Kenn, it seems to me that the “missed it” theory makes sense if we consider the incredible political instability and military upheavals of the Central American countries throughout the past 200 years. Nicaragua with its early Mexican ties, its Mosquito Coast as a British protectorate which became part of Honduras, the invasion of William Walker, its numerous civil wars, occupation by the US, its guerrilla wars, and its dictatorships. Belize with its history of piracy and continuous infighting between the Spanish and the British as to who would control the country’s resources, slavery, refugees from neighboring countries, the Maya battles against British rule, devastating hurricanes, and limited resources. Guatemala with its history with the Mexican Empire, civil war of the United Provinces, the “coffee” battles against El Salvador, the 1944 revolution, the United Fruit Company’s virtual monopoly on land, ongoing ethnic conflicts, the US “liberation army” of the early 1950’s, the CIA support and arming of the rebels against the threat of communism, and then the roughly 36-year civil war between right wing and left wing forces. El Salvador with its early battles with Guatemala, suppression and revolts of its indigenous people, battles with Honduras, and then the more recent 12-year civil war between the right-wing and left-wing forces. And then there is Honduras, like its neighboring countries, became independent of Spain, was annexed to the Mexican Empire, joined the United Provinces of Central American, fought with Guatemala, became a “banana republic” with much of the country’s land controlled by US fruit companies, insertion of US troops to protect the fruit company’s holdings, bloody coups, invasion by El Salvador, and of course, Hurricane Mitch that devastated the country in 1998. That, of course, brings us to our wonderful little country, Costa Rica, whose history most readers of this forum know. Maybe, just maybe, much of Central American history and political upheaval resulted in them “missing it.”
Best, Richard.