Colonial Times
A
little over 200 years ago, San Jose was no more than a few muddy
streets around which clustered an assembly of rickety buildings.
In 1737 this little village first gained status, when a thatched
habitation was built to draw residents scattered throughout
the valley. Without drawing too much attention, the first wholesale
influx was comprised of Spanish and Creole smugglers, whom of
which spoke Biesanz et al., "having rebelled against the
royal monopoly of commerce by resorting to contraband, were
punished by being 'exiled' from Cartago," the colonial
capitol city formed by Juan Vasquez de Coronado in 1564. The
newly founded settlement was christened Villa Nueva de la Boca
del Monte del Valle de Abra. Later changed to San Jose, the
name of a local patron saint.
Thanks to the merchants'
bold ways, San Jose flourished and quickly grew to the size
of Cartago. By the 1820's, San Jose and Cartago both had just
over 5,000 inhabitants, Heredia half the amount, and Alajuela
a bit over 1,800. Soon San Jose developed into a lucrative monopoly
in the tobacco trade. Tobacco funds provided a civic building;
near the end of the 18th century, San Jose was crowned with
a Cathedral facing a beautiful park, a currency mint, military
quarters and a town council building.
Independence
In October 1821 news was
passed from Spain to Maceta central; The surprising announcement
was that Costa Rica was an independent country. Soon the counsels
of the four cities sat down to determine their fate, and a constitution-Pacto
de Concordia-inspired from the 1812 Spanish constitution. Alas,
exclaimed historian Carlos Monge Alfaro, early Costa Rica was
not a unified province, rather a "group of villages separated
by narrow regionalisms." Now the four cities felt and performed
as had the city-states of Ancient Greece. The aristocratic and
restrained traditional leaders of Cartago and Heredia, with
their colonial links, favored annexation to a Central American
federation led by Mexico; the progressively more republican
force of San Jose and Alajuela, convinced by the revolutionary
ideas predominant in Europe, argued for independence. A bloody
struggle for regional control soon took place.
On April 5, 1823, the two
sides ensued a battle in the Ochomogo Hills. The republican
forces commanded by a former merchant seaman named Gregorio
Jose Ramirez, won victory and then stormed through Cartago.
In a landmark act that set a precedent to be followed in later
years, the civilian hero Ramirez relinquished power and retired
to his farm, then returned to foil a brilliantly executed army
stratagem.
Thus San Jose became the
nations capitol city. It's growing popularity, however, soon
engendered resentment and discontent. In a conciliatory act
in March of 1835, San Jose's leaders offered to rotate the national
capitol among the four cities every four years. Discontently,
the other cities-including Alajuela-had a thorn in their collective
side. In September 1837 they formed a league, chose a president,
and on September 26, attacked San Jose in an effort to overthrow
the Bauilio Carillo government. The Josefinos won what came
to be called La Guerra de la Liga ("The war of the League").
And so San Jose has remained the nation's capitol ever since.
By the mid 1800's the coffee
industry was bringing a boom in prosperity, culture, and refinement
to the once-humble village. San Jose developed a moderate middle
class hungry to invest its new found wealth for the social good.
The mud roads became brick highways illuminated by kerosene
lamps. Tramways appeared as well. San Jose was the third in
the world to install electric lighting for the public. Well
ahead of other cities throughout Europe and North America san
Jose installed public telephones. By the turn of the century,
plazas and splendid buildings, lined with trees catered to the
flourishing movement-libraries, museums, the Teatro Nacional,
and gran neoclassical mansions and middle-class homes-honored
the city. Aided by the coffee income and influenced by he Paris
and Crystal Palace Expositions architects were erecting great
monuments and schools built of imported prefabricated metals.
Of course, the city wasn't
without slum like suburbs formed of puertas
ventanas, tiny workers' houses occupied by several families.
Industrial zones rose on the perimeter of the urban center.
And there were isolated sections populated by blacks who had
defied segregationist laws and settled in the Meseta Central.
Modern Times
As recently as the 1940's
San Jose still had only 70,000 residents, a mere tenth of the
nations population. After WW II, the capitol city began to mushroom,
growing without constraint, invading neighboring villages such
as Guadalupe and Tibas. Unfortunately, many many of the city's
finest buildings were destroyed by the demolition crane in post
war years. Only to be replaced by monstrous examples of modern
architecture. This haphazard growth continues as the city continues
to grow farther afield until the suburban districts have begun
to meld into the larger complex. Surrounding hills twinkle at
night with the lights of suburban villages that are slowly becoming
part of the city's fold.
Much
of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:
Courtesy
of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.
Spanish Abroad, Inc. highly
recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon
Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to
visit his website where you can purchase this book or find out
more about the author.
