Nostromo: (A Tale of the Seaboard) is a 1904 novel by Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana". Nostromo is set in the South American country of Costaguana, and more specifically in that country's Occidental Province and its port city of Sulaco. Though Costaguana is a fictional nation, its geography as described in the book resembles real-life Colombia. Costaguana has a long history of tyranny, revolution and warfare, but has recently experienced a period of stability under the dictator Ribiera.