Editing Bluefields (section)

{{About|a municipality in Nicaragua|the place in Jamaica|Bluefields, Jamaica}}
{{Distinguish|Bluefield (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Bluefields
| native_name                     = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
| settlement_type                  = Municipality
| image_skyline                   = Streetlife in Bluefields, Nicaragua 27.jpg
| imagesize                       = 250px
| image_caption                   = Bluefields sign in Parque Central (Central Park)
| image_flag                      = 
| image_seal                      = Seal of Bluefields.svg
| image_shield                    = 
| nickname                        = 
| motto                           = 
| mapsize                         = 
| map_caption                     = 
| pushpin_map                     = Nicaragua
| coordinates                     = {{coord|12|0|N|83|45|W|region:NI|display=inline}}
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = {{flag|Nicaragua}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[Departments of Nicaragua|Autonomous Region]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[Municipalities of Nicaragua|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[South Caribbean Autonomous Region]]
| subdivision_name2               = Bluefields
| established_title               = 
| established_date                = 
| leader_title                    = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name                     = Gustavo Castro
| area_magnitude                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 4774.75
| area_water_percent              = 
| elevation_m                     = 25
| elevation_ft                    = 
| population_total                = 58633
| population_as_of                = 2023 estimate
| population_urban                = 56421
| population_metro                = 
| population_density_km2          = auto
| population_footnotes                 = <ref>[https://www.inide.gob.ni/docs/Anuarios/Anuario2022/ANUARIO_ESTADISTICO2022.pdf Anuario Estadístico 2022]. Instituto Nacional de Información de Desarrollo (INIDE)</ref>
| postal_code_type                = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... -->
| postal_code                     = 
| website                         = 
| footnotes                       = 
| TotalArea_sq_mi                 = 
| area_land                       = 
| LandArea_sq_mi                  = 
| area_water                      = 
| WaterArea_sq_mi                 = 
| area_urban                      = 
| UrbanArea_sq_mi                 = 
| area_metro                      = 
| MetroArea_sq_mi                 = 
| population_density_mi2          = 
| population_density_metro_mi2    = 
| blank1_name                     = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank1_info                     = [[Tropical rainforest climate|Af]]
| timezone                        = 
| utc_offset                      = GMT-6
| timezone_DST                    = 
| utc_offset_DST                  = 
| name                            = 
}}
'''Bluefields''' is the capital of the [[South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region|South Caribbean Autonomous Region]] in [[Nicaragua]]. It was also the capital of the former [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Mosquitia]], and later the [[Zelaya Department]], which was divided into [[North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region|North]] and [[South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region|South]] Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regions. It is located on Bluefields Bay at the mouth of the [[Escondido River (Nicaragua)|Bluefields River]] in the [[Municipalities of Nicaragua|municipality]] of the same name.

It was named after [[Abraham Blauvelt]], a [[Dutch people|Dutch]]-[[Jewish pirates|Jewish pirate]], privateer, and explorer of [[Central America]] and the western [[Caribbean]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-981-13-2898-5_117|doi = 10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_117|chapter = Displaced Minorities: The Wayuu and Miskito People|title = The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity|year = 2019|last1 = Cwik|first1 = Christian|pages = 1593–1609|isbn = 978-981-13-2897-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Leonardi| first = Richard | title = Nicaragua Handbook: The Travel Guide| publisher = Footprint Travel Guides| year = 2001| isbn = 1-903471-14-1| page = 248 }}</ref> It has a population of 56,005 (2022 estimate)<ref>[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/nicaragua/cities/ Citypopulation.de] Population of cities in Nicaragua</ref> and its inhabitants are mostly [[African diaspora|Afro-descendant]] Creoles, [[Miskito people|Miskitu]], [[Mestizo]], as well as smaller communities of [[Garifuna people|Garinagu]], [[Chinese Nicaraguans|Chinese]], [[Mayangna people|Mayangna]], and [[Rama people|Rama]]. Bluefields is Nicaragua’s chief Caribbean [[port]], from which [[hardwood]], [[seafood]], [[shrimp]] and [[lobster]] are exported. Bluefields was a [[wikt:rendezvous|rendezvous]] for European [[buccaneer]]s in the 16th and 17th century and became capital of the [[Kingdom of England|English]] protectorate of the [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Mosquitia]] in 1678.

During [[United States]] interventions (1912–15, 1926–33) in Nicaragua, [[United States Marine Corps|US Marines]] were stationed there. In 1984, the United States [[Land mine|mine]]d the harbor (along with those of [[Corinto, Nicaragua|Corinto]] and [[Puerto Sandino]]) as part of the [[Nicaraguan Revolution]]. Bluefields was destroyed by [[Hurricane Joan-Miriam|Hurricane Joan]] in 1988 but was rebuilt.