ABSTRACT: This is a study of the life of Nicaraguan rebel leader Augusto C. Sandino in
light of his millenarian ideals and their development. Sandino showed a strong sense of
prophetic mission in his struggle against the American troops occupying his country.
Following his contact with theosophical beliefs in Mexico between 1929-1930, his
millenarian expectations became more radical; he began to think of himself as a messiah.
Sandino believed that the United States was evil incarnate, that God had chosen
Nicaraguans to fight against that evil and to redeem the oppressed of the world. At the
Marines' withdrawal, he retreated, but his faith in the millennium never wavered. He
continued his world-redemptive work in an isolated northern commune, plotting to take over the
country and to eliminate his enemies, until his aspirations collided with those of the ambitious Chief of the
Nicaraguan National Guard, Anastasio Somoza Garcia, who had Sandino executed.
This study has two objectives. The first is to place Sandino within the millenarian
tradition; that is, to show in detail that Sandino's expectations were millenarian and
that those expectations were central to his rebellion, at least as much if not more than
his nationalism. The second, closely related to the first, is to trace the development of
Sandino's rebellion throughout his life. Sandino's disposition unfolded over time and
possessed a dynamic character. It will become apparent that there was not one Sandino, but
many: there was Sandino the embittered child and youth, the rebel, the nationalist, the
anarchist, the communist, the socialist, the Freemason, the theosophist and the
millenarian. Biography is thus the best suited approach to trace the development of so
complex a man.
