Journal Article

Cultural geographies of grievance and war: Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast region in the first Sandinista revolution, 1926—1934

Schroeder, Michael J.

2012

Overview

From late 1926 to early 1934, the Nicaraguan nationalist leader General Augusto C. Sandino (1895—1934) sought to bridge a historical cultural boundary by bringing his social revolutionary project from the region of Las Segovias in Western Nicaragua to the country's Atlantic Coast region. This article examines these efforts and the reception of the peoples of the Atlantic Coast (Costeños) to Sandino's rebellion against US intervention in Nicaragua and Latin America. Intervening in a series of debates stretching back to the 1980s and before, the author consults a wide range of primary sources to argue that a critical mass of Costeños rejected Sandino's brand of Nicaraguan nationalism in favor of their own forms of historically rooted struggle meant to enhance their communities' autonomy, independence, power, and dignity in the face of multiple internal and external threats and opportunities. The responses of Miskitu Indians and Spanish-speaking wage laborers receive special attention, as do regional variations in political economies and sociocultural geographies. The essay builds on recent scholarship emphasizing the cultural and historical agency of Costeños in shaping their own history and is published in tandem with an online documentary and interpretive annex offering open access to over 2,000 digital images of nearly 1,000 primary documents from archives and repositories in the United States, Nicaragua, and Great Britain, at www.Sandino Rebellion.com.

• Publisher: Springer,Springer Netherlands,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: 20th century / America / Anthropology / Anti-imperialism / Autonomy / Borderlands / Brands / Civil war / Communities / Costeños / Creoles / Cultural anthropology / Cultural identity / Culture / Discourse / Electronic publishing / Ethnology / Geographic regions / Geography / Human dignity / Human geography / Independence / Indigenous populations / Internet / Latin American history / Local communities / Marine Corps / Miskito / Nationalism / Nationalist movements / Nationalists / Nicaragua / Political Economy / Political revolutions / Politics / Rebellion / Regional differences / Regional politics / Regions / Revolutions / Sandino, Augusto C / Sandino, Augusto Cesar (1893-1934) / Scholarships / Social relations. Intercultural and interethnic relations. Collective identity / Social Sciences / Social structure and social relations / Sociocultural Factors / Socioeconomic status / Spanish language / Threat / United States of America / Verbal aggression / War