San Pedro History, Costa Rica

San Pedro is a small section to the west of the downtown area of San Jose.  With that being said, the history between San Pedro and San Jose is quite similar.  San Pedro is part of the capital City San Jose but San Jose was not always the capital of this small country. Cartago was the original capital of Costa Rica.  Many families moved away from the capital in search of starting over and new opportunities. 

A little less than 200 people moved into an area known as the Valley of Aserrí, which was south of San José city.  A few years later these settlers were forced to move into the capital city where a church was built for the induction of the new city.  The church was named Saint Joseph or in Spanish as San José.

Less than one hundred years after the establishment of San José, Costa Rica became independent from Spanish rule because of the Mexican Revolution.  However, all Central American countries, including Costa Rica, fell under the rule of the First Mexican Empire.  Costa Ricans that resided in the provinces of Alajuela and San José were furious by this decision while the residents in the capital city of Cartago and Heredia approved of the decision to be under the wing of the Mexican Empire.  Due to this disagreement between the provinces, a civil war broke out.  This war was short and the decision to remain independent that was supported by the residents in San José and Alajuela won. 

In 1824, under the rule of Juan Mora Fernandez, the capital was moved to San José.  In the early twentieth century, Costa Rica experienced two outbreaks of violence.  Although they were violent, they were less tragic than the history of their Central American counterparts. 

San Pedro first became noticed when the University of Costa Rica was located to the area which was in the 40s.  Once the University became prestigious and people began populating the area, San Pedro began its own history.  It is know as the center of University activity and also houses the most popular street of bars in the entire country.  Many protests that are formed in the country are normally formed in San Pedro at the Head university's category.  San Pedro may not have an old history but it is just embarking on a new adventure.