This book deals with the political uses of the memory of the Costa Rican army's victory in the 1856–57 war fought in Nicaragua against the filibuster William Walker, who had taken control of that country. The defeat of Walker's plans to conquer all the Central American nations was celebrated as a war of independence that demonstrated the viability of the Costa Rican nation-state, in its early stages of consolidation at that time. Supported by the theories of collective memories, invented traditions, and the creation of national identity, the book analyzes how the Filibuster War was chosen by the political elites as the basis for creating national values, heroes, commemorations, and places and objects of memory. The goal of the book is to contribute to the debate begun a few decades ago among national and foreign historians about the creation of Costa Rican national identity. Marco Cabrera Geserick seeks to demonstrate...

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