Battle of Santa Rosa 1856
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 March 1856 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1856 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Costa Rica | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| Coordinates | 10.8348, -85.6124 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
In the 19th century, Nicaragua was beset by political issues among liberals and conservatives, allowing William Walker, an American Southerner seeking to establish English-speaking slavery states in Latin America, to ascend to the Nicaraguan presidency.
Walker believed in the doctrine of manifest destiny, and established himself in Nicaragua in the guise of offering help to liberals , but his real intentions were to conquer the five provinces of Central America, a manifesto he titled "Five or None." This territory claimed by Nicaragua was part of Costa Rica, creating a territorial issue that, together with the fear of an all-out invasion of the region, led to the Filibuster War or Campaña Nacional between both countries from 1855 to 1857.
In Costa Rica, Juan Rafael Mora Porras, the president, was urged and backed by the British, saw the danger of Walker's intentions and on 27 February 1856 declared war on Nicaragua and called on all Costa Ricans to join forces and fight, a call that was heeded.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Santa Rosa (revision 1374695446), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Second Battle of Rivas 1856 · 71 km
- Battle for Río San Juan de Nicaragua 1762 · 134 km
- Battle of Coyotepe Hill 1912 · 139 km
- Battle of La Flor 1928 · 287 km
- Battle of Ocotal 1927 · 325 km
Browse more: battles in Costa Rica · North America · 19th century battles