 Colombia), and lack of resources such as gold and silver, made Costa Rica into a poor, isolated, and sparsely-inhabited region within the Spanish Empire.Costa Rica was described as "the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all America" by a Spanish governor in 1719.Another important factor behind Costa Rica's poverty was the lack of a significant indigenous population available for (forced labor), which meant most of the Costa Rican settlers had to work on their own land, preventing the establishment of large (plantations).