Dictatorship

About 1860 the Conservatives came into power. Under their rule the country had a long period of mild dictatorship. There was some economic progress. Railways were built, the telegraph and telephone were brought in, and electricity was introduced. Coffee production was expanded and the banana industry was started. The Nicaraguan writer Rubén Darío (1867–1916), one of the greatest of Latin American poets began his literary career during this period.