W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects Fall 2016 The Myth of Unity: The Contra War, 1980–1990 Benjamin Wyatt Medina College of William and Mary - Arts & Sciences,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Medina, Benjamin Wyatt, "The Myth of Unity: The Contra War, 1980–1990" (2016). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1499449841. http://doi.org/10.21220/S2N65X This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Myth of Unity: The Contra War, 1980–1990 Benjamin Wyatt Medina Atlanta, Georgia Bachelor of Arts, University of Georgia, 2008 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts Lyon G. Tyler Department of History The College of William and Mary January 2017 © Copyright by Benjamin W. Medina 2016 ABSTRACT This research focuses on the anti-Sandinista forces popularly known as the "contras" who operated in Nicaragua from 1980 to 1990, in particular the Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense (FDN), the Alianza Revolucionaria Democrática (ARDE), and the two main Atlantic Coast contra groups: MISURA (Miskito Sumu and Rama Indians of the Atlantic Coast) and MISURASATA (Miskito, Sumu, Rama, Sandinista Aslatakanta [Working Together]). This thesis looks at the different ways these contra groups viewed their conflict and explained it to national and international audiences, as well as to those within the anti-Sandinista movement.