History of Monte Verde

prominent characteristics of these villages. From AD 300 to 800, complex chiefdoms supplanted simpler chiefdoms and more intricate villages appear, with cemeteries, public squares, gold-work and inter-tribal trade and conflict. Around 1300, a general decline in population occurred, possibly due to Arenal Volcano's increased activity.

When the Spanish arrived in 1502, Costa Rica endured two generations of warfare. Nationwide indigenous populations fell from an estimated 400,000 to 80,000 within little more than 50 years. However, unlike Costa Rica's neighbors, Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica did not seem to harbor too much gold for the Spanish (even though gold mining in Costa Rica is a full-time occupation for some), and so the country was less ravished by colonization than other Latin American countries.

Early 20th century

In the first three decades of the 20th century, Creole populations arrived in small numbers to what is now called Monteverde. Many were employed by, or provided services to the employees of, the Guacimal gold mines. Many settled the nearby lower, warmer valley of San Luis.

1950s and forwards

What is now considered Monteverde was founded by Quakers from the United States whose pacifist values led them to defy the American draft during the Korean War. The majority of the group hailed from Fairhope, Alabama, and it included people who were not Quakers but pacifists and conscientious objectors. The spokesman of the group was Hubert Mendenhall, a dairyman who had visited Costa Rica in 1949 after joining a farmer's tour. These Quakers and pacifists chose Monteverde for its cool climate, which would facilitate dairy farming, and due to Costa Rica's non-violent, army-free constitution. Mendenhall noted that the soil