Siuna’s History, Nicaragua, period 1905-2009

Abstract

This article presents the narrative version of the history of three periods of the mining town of Siuna, beginning with the discovery of gold at the end of the nineteenth century, following with the era of the North American companies that controlled the mine (1905-1979), and it concluded with the Sandinista revolution, the civil war of the eighties, and the postwar period. The story is based on the revision of literature, archival research and interviews with community members, which was conducted with a cross-section study from 2008-2009. The research concludes that despite its isolation, Siuna, due to its gold, has played an important role in Nicaragua’s history, although it is not well recognized.