- Clovis culture (13,000 - 11,000 years ago)
- Diquis culture (700 -1530 AD)
- Nicoya culture (Pre-Columbian era)
- Christopher Columbus and Spain arrive (1502)
- New Spain (1521-1821)
- First Mexican Empire (1821-1823)
- Federal Republic of Central America (1823-1841)
- League War (1835)
- Costa Rica gains independence (1838)
- Free State of Costa Rica (1838-1847)
- First Costa Rican Republic (1848-1948)
- Military coup d'état (1917)
- Costa Rican Civil War (1948)
(This post includes any nation or civilization that occupied at least a portion of Costa Rica at some point. Unless specified otherwise, the dates correspond to when a nation or civilization existed, but do not necessarily correspond to occupation of Costa Rica.)
