When learning about the history of Costa Rica, it is easy to soak up the information and leave it at that; however, asking questions about the history can help build a greater understaning of the country and its reasonings for its distinct actions that it has taken in the past.
My first question concerning the background of Costa Rica is: Why did Spain not care to bring their inquisition majorly into Costa Rica? The history of Costa Rica explains that the country itself was always mostly independent even when technically under the control of another country. We learned today that Costa Rica used to be pooor with most of the power of Central American lying in Guatemala. Because Costa Rica did not have much to offer, nor caused any trouble, it was able to live day to day like it pleased. I find this explanation slightly confusing because I wondered why Spain would not want to exploit Costa Rica for all of its resources. I can only guess that Spain did not have the time, did not want another enemy, or merely the extent of Costa Rica’s rich land was not known yet. So far in observing the Ticos I still see a group of people that are proud and still very independent, nonetheless they still yearn to be recognized and known by other nations in the world for their accomplishments and what they can bring to the table.
Another question that came to my mind was: Why does Costa Rica desire such a high stress on education? The country used to send police to make sure children were attending school and had a school located every certain amount of kilometers to make sure schools were accessible as well. Costa Rica wants to make a difference in the world and with children educated they can improve the country as a whole with increased knowledge. Increased education rates also means increased status for the country in regards to other countries in Central America. Costa Rica is very proud if its Universities being ranked as some of the best. For the most part, I observe the Ticos still focused at school as La Universidad Latina was packed today with people signing up for and attending classes. I do question though if enough are able to attend the universities in Costa Rica knowing the schools can be hard to get into.
My last question for the day is: Why have Civil Wars broken out in Costa Rica? The first Civil war was because of a disagreement between cities in Costa Rica about where they wanted to be after being freed from Spain. This war seemed to span from conservatives and liberals disagreeing on the better next step for the country. The second Civil War, on the other hand, came out of corruption over the election and socialism. The wars are a symbol that although Costa Rica prides itself in being independent the country still has struggled like all others in the past. Costa Rica tries to stay out of battle nowadays as much as possible seeing as it does not have an army anymore, yet I wonder if Ticos ever worry about the threat of other countries?