When Christopher Columbus made his fourth and final voyage to the New World in 1502, he landed at Isla Uvita (Spanish for grape), a tiny island just off the coast what is now the major port city of Limón. The natives he met on the mainland were wearing such impressive gold and jade jewelry that this region eventually came to be known as Costa Rica, literally "rich coast," because of the mineral wealth that the Spaniards imagined must exist within the territory.
In spite of their insatiable lust for gold and precious stones and the difficult climatic conditions of the Atlantic region, the Spanish conquistadors were never able to bring the eastern portion of Costa Rica under their dominion. |
