople over tariffs and control of transit routes. The destruction was reported around the world, including an illustration in theIllustrated London News.[2]Soon after, the San Juan River changed course and the town was again destroyed.
Greytown was rebuilt after its destruction and, in 1855, the AmericanfilibusterWilliam Walkerinstalled himself asPresident of Nicaraguaand took control of the Accessory Transit Company's assets and revoked its charter. He himself was ousted in 1857 by elements backed by Vanderbilt. Walker and his followers attempted to retake Nicaragua in November 1857, when they entered Greytown harbor and camped at nearby Puntas Arenas. However,U.S. Marinessoon surrounded the forces and captured Walker.
Vanderbilt then ceased operation of the transit service in exchange for a stipend from the rivalPacific Mail Steamship Companyand theUnited States Mail Steamship Company,which operated similar routes across Panama. As a result, Greytown reverted to backwater status and remained a small settlement into the 20th century.
The town was legally placed under the sovereignty of Nicaragua and removed from Miskito control in 1860 but remainedde factounder British protection through much of the remainder of the century. In 1894, Nicaraguan PresidentJosé Santos Zelayafully incorporated the region into the state, at which time Greytown had 1482 inhabitants.
In 1984, Greytown was attacked again during theSandinista–Contraconflict in which a US helicopter, while supporting the Contras, fired on the town on 9 April 1984.[3]
A new town was built a few kilometers to the northwest and is called both New Greytown and Nuevo San Juan del Norte.
In 2002, the municipality of San Juan del Norte was officially renamedSan Juan de Nicaraguaand its capital renamedGraytown[sic] by theNational Assembly of Nicaragua.[4]
Geography
editSan Juan de Nicaragua lies on Nicaragua'sCaribbeancoast just to the south of theMosquito Coastnear the border withCosta Rica.It is located at the mouth of theSan Juan Riverwhich flows east fromLake Nicaraguaand is along the route of various proposals for aNicaragua Canalto thePacific Ocean.
The town's geography is influenced by the San Juan Riverdeltawith volcanic sediment deposits from Costa Rican volcanoes interacting with ocean currents and winds. This action fills the town's harbor with shiftingsandbarsandspits.
Climate
editSan Juan de Nicaragua has a very wettropical rainforest climate(KöppenAf) with heavy rainfall from February to April and very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the remaining months. It is the wettest place in Nicaragua, and its annual rainfall of around 5,700 millimetres or 220 inches rivalsWhittierorLittle Port Walterin theAlaska Panhandleas the wettest inhabited place in North and Central America.
| Climate data for Greytown | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.6 (85.3) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.2 (86.4) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.1 (86.2) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
30.3 (86.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.4 (77.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.4 (81.3) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.3 (79.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.8 (78.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.1 (77.2) |
26.2 (79.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21.3 (70.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
22.6 (72.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.3 (73.9) |
22.6 (72.7) |
23.1 (73.6) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.0 (71.6) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.3 (72.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 454 (17.9) |
237 (9.3) |
139 (5.5) |
200 (7.9) |
372 (14.6) |
559 (22.0) |
785 (30.9) |
599 (23.6) |
384 (15.1) |
482 (19.0) |
764 (30.1) |
695 (27.4) |
5,670 (223.3) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[5] | |||||||||||||
Population
editAs with theMosquito Coastto the north, Greytown has a large population of speakers of English-basedMosquito Coast Creolewho are ofAfricandescent.
Popular culture
edit- W. Douglas Burdendescribes the town in hisLook to the Wilderness.[6]
Notes
edit- ^Baynes, T. S.; Smith, W. R., eds. (1880)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 11 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 194.
- ^3D Modeling of Greytown, Nicaragua,archived fromthe originalon 2016-09-22
- ^"CASE CONCERNING MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY ACTIVITIES IN AND AGAINST NICARAGUA (Nicaragua v. United States of America)"(PDF).The Hague: International Court of Justice. 1986-06-27.Retrieved2014-01-01.
- ^Sánchez, Edwin (2006-03-03)."Alcalde de San Juan del Norte: 'Nos dieron el Gacetazo'".El Nuevo Diario(in Spanish). Managua. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-07-06.
De acuerdo con La Gaceta del viernes 9 de agosto de 2002, yo debería fechar este despacho desde "Graytown", y no Greytown como los británicos rebautizaron a San Juan del Norte, porque para efectos oficiales no hay un poblado siquiera con este nombre.
- ^"Climate: Greytown".Climate-Data.org.RetrievedJuly 27,2020.
- ^Burden, W. Douglas (1956).Look to the Wilderness.Boston: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 197–245.
References
edit- Peter H. Dana and Shannon Crum.3D Modeling of Greytown, Nicaragua.The Geographer's Craft Project, Department of Geography, The University of Colorado at Boulder. 1995.
- History of the San Juan Riverat Rio Indio Lodge website
External links
edit
- Plan map and Panoramic Views of Greytownfrom the 19th century including the burning of Greytown in 1854