an additional premium of $1 on each 100 pounds of fiber which they may obtain. They are also entitled to $3 for each 100 pounds of fiber exported by them. Machinery and implements of all kinds to be used for the disintegration of these two plants and the proper preparation of the fiber thereof, are admitted free, and are exempted also from taxes and local charges. The expenses of transportation of said machinery and implements are paid by the Government. (Law of March 13, 1883.) Chapter XIV. HISTORICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. The history of Nicaragua may be divided naturally into three different periods, namely: 1. The Colonial period, from the discovery (1502) to the proclamation of independence from Spain and the formation of the Central American Confederation (1821). 2. The Federal period, from 1821 to 1848, in which year the Central American Confederation ceased to exist. 3. The period of the Republic, from 1848 to the present time. Colonial Period.-The most prominent figure in the subjugation of the territory called Nicaragua was Gil Gonzalez de Avila, who found the country under the rule of a cacique, named Nicarao. The latter's capital was situated on the shore of the great lake, then called Cocibolca, near the site of the present city of Rivas. The Spaniards named this lake Nicarao-agua, or water of Nicarao. The name Nicaragua was thus created, and it has since been bestowed on the whole Republic. The history of the long Spanish rule in Nicaragua is more or or less the same as in all the other countries in America which belonged to Spain, and need not be repeated here. Federal Period. On the 15th of September, 1821, Guatemala, to which Nicaragua had been attached as a province, proclaimed its independence from Spain. This movement was followed by Nicaragua and the other provinces, and the Central American Confederation was formed. But this federation did not live long. Nicaragua and Honduras withdrew from the Union and proclaimed themselves "free and sovereign states," and when Gen. Morazon, the great advocate of the federation, died in 1840, the cause of the Union was lost. Though efforts have been made from time to time to reunite the Central American Republics, all have failed, and Nicaragua has continued to control its own gov ernment. Period of the Republic. This period witnessed the British invasion of 1847, the "filibustering" expedition of William Walker in 1855, the settlement of the question of limits with Costa Rica by the treaty of April 15, 1858, and the award of President Cleveland who declared it valid, and the initiation of the great work of the interoceanic canal. In spite of occasional political troubles, the progress of Nicaragua has been uninterrupted and rapid. Public attention is absorbed by the important enterprise of the interoceanic canal. The entire civilized world has joined Nicaragua in her expectations in regard to this work, and it is hoped that, through it, she will attain an extraordinary position of prosperity and power, to which she was evidently predestined by nature, as a great highway of nations and a gateway of the world's commerce. The following list of books on Nicaragua can be consulted with profit by those who may wish to be informed, from reliable sources, in regard to that country: NICARAGUAN OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Mensaje que S. E. el Señor General Presidente, Doctor Don Roberto Sacasa dirige al Congreso de la República, January 4, 1893. Informe presentado al Honorable Señor Ministro de la Gobernación por el Director-General de Correos y Telégrafos. 1889-'90. Informe de la Comisión Nicaragüense en la Exposición Histórica Americana de Madrid. 1893. Memoria de Relaciones Exteriores. República de Nicaragua. 1889-'90. Re pública de Nicaragua. 1891. |