Enrique Gottel

Enrique Gottel
Born	1831 Danzig, Germany
Died	January 11, 1875 Managua, Nicaragua
Occupation	Journalist, music composer, historian
Nationality	German, Nicaraguan

Enrique Gottel (1831–1875) was a German-Nicaraguan journalist, music composer and historian.

Gottel was born in Danzig, Germany and emigrated to the United States at a young age. He spoke English, Spanish and German. When the gold rush struck in California he arranged for a trip via Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt's Accessory Transit Company which took a natural route through the San Juan river in Nicaragua. Gottel decided to stay in Rivas, a city located in Nicaragua's Southwestern Pacific region. He later established a contract with the Accessory Transit Company. Gottels contract with the Accessory Transit Company consisted of diligences hauled by horses to transport people between Bahía de la Virgen (Bay of the Virgin) in Lake Nicaragua and the port in San Juan del Sur. In 1856 it left him in ruins due to the struggle between William Walker and Vanderbilt. Gottel resumed his diligence service in 1861 with his new partner, Colombian General Pedro Ruiz Tejada. After Gottels death, Ruiz kept the service going and added a new route from León to Chinandega.

In 1872, Gottel traveled to Guatemala to recover archives corresponding to the history of Nicaragua. Due to the country's instability at the time, the valuable historical documents were sent to San Francisco, California to be protected. To date, the archives remain in the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley.

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