Editing Bluefields

{{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                         = 
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| TotalArea_sq_mi                 = 
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| 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
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}}
'''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.

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2021}}
The origin of the city of Bluefields is connected with the presence of [[Europe]]an pirates on the [[Nicaragua]]n Caribbean coast, subjects of powers at the time hostile to [[Spain]].  These pirates used the Escondido River to rest, to repair damages and to be provisioned. By then, the territory of the present municipality was populated by the native towns of Kukra and Branch.

In 1602, a [[Dutch people|Dutch]] soldier of fortune named [[Abraham Blauvelt]] chose the bay of the Escondido River as his center of operations due to its tactical advantages. The name of the municipality is a literal but pluralized translation of his surname, 'blau' (modern Dutch 'blauw') meaning 'blue' and 'velt' (modern Dutch 'veld') meaning 'field'.

African slaves first appeared in the Caribbean coast in 1641, when a [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portuguese]] ship that was transporting slaves wrecked in the Miskito Cays. [[British Empire|English]] subjects started emigrating to the region in 1633. Beginning in 1666, they were organized into colonies and by 1705, governmental authorities had been established. In 1730, the [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Moskitia]] came to depend on the British administration in [[Jamaica]]. The British supplied the [[Miskito people]] with armaments which the Miskito used to fend off attacks by the other groups of the Caribbean coast, including the [[African diaspora|Afro-descendant]] Creoles and the indigenous tribes of [[Sumo people|Mayangnas, Ulwas]], and [[Rama people|Ramas]].

In 1740, the Miskitos yielded to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] [[sovereignty]] over the territory, and in 1744, a transfer of [[White Jamaicans|White]] colonists was organized from Jamaica to the [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Moskitia]]; they brought black slaves with them. [[Kingdom of France|French]] colonists also arrived at this time. The area was a [[British protectorate]] until 1796, when Britain, with an offer from the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish Monarch]] to extend the territory in the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] for the cutting of logwood for the British settlers, decided to remove all English settlers from the [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Moskitia]]; the British subjects also abandoned the islands, but the Spaniards did not take firm positions in them.

With the independence of the [[Viceroyalty of New Granada]], the [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Moskitia]] became [[de jure]] part of [[Gran Colombia]] until its dissolution in 1831. Thereafter it became part of the [[Republic of New Granada]], now [[Colombia]], until, through the [[Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty]], the Colombian state formally ceded the territory to Nicaragua.

The [[Moravian Church]] was installed in 1847. In 1860, the Harrison-Altamirano Treaty, also known as the [[Treaty of Managua]], created the Miskito Reserve from the territory of the [[Mosquito Coast|Kingdom of Moskitia]] by an agreement between the British and Nicaraguan governments. The city of Bluefields was chosen as capital of the Reserve.

The "Europeanization" of the Indians was completed by the 1880s, when British and Americans expanded the production of bananas and wood, creating a prosperous enclave [[economy]]; by the 1880s, Bluefields was already a city of [[Multicultural|cosmopolitan]] character, with an intense commercial activity.

[[Economic growth]] also brought a marked process of social differentiation, by which the races and [[ethnic group]]s were distributed spatially and in terms of work: the white population represented the interests of the foreign businesses; those of mixed race worked as [[artisan]]s and in working-class occupations; the darker-skinned Creoles had their niche in physical work, and the native population were employed as servants and for other smaller works.  In 1894, the government of Nicaragua incorporated the Miskito Reserve into the national territory, extinguishing the Miskito [[monarchy]], and on October 11, 1903, Bluefields was proclaimed capital of the Department of Zelaya.

Due in part to US Coast Guard patrols attempting to intercept Colombian drug smugglers, salvaging cocaine (often referred to locally as "white lobster") has become an important part of the local economy. When threatened with potential boarding by US Coast Guard ships, cocaine smugglers try to dispose of their illegal cargo by throwing it overboard, simultaneously lightening their load for a faster escape and eliminating the evidence in case of capture. A percentage of the cocaine bales are carried by ocean currents into the lagoon around Bluefields. Residents may find the bales washed up on the beach or seek them by boat in the lagoon or at sea. In recent years, stricter legislation has led to a decrease in these activities.

