Alajuela is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north, and clockwise the provinces Heredia, San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste. The province covers an area of 9,757.53 km², and has a population of 767,143.
The capital is Alajuela, other important cities include Ciudad Quesada.
During the pre-Columbian time, Alajuela was occupied by an indigenous group called 'Huetares' in t...
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Alajuela is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north, and clockwise the provinces Heredia, San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste. The province covers an area of 9,757.53 km², and has a population of 767,143.
The capital is Alajuela, other important cities include Ciudad Quesada.
During the pre-Columbian time, Alajuela was occupied by an indigenous group called 'Huetares' in the south and 'Votos', 'Guatusos', 'Tices' and 'Catapas' in the north. In 1574 the indigenous reservation of Santa Catalina was founded which today is the Canton of Mateo.
Following the establishment of the city of Cartago in the latter part of the 16th century, the incipient population began expanding westward. By the beginning of the 18th century, the population of Heredia had grown such that it became a second base of expansion, again to the west.
To the Catholic colonists one drawback to founding new settlements was the inherent difficulty...
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