Bluefields
 Bluefields is the capital of the South Atlantic Coast Autonomous Region and Zelaya dept., SE Nicaragua, on Bluefields Bay at the mouth of the Escondido River. It is Nicaragua's chief Caribbean port. Hardwoods and fish are exported.
Isolated by the Carribean Sea on one side and a mountain range on the other, Bluefields was founded in about 1602 by the Portuguese and came under British influence within thirty years.
 Bluefields was a rendezvous for English and Dutch buccaneers in the 16th and 17th century and became (1678) capital of the British protectorate over the Mosquito Coast.
During U.S. interventions (1912–15, 1926–33) in Nicaragua, marines were stationed there. In 1984, the United States mined the harbor (along with those of Corinto and Puerto Sandino). Bluefields was destroyed in a hurricane in 1988 but was rebuilt.
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