I wonder what compels these Nicaraguans, both types, to be so forgiving of people from the United States, our fingers always puppeteering in their bloody messes. Even the revolution itself was influenced by layers of American imperialism. The very word 'Sandinista' is a derivative of that Nicaraguan national hero, Augusto C. Sandino, who traipsed across the country fighting U.S. imperialism in all its forms.
His strange story resonates closely with many Nicaraguans. Even in Granada, the burn marks of imperialism are still visible. William Walker, the American who installed himself President of the country in 1853 and declared English the official language of Nicaragua, operated here in Granada. He was preparing Nicaragua towards its destiny - a great slave state supplying the U.S. south with farm laborers.
Central American countries came together to attack Walker. As he and his men fled Granada, they razed it, sending much of the place into flames. Americans razing cities wasn’t limited to just William Walker. A U.S. Navy commander was sent to a Nicaraguan city in order to get a British diplomat to apologize for an insult. The diplomat could not be found, so the U.S. marines bombarded the city into smithereens.
After this 1853 event, the marines would land or invade Nicaragua countless times, always under reasons whose sensibility is now largely lost on history. Military puppeteering in Nicaragua would continue through the 1980’s.
It is a great irony then, that the Americans in Central America, certainly the Americans who pass through Nicaragua, are this country’s great hope.
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