Granada, Nicaragua

Granada, founded in 1524 by conquistador Hernandez de Cordoba, Granada is the oldest mainland city in the Western Hemisphere of the Americas. In the 17th century, due to its geographic location, it became an important commercial centre and trading hub for goods to be shipped to the Old World, first overland from Guatemala to Granada, then by waterway across Lake Nicaragua and down Rio San Juan to the Atlantic coast. This did not escape the attention of pirates who ransacked the city several times. In the 19th century, when the liberal city of Leon and the conservative town of Granada
were fighting for power, American filibuster William Walker was called upon for help by the city of Leon. He defeated Granada, proclaimed himself president of Nicaragua and openly declared his interest in conquering the remaining 4 Central American countries. Resistance was strong though, and just one year later in 1857, he fled the country after having set the whole city on fire. Still nowadays, when facing problems, older people use the phrase “eso es nada de lo que paso en

Granada” (this is nothing compared to what happened in Granada).