Managua, Nicaragua

Managua, population 819,731 (1995), is the capital of Nicaragua. Situated on the southern shore of Lake Managua, the city was made the national capital in 1855; previously the capital had alternated between the cities of Leon and Granada.

Managua was damaged by earthquake and fire on March 31, 1931 and by fire again in 1936. On December 23, 1972, the city was very severely damaged in an earthquake that took more than 10,000 lives. In the aftermath, when international help came in to rebuild the town, the dictator Somoza and his troops allegedly took the donations and either hid them from the public or used the donations for themselves. Those actions were a contributing factor to the Sandinistas' takeover of Nicaragua in 1979. In 1998 Managua was damaged by a hurricane.