Country history · North America

History of Costa Rica

7 recorded states lay in what is now Costa Rica, from the Chiefdom of Nicoya (800 CE) to the Republic of Costa Rica. 1 of them has a full profile, and 2 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)1 without a known seat not shownOpen in the atlas →

Profiles

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

9th century

  1. Chiefdom of Nicoya800 CE – 1524 CE · chiefdom

16th century

  1. Castilla de Oro1513 CE – 1538 CE · colony
  2. Captaincy General of Guatemala1524 CE – 1821 CE · colony

19th century

  1. First Mexican Empire1821 CE – 1823 CE · kingdom
  2. Federal Republic of Central America1823 CE – 1841 CE · profile
  3. State of Costa Rica1824 CE – 1848 CE · republic
  4. Republic of Costa Rica1848 CE – present · republic

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Costa Rica. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/costa-rica
MLA
“History of Costa Rica.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/costa-rica. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Costa Rica.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/costa-rica.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Costa Rica’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/costa-rica (Accessed: ).