Digital Guide to the West Indian Diaspora in Central America 01 01 1855 -- Panama - The Spirit of Missions Vol. 79, Nov. 1914, p. 815. Christ Church built for $65,000 at Colon. Built by and for the West Indian labourers on the Panama Railway project. ---------- 05 04 1859 -- Guatemala - AGCA, Relaciones Exteriores, Guatemala, signatura B99- 5- 7 legado 8565 Information concerning British subjects living in Guatemala. Guatemalan born children of British subjects must serve in the Guatemalan armed forces and are not exempt. Apparently the law was decreed 4/01 this same year. This is typed up and appears in a file of documents from 1911. It should be noted that none of the other documents are related. ---------- 31 10 1859 -- Costa Rica - Copy Available - Relaciones Exteriores 9829 Costa Rican government gives Ambrose W. Thompson, a U.S. citizen, permission to build a railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the southern part of the country between the Rio Estrella and the boundary line with the Granadian Federation. He is given land and allowed to bring in colonists who according to Art. 8 must be "gente pacifica e industriosa que conozcan la agricultura y otros trabajos útiles y que llegara á ser ciudadanos de Costa Rica." ---------- 08 05 1860 -- Costa Rica - José María Montealegre elected as president and lasts until May 8, 1863. ---------- 01 05 1862 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Gobernación 23256 Informe sovre Matina, Moin, Costa Atlantica y Talamanca is submitted by Capitán José Antonio Angulo. ---------- 25 09 1862 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 1862, No. 5772 Costa Rica worries about civil war in U.S. and annexationist who are eyeing Central America to increase the number of slave states. Warning to congress about a "situation compromitida y peligrosa... cuando a la raza africana libertada se le dice: a seis dias de distancia. Presentation ends by asking that an immigration law be adopted to preserve the health of the nation. ---------- 25 09 1862 -- Costa Rica - Refer to Congreso 2692 Poder Legislativo initiates law to restrict immigration of people of African descent ("Blacks") and Asians ("Chinese"). ---------- 09 10 1862 -- Costa Rica - Congreso, 5722. Presentation of law to regulate immigration and colonization. See also Congreso 5750 and 5773. 03 11 1862 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Congreso 2692 Law passed to regulate immigration and colonization. See also 09 10 1862. ---------- 03 11 1862 -- Costa Rica - Leyes de Bases y colonizacion, No. 24, 3 de Noviembre, 1862; Collection de leyes y Decretos 1862; 1872. Law on immigration and colonization. See also 09 10 1862 and 03 11 1862. Prohibits non-Eurpoean immigration to Costa Rica. ---------- 29 08 1864 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Fomento 1854 Report of an expedition to Limón, Matina, y Moin. ---------- 09 01 1869 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 8285 Approval and ratification of the contract to create the Compañia del Ferrocarril de Costa Rica. Individuals involved are Eduardo Reilly Alejandro Hay Guillermo H McCartney y David Vickers. ---------- 24 04 1869 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Congreso 8423 - Proposal to import Chinese labourers to Costa Rica. ---------- 01 10 1870 -- Nicaragua - The Spirit of Missions Oct. 1870, p. 559. Vol. 35, Oct. 1870 The Spirit of Missions report on confrontation Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua between Miskito Indians and a Nicaraguan trader. Contained in a letter from a Moravian missionary who ways "three of the Indian brethren from Epharata" were threatened by a trader who told them that "the coast in future would belong to Nicaragua." ---------- 15 11 1871 -- Costa Rica - The first caja de bodega (store) is constructed on the future site of Limón. It was the beginning of the construction of the Atlantic railway by the government of General Tomas Guardia. ---------- 07 12 1871 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Congreso 12519 New Constitution is declared. ---------- 03 11 1873 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 8275 Contract to build railway from Limón to San José then to Herredia and Alajuela is approved between Enrique (Henry) Meiggs and government ---------- 02 12 1873 -- Panama - The Spirit of Missions, Vol 39, July 1874. pp. 441- 443 Rear Admiral Almy reports on Church as Aspinwall. Discusses the difficulty of maintaining the presence of the Episcopal Church in Panama. Asks for the placement of a permanent clergyman at Aspinwall. Also says..."Aspinwall is the terminus and residence of several of the officials of the great Panama Railroad on the Atlantic side, and quite a large number of intelligent mechanics and laborers are located there. A considerable number of Jamaican negroes assist in forming the population of Aspinwall, and I am told that when there is a clergyman there that they take great interest in dressing themselves, and attending Service on the Sabbath. The colored population - be it said to their credit - generally delight in attending Devine Service on the Sabbath." ---------- 02 06 1874 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Relaciones Exteriores 