We find Port Limon, a coral reef - formed land, in mid Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, the port started exportation of Costa Rica’s high quality coffee directly to European countries, instead of through Panama or Chile like it used to be until late 1800ths because it’s standing in a strategically location towards international commerce.

Port Limon in Costa Rica has an interesting history involving issues like: 1600ths Caribbean Pirates, and the lead by Marcus Garvey, United Negro Improvement Association that was conceived here, during 1910ths.

First humans in Costa Rica:
The first humans in Costa Rica belonged to the way of living known as hunters of mega fauna. This period of time may have started 30,000 years ago and may have ended 9,000 or 8,000 years ago. Evidences found of this human presence are scarce and limited to a few number of man-made stone artifacts, and they were collected out of context, meaning that these objects were naturally removed from their original place due to events like floods, landslides and erosion, making impossible to figure more about their way of living.(1)

Inhabitants of Costa Rica had achieved agriculture by 1000 B.C, starting with native vegetables like Cassava (Manihot esculenta), this new way of work lead to tribal organization, after this, the agricultural village became the core of life in our ancient societies.

Christopher Columbus arrives to Costa Rica

When and why was it named Costa Rica?
Its known from historical records that the region known today as Costa Rica was first called Veraguas in the southern side and Castilla la Nueva or Castilla del Oro in the center and north of this territory, we also know that Christopher Columbus claimed this specific territory for him and his family, invoking the treat he had signed with the catholic kings of Spain – The Santa Fe Capitulations-. It has been well established that the Spanish Crown signed such treat knowing they were going to deny it later. To stop Columbus pretensions, the Spanish Crown assigned Pedro Arias Davila, also known as Pedrarias Davila, (3) to take the area, he built Panama City in 1519 in the San Miguel Gulf and started explorations of Veraguas and Castilla la Nueva or Castilla del Oro, while at the same time ordered to punish with lash-whipping to anyone calling this place Veraguas instead of Costa Rica.

It’s a paradox that while our name Costa Rica means in Spanish ¨rich coast´, ours have been a history of poverty, until the establishment of coffee production around 1820, Costa Rica had to literally survive in an autarkical way. 

The pirate Henry Morgan arrives to Costa Rica.
The pirate Henry Morgan visited port Limón in 1640  arriving specifically to Portete with intentions of plundering the area, apparently he had listen stories of fantastic richness in gold could be found here, truth is that after some explorations done, he understood reaching the Central Valley, or the Talamanca region –where gold was to be found- was a very difficult expedition, having to cross deep rain forests, big rivers and climbing a high mountain range, finally he understood that we didn’t have enough gold and took off.

Miskito pirates loots Cocoa crops in Matina
During first half of 18th century, cocoa bean production became our first kind of large scale exportation product, finally some wealth could be achieved, this crop was produced mainly here, north from Port Limon, but the arrival of pirates from the Miskito ethnic group kingdom that plundered the cocoa, local dreams of prosperity were destroyed and will have to wait about 100 more years to have another chance with coffee production.

The Establishment of Puerto Limón
Port Limón was established as a city around 1872 by the Northern Railway Company, a North American company assigned by the government to build the railway between Port Limón and San José. This was very important for Costa Rica’s economy; for it was possible from there on to export our coffee to European and US ports.

Banana production, the Railroad construction and Minor C. Keith.

Marcus Garvey lives in Port Limón.
Here Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) lived and worked for the United Fruit Company and conceived his project of unification of Negroes around the world for their economical and social improvement around 1911, he was actually arrested and expulsed out of Costa Rica.

The building in downtown Port Limon known as Black Star Line, is a reminiscence of Garvey’s enterprise, he created such steamship company pretending profit to finance his dreams of creating a new country for Negroes in Africa, during that time, the most well known steamship company was the White Star Line, owner of the famous Titanic.
  
Port Limon, a cresol of cultures.
In much ways Port Limon is different from the rest of Costa Rica because here, the afro Caribbean culture gets mixed with the Latin, Chinese and Indigenous cultures producing colorful artistic manifestations based chiefly on sensual and rhythmic music and dances.
October 12 is the carnival where a big parade happens and all population enjoys in solidarity the joyful part of life.

(1). Fonseca Zamora , Oscar M.
Historia Antigua de Costa Rica: Surgimiento y Caracterización de la Primera Civilización Costarricense.
Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. 2002. Pages:69, 74, 75. (In Spanish, this fragment translated by article’s author).

(2). idem, page 155