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| 1889 |
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| A U.S. company began to build a canal through Nicaragua. | 1 |
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| 1893–1909 |
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| José Santos Zelaya (1853–1919), a liberal allied with dissatisfied conservatives, initiated reforms. In 1894, supported by the U.S., he sent troops to occupy Miskito territory and terminated British control of the area. In 1909, however, he refused to grant the U.S. canal rights that included control over Nicaraguan territory. The U.S. sought conservative allies to overthrow Zelaya. | 2 |
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| 1910–12 |
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| Adolfo Díaz led a conservative puppet regime with U.S. backing. The fiscal situation deteriorated. The U.S. intervened in Nicaraguan financial affairs, provoking divisions among conservatives. | 3 |
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| 1912 |
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| Dissident conservatives rebelled against Díaz's rule. A young liberal, Benjamín Zeledón, formed an army to fight U.S. intervention. The U.S. government sent a contingent of marines alleging the defense of U.S. properties and lives. Zeledón was defeated and killed. Twenty-year U.S. occupation of Nicaragua began. (See Nicaragua) | 4 |
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