9782 José Bringas, superintendent "de Chinos," submits a report on the number of Chinese labourers in the camps and hospital. Included are also those that have been, sold, fled, or died in the first months of the year. He reports that 5 out of the 8 that died did so as a "de bala" (from bullet wounds). ---------- 04 06 1874 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Congreso 8202 Request by don Juan Echeverria to import Chinese labourers into Costa Rica. ---------- 30 07 1876 -- Costa Rica - Vincente Herrera becomes president and lasts until Sept. 11, 1877. ---------- 11 09 1877 -- Costa Rica - Tomás Guardia becomes president for a second time and dies in office on July 6, 1882. ---------- 10 06 1881 -- Costa Rica - Salvador Lara Zamora becomes acting president and lasts until Jan. 23, 1883. ---------- 17 06 1882 -- Costa Rica - Santurnino Lizano becomes acting president and lasts until July 20, 1882 ---------- 20 07 1882 -- Costa Rica - Próspero Fernández becomes president and lasts until May 12, 1885. ---------- 16 08 1882 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Gobernación 6796 Moises L Maduro a "polaco" from San Thomas renounces his Danish citizenship in order to be accepted by Costa Rica. ---------- 18 07 1883 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 8996 Reform of a clause in the contract between the Costa Rican government and Minor Keith to settle the country's external debt.. ---------- 23 08 1883 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 8895 Minor Keith seeks permission to establish a wharf to export bananas etc. from Limón while he is completing the railway link to San José and arranging the external debt. He gets his wish and it is contained in Decreto No. 1 emitido por la Monorable Comission Permanente agosto 23 de 1883. See also 13/05/84 ---------- 13 05 1884 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 8894 Decreta approving the law No.1 of 23/08/1883. Soto-Keith contract is signed In exchange for assuming the external debt with the British financiers of the first attempt at building the railway, Keith agrees to finish the last 52 miles of the railway within three years. In exchange Keith will also get the railway and 800,000 manzanas, ( one manzana = 1.75 acres), and tax exemption for imports needed to construct and maintain the railway during a period of 99 years. See also 23/08/1883 ---------- 09 07 1884 -- Costa Rica - Congreso 8973 Contract between Keith (Atlas Company) and government to set up a steam ship line between Limón and New York gets approval. ---------- 12 05 1885 -- Costa Rica - Bernardo Soto becomes president and resigns on Nov. 7, 1889. ---------- 08 05 1886 -- Costa Rica - Aniceto Esquivel becomes president and is overthrown on July 30, 1886. ---------- 20 12 1886 -- Costa Rica - Copy available Decreta No.638 de 20/12/1886 Ley de Extranjería y naturalización Law on naturalization. ---------- 27 06 1887 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Colección de Leyes y Decretos 1887 Exime de pago de drechos, los articulos que se introduzcan para obras nacionales, lmunicipales, de beneficencia y culto, y disminuye los derechos de ajuar y objetos de uso personal y profesional de inmigrantes. ---------- 29 06 1887 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Colección de Leyes y Decretos 1887 Contract with Minor Keith to import 2,000 Chinese labourers. ---------- 20 08 1888 -- Costa Rica - Congreso No. 20.952 Decreto approved to allow Keith to build the Ferrocarril al Norte. Referred to in Congreso 20.952 about another contract between Carlos F. Willis and Minor Cooper Keith and Henry Meiggs. Approved in Decreto de 20 de agosto de 1888. ---------- 01 01 1889 -- Costa Rica - Conservative José Joaquín Rodríguez (Constitutional Devocrat) defeats Ascensión Esquivel (Progressive Liberal) and Liberals allow him to take office. Since the election of 1889, Costa Rica has generally had free popular political participation. ---------- 01 01 1889 -- Panama - Maritime Canal Company incorporated in the United States to build Nicaragua Canal; an extensive surveys follows and the French Panama Canal Company goes bankrupt. ---------- 13 05 1889 -- Costa Rica - Copy available - Colección de Leyes y Decretos 1889 Sanciona el decreto que aprueba la ley de extranjeria y naturalización. Proposal for natuarlization law becomes law ---------- 07 11 1889 -- Costa Rica - Carlos Durán becomes president and lasts until May 8, 1890. ---------- 01 01 1890 -- Costa Rica - Conservatives (José Joaquín Rodríguez and Rafael Iglesias) dominate Costa Rica. Iglesias intrigues against Nicaraguan government of José Santos Zelaya. ---------- 08 05 1890 -- Costa Rica - José Joaquín Rodríguez becomes president and lasts until May 8, 1894. ---------- 10 07 1891 -- Costa Rica - Congreso No. 2051 Decreto No. 24 de 10 de Julio de 1891 Contract between Costa Rican government and Sr. Artilio Lazzaro Riatti to bring in colonists who are not from any of the prohibited categories. ---------- 23 07 1891 -- Costa Rica - William Hornell Reynolds and the Costa Rican government sign a contract which is ratified on the 31st of July. This is probably the Cahuita project that was taken over by the Talamanca Colonization Company after it failed.