The annexation of the Partido de Nicoya to Costa Rica is a historical event that refers to the incorporation of the territory of Nicoya (most of what is today’s modern day Guanacaste) to the State of Costa Rica, which occurred on July 25, 1824.

Plebiscite for the annexation of the Nicoya Party to Costa Rica

The annexation went through a plebiscite that took place in the city of Nicoya, in which, in the open town hall, the inhabitants of the municipalities of Nicoya and Santa Cruz voted to join Costa Rica, while the town of Guanacaste, today the city of Liberia, declined the annexation, however, on March 18, 1825, said population became part of Costa Rica by a law issued by the Congress of the Federal Republic of Central America. The term annexation of Guanacaste to refer to this event is considered historically incorrect.

Gradual process

The process of consolidation of this union, however, took place gradually over the next decade. Annexation was not just an act, but a process of varied experiences, in which the neighbors of the former Nicoya Party acted in various ways over a period of about ten years. Indeed, after Central American independence, national loyalties did not yet exist in Central America, nor had the identities of the nascent states been consolidated. It took years for a general consensus to emerge among the people of Nicoya on the convenience of belonging to Costa Rica. It was not until 1838 that the municipalities of the three most important towns of Nicoya ratified their annexation to the country. And it was not until 1858 that Costa Rica had legal security over Guanacaste with the signing of the Cañas-Jerez treaty.

Currently, the annexation of the Nicoya Territory is an anniversary of Costa Rica, which is celebrated with civic and cultural events in schools and communities across the country every July 25. Guanacaste’s official motto (which appears in its official sigil) is “De la patria por nuestra voluntad” (Of the homeland by our own will) for this reason

Source: Wikipedia