LATIN AMERICAN LIBRARY
TULANE UNIVERSITY
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA 70118
Manuscripts Collection 132
Adolfo Diaz Papers 1930-1947
163 pieces
COLLECTION GUIDE
Prepared by Philip S. MacLeod
October, 1998
Biographical Information and Collection Overview
Biographical Information
Adolfo Diaz was born in Costa Rica to Nicaraguan parents in July,
1875. The family returned to Nicaragua when Diaz was five years old. As a
longtime opponent of Liberal dictator José Santos Zelaya, (1893-1909),
Diaz was jailed and exiled during the regime. He came to the forefront of
Nicaraguan politics during the Conservative Partyh's ouster of Zelaya in
1909. He provided funds to the rebel movement's leader Juan Estrada and
became Vice President in 1911. Diaz succeeded Estrada as President on May
9, 1911 serving out the term. Adolfo was elected President in his own
right in 1913 serving until 1916. Diaz again served as President between
November 14, 1926 and January 1, 1929 in the wake of the political unrest
which resulted from the unsuccessful coup attempt led by Emiliano
Chamorro, another Conservative Party leader. Diaz ran unsuccessfully as
the Conservative Party's Presidential candidate in 1932. He never sought
office again, but maintained contact with many Nicaraguan political
figures.
Between 1901 and 1910 don Adolfo worked in Bluefields as the Secretary
for the La Luz y Los Angeles Mining Company, an American company
incorporated in Delaware that mined gold at Siuna in Zelaya Province. Diaz
was in charge of the office and attended to everything concerning the mine
including purchases, the receipt and forwarding of bullion, transportation
and oversight of operations at the mine. In 1903 he also became an
assistant to the company's treasurer. Diaz continued his involvement with
mining and acquired the Potosí Mine, located near the La Luz holdings in
1914.
The La Luz holdings were destroyed during raids by the forces of Cesar
Augustín Sandino in 1928. Don Adolfo acquired control of several other
mines around La Siuna in 1930 and took charge of the attempt to revive
gold mining at the La Luz holdings in 1934 until that company sold its
mines to the Tonopah Mining Company of Nevada in 1936. Diaz continued to
receive concession payments from a company called La Luyz Mines Ltd. as
late as 1944. In addition to these business ties, Diaz always enjoyed
close relations with the United States.
He was forced to rely on American troops to remain in power in 1912
and 1926. The Bryan-Chamorro treaty, granting the United States the right
to construct an inter-oceanic canal across Nicaragua, was signed in 1913
during his second term as President. Diaz first visited the United States
from June 1918 until July 1920 and returned between 1932 and 1934. Don
Adolfo again took up residence in the U.S. between 1936 and 1947, this
time as a political exile because he "had some fears for his personal
safety and property in Nicaragua" under the Somozo regime. New York City
became his primary residence, but he also stayed in Miami and New Orleans.
He died in San José, Costa Rica in 1964.
Collection Overview
The majority of the collection consists of a variety of correspondence
(letters and telegrams) which detail Adolfo Diaz's personal and business
affairs between the years 1930 and 1947. The greatest part of the
correspondence deals with Diaz's relationship with the Laz Luz and Los
Angeles Mining Company. There are a number of letters from the company's
President, J. Gilmore Fletcher, who was also Diaz's personal friend. There
are also letters or copies of correspondence from other people involved
with the La Luz Mines including Telemaco Lopez, who served as a
representative for the company in Nicaragua, George Tower and M.B. Huston,
officials of the Tonopah Mining Company of Nevada, which toook over the La
Luz Concession, and Ernesto Solórzano Diaz, don Adolfo's nephew, who
served as his representative in Nicaragua. There are also several letters
from different lawyers detailing some of the mine's legal
circumstances.
Other items of interest in the correspondence include several letters
from Emiliano Chamorro and other political figures that discuss the
Nicaraguan political situation after 1940. There are several letters that
detail don Adolfo's financial peoblems and arrangements to repay a loan he
received from the Banco Nacional de Nicaragua. Finally one letter contains
a nine-page attachment entitled "Señor Adolfo Diaz," which details his
personal life, personal affairs, business affairs and involvement with the
La Luz mine.
The Diaz Papers also contain a series of thirteen notarial acts that
gave don Adolfo the rights to several mines around the La Luz holdings in
Siuna. Also of note in the collection are an undated report entitled
"Potosi Group of Mines," three miscellaneous items dealing with Nicaraguan
politics and a small group of photographs.
Arrangement of Collection
I) Correspondence 1930-1947
132 pieces
II) Notarial Documentation
14 pieces
III) Miscellaneous Mining Documentation
3 pieces
IV) Miscellaneous Political Material
3 pieces
V) Photographs
10 pieces
See the printed collection guide for more detailed information.
Latin American
Library Home Page
Last updated: March 8, 2000