Bluefields remains a deeply impoverished city with extremely high rates of unemployment.

== Climate ==
According to [[Köppen climate classification]], Bluefields features a trade-wind [[tropical rainforest climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Af''). There is a drier period from February to April, but the [[trade winds]] ensure that unlike the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, rain still falls frequently during this period. For the rest of the year when tropical low pressure dominates rainfall is extremely heavy, helped by the coast being shaped in such a manner as to intercept winds from the south as prevail during the northern summer.

{{Weather box|location = Bluefields, Nicaragua
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan high C = 27.8
|Feb high C = 28.4
|Mar high C = 29.0
|Apr high C = 29.8
|May high C = 29.9
|Jun high C = 28.9
|Jul high C = 28.1
|Aug high C = 28.5
|Sep high C = 29.1
|Oct high C = 28.8
|Nov high C = 28.4
|Dec high C = 28.0
|Jan mean C = 24.9
|Feb mean C = 25.2
|Mar mean C = 26.2
|Apr mean C = 27.0
|May mean C = 27.0
|Jun mean C = 26.0
|Jul mean C = 25.6
|Aug mean C = 25.6
|Sep mean C = 25.8
|Oct mean C = 25.6
|Nov mean C = 25.3
|Dec mean C = 25.2
|Jan low C = 22.2
|Feb low C = 22.3
|Mar low C = 23.3
|Apr low C = 23.7
|May low C = 24.2
|Jun low C = 23.9
|Jul low C = 23.7
|Aug low C = 23.6
|Sep low C = 23.5
|Oct low C = 23.1
|Nov low C = 22.8
|Dec low C = 22.6
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 218
|Feb rain mm = 114
|Mar rain mm = 71
|Apr rain mm = 101
|May rain mm = 264
|Jun rain mm = 581
|Jul rain mm = 828
|Aug rain mm = 638
|Sep rain mm = 383
|Oct rain mm = 418
|Nov rain mm = 376
|Dec rain mm = 328
|Jan rain days = 19
|Feb rain days = 13
|Mar rain days = 10
|Apr rain days = 10
|May rain days = 15
|Jun rain days = 23
|Jul rain days = 26
|Aug rain days = 25
|Sep rain days = 21
|Oct rain days = 21
|Nov rain days = 20
|Dec rain days = 22
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|source 1 = HKO<ref name=hko.com>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/bluffields_e.htm|title=Climatological Normals of Bluefields, Nicaragua|access-date=2012-03-13|publisher=Hong Kong Observatory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702081444/http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/s_america/mx_cam/bluffields_e.htm|archive-date=2015-07-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|date=March 2012
}}

==Districts==
The city is located beside the eponymous bay; consisting of 17 neighborhoods including the port of [[El Bluff]], located on a peninsula of the same name. Due to gradual erosion, the peninsula is becoming a true island that closes the Bay of Bluefields on the east side. El Bluff has an extension of 1.29&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and it is about 8&nbsp;km from Bluefields.

[[Image:Bluefields street.JPG|thumb|200px|left|Urban Bluefields street scene]]
[[Image:Bluefields waterfront homes.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Bluefields rural waterfront homes]]
Bluefields has several municipal headquarters and rural communities including:

'''Urban Level:'''
Santa Rosa,
Central,
San Mateo,
Pointeen,
Fátima,
Tres Cruces,
Ricardo Morales,
Old Bank,
San Pedro,
Teodoro Martínez,
19 de Julio,
Pancasán,
Punta Fría,
New York,
Beholden,
Canal,
Loma Fresca.

'''Rural Level:'''
Cuenca Río Escondido,
Cuenca Río Maíz,
San Nicolás,
La Fonseca,
Rama Cay,
San Luís,
Caño Frijol,
Torsuani,
Long Beach,
Dalzuno,
Cuenca Río Indio,
Río Maíz,
Guana Creek,
Nueva Chontales,
Neysi Ríos,
La Palma,
Sub-Cuenca Mahagony,
Krisinbila,
Sub-Cuenca Caño Negro,
Río Kama,
El Bluff,
Las Mercedes,
Monkey Point,
El Corozo,
Cuenca Punta Gorda,
Caño Dalzuno,
Haulover,
Villa Hermosa,
San Ramón,
Río Cama (El Cilicio),
San Brown,
La Virgen,
San Mariano,
La Pichinga,
Musulaine,
Caño Blanco,
Aurora (San Francisco),
Kukra River (Delirio),
Barra Punta Gorda,
Kukra River.

