Columbus Hunting For Gold – From Cariay to Costa Rica

Since 1492 Columbus had been searching for gold throughout the Caribbean and in 1502, toward the middle of his fourth final voyage;

“Columbus threw anchor off the present site of Limón and, in what must count among history’s worst misjudgements, described the land destined to become the poorest colony of New Spain as a place of superlative riches.” (1)

The natives called the area where he landed Cariay and since they had assured Columbus that there was gold – under what sort of pressure we can only imagine – later explorers remembered this and changed the name from Cariay to Costa Rica, the rich coast.

It wasn’t until 300 years later when real “riches” were discovered in Costa Rica: “In 1815 gold mining began in the Montes de Aguacate – a mountainous area along the route traveled between the Central Valley and the Pacific port of Puntarenas. As a result of this activity, the government began minting coins in 1824. By 1833, gold exports accounted for 48% of the country’s total exports.” 2

It is perhaps a blessing that Costa Rica is not actually a “rich coast” with huge quantities of valuable natural resources like gold, black gold (oil), gas, copper and other minerals as history clearly shows that poor, small resource rich countries tend to get their resources stolen out from under them one way or another.

One extremely valuable natural resource Costa Rica does have in significant quantities – although it certainly could be managed more efficiently – is water but we’re thankfully seeing some improvements in that area.

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1. Costa Rica Real Estate Scams & How To Avoid Them, 2. How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, and 3. Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

(1) From ‘The Last Country the Gods Made‘ by Adrian Colesberry and Brass McLean with photographs by Kimberly Parsons

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.