==Education==
There are currently two universities in Bluefields. One is the Bluefields campus of the [[University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast]], and the other is the [[Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University]] (BICU).<ref>[http://www.bicu.edu.ni bicu.edu.ni]/</ref>

==Transportation and infrastructure==
Until recently, there was no road access to Bluefields from the west coast of [[Nicaragua]]. There is now a highway from [[Nueva Guinea]] with regular bus service. The road was completed in May 2019, and was financed with loans from the [[Inter-American Development Bank]] and the [[World Bank]]. The road was formally declared open by President [[Daniel Ortega]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/nicaragua-completes-bluefields-nueva-guinea-highway|title=BNamericas - Nicaragua completes Bluefields-Nueva Guinea ...|website=BNamericas.com|access-date=2020-01-26}}</ref>

Visitors usually either fly in to [[Bluefields Airport]] or take a bus from [[Managua]] and other cities or take a [[Panga (skiff)|Panga]] down the [[Escondido River (Nicaragua)|Rio Escondido]] from the city of [[El Rama]], which itself is accessible from Managua by bus.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} In the town, taxis are readily available at a fixed price of 14 cordobas per person (2020) and work on a shared basis. The municipal wharf is the home of commercial boat traffic to Corn Island, LaBarra and many other locations which are only accessible by boat. Car ownership is very limited in Bluefields.

The municipal government does not provide all necessary services, so additional services related to water, energy, and sanitation are provided by non-governmental organization [[blueEnergy]].

Bluefields was also known as home of the [[British Armed Forces]] strategic operations zone (SOZ), which was built in 1936 with the initial goal of countering the further [[Nazi Germany]] Atlantic invasion of Nicaragua during World War II&mdash;recently it has been used to block drug trafficking from [[Mexico]] to outside Nicaragua via Bluefields, and provide temporary humanitarian aid storage for natural disasters.

==Popular culture==
*[[W. Douglas Burden]] describes the city in his ''Look to the Wilderness''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burden |first1=W. Douglas |title=Look to the Wilderness |date=1956 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=Boston |pages=197–245}}</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[June Beer]], painter and poet
*[[Anasha Campbell]], politician and tourism executive
* [[Barbara Carrera]], American actress, model and painter
* [[Norchad Omier]], Nicaragua international basketball player currently in U.S. college basketball

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Bluefields_bay.JPG|Bluefields skyline and Bluefields Bay (Bahia de Bluefields) in 2008
File:Nicaragua 1984 - Bluefields - Group of schoolgirls.jpg|Group of schoolgirls, 1984
File:Fish market, Bluefields, Nicaragua 12.jpg|Fruit market on Avenida del Comercio
File:Aberdeen Street, Bluefields, Nicaragua 02.jpg|Aberdeen Street in December 2023
File:Fish market, Bluefields, Nicaragua 18.jpg|Fish sellers on Avenida del Comercio, December 2023
File:Historical Museum of Afro-descendants, Bluefields, Nicaragua 09.jpg|Historical Museum of Afro-descendants (Museo Histórico de los Afrodescendientes), December 2023
File:Pier for panga boats to El Bluff, Bluefields, Nicaragua 16.jpg|Pollution at the pier for [[Panga (skiff)|'panga']] boats to [[El Bluff]], 2023
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Nicaragua}}
*{{commons category-inline|Bluefields}}
*{{wikivoyage-inline}}
*[http://www.paradisezone.net/ Paradise Zone Bluefields Evolution]
{{Coord|12|00|N|83|45|W|region:NI_type:city|display=title}}
{{South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Municipalities of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1602]]
[[Category:1602 establishments in North America]]
[[Category:Port cities in the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Port settlements in Central America]]