Federal Republic of Central America

Not to be confused with the Greater Republic of Central America.

Federal Republic of Central America República Federal de Centroamérica
1823–1838/1841
Flag (1824–1841) Coat of arms (1824–1841)
Motto: Dios, Unión y Libertad "God, Union, and Liberty"
Anthem: La Granadera "The Grenadier"
Capital	Guatemala City (until 1834) San Salvador (from 1834)
Common languages	Spanish
Religion	Catholicism
Demonym(s)	Central American
Government	Federal republic
President
• 1825–1829	Manuel José Arce (first)
• 1835–1839	Francisco Morazán (last)
Legislature	Federal Congress
Historical era	Spanish American wars of independence
• Independence from the Spanish Empire	15 September 1821
• Independence from the First Mexican Empire	1 July 1823
• First civil war	1826–1829
• Second civil war	1838–1840
• Dissolution	30 January 1841
Population
• 1825 (est.)	1,287,491
Currency	Real
Preceded by Succeeded by First Mexican Empire Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Los Altos British Honduras

The Federal Republic of Central America (Spanish: República Federal de Centroamérica), originally known as the United Provinces of Central America (Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), was a sovereign state in Central America which existed from 1823 to 1841. The federal republic was composed of the territories of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala (a colony of the Spanish Empire) and consisted of the modern countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, as well as parts of Belize and Mexico.

Shortly after Central America declared its independence from the Spanish Empire in September 1821, it was annexed by the First Mexican Empire in January 1822 before regaining its independence and forming a federal republic in 1823. The federation was unstable and quickly descended into a series of civil wars, first from 1826 to 1829 and again from 1838 to 1840, with conservatives fighting against liberals, and separatists fighting to secede. These factions were unable to overcome their ideological differences and the bloody conflicts ended in the federation's dissolution in 1841.

Name

The country's first name, adopted upon independence from the First Mexican Empire in July 1823, was the United Provinces of Central America (Spanish: Provincias Unidas del Centro de América).

Background

Central American independence

Further information: Central America under Mexican rule

From the 16th century through 1821, Central America, apart from Panama, formed the Captaincy General of Guatemala within the Spanish Empire. In 1821 a congress of Central American criollos in Guatemala City composed the Act of Independence of Central America to declare the region's independence from Spain, effective on September 15 of that year. The process was bloodless with no resistance from the Spanish authorities as the Governor General Brigadier Gabino Gaínza, along with all the royal governors of the five provinces, were retained in office as executive powers pending a full transition to local rule. That date is still marked as independence day by most Central American nations.

Independence proved short-lived, as local law and order broke down. Driven by regional rivalries, many localities refused to accept the newly formed federal powers in Guatemala—San Salvador, Comayagua, León, and Cartago were in open revolt. On 5 January 1822, the Consultive Junta in Guatemala City voted for annexation. A few weeks later, Brigadier General Vicente Filísola, the envoy of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of the First Mexican Empire, arrived in Guatemala as the new ruler.

The annexation was controversial, with some seeing the Mexican constitution with its abolition of slavery and establishment of free trade as an improvement over the status quo. Central American liberals in San Salvador objected to annexation and refused to accept Filísola's authority as captain general. The Mexican army was ordered by Emperor Agustín I to quell dissent.

In the case of Costa Rica, the country decided not to join the Mexican Empire as part of the resolutions upon conclusion of the Ochomogo War (5 April 1823), where imperialists lost against Republicans in the first civil war of Costa Rica.

After Iturbide abdicated (19 March 1823), Mexico became a republic (formally proclaimed on 1 November 1823) and offered the previously annexed Central American provinces the right to determine their own destiny. Filísola turned over his power to the hastily formed National Constituent Assembly, which comprised representatives from each of the five provinces. On 1 July 1823, the Central American congress declared independence from Mexico, however, Chiapas chose to remain a part of Mexico.

History

Further information: History of Central America

Reconstitution of the federal republic

Upon Central America's independence from Mexico, the Central American congress proclaimed the establishment of the United Provinces of Central America. The following day, the congress reorganized itself into the National Constituent Assembly ("Asamblea Nacional Constituyente"). The constitution was adopted on 12 June 1824, but it was not ratified and published until 4 July.

The liberal-dominated Assembly elected Manuel José Arce as president but he soon turned against his own faction and dissolved the Assembly. San Salvador rose in revolt against federal authority. Honduras and Nicaragua joined the rebellion and Arce was deposed in 1829. The victors led by the Honduran Francisco Morazán took power and Morazán was proclaimed president in 1830. To appease liberal supporters, the capital was relocated from Guatemala City to San Salvador in 1831 but as Morazán's hold on power was waning the opposition regained control in the provinces.

The Assembly in 1838 adjourned with the declaration that the provinces were free to rule themselves as the Federal Republic dissolved. In 1839 Morazán was exiled as rebels from Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua entered San Salvador, evicting the governing institutions that held the region together.

Dissolution

The union slid into civil war between 1838 and 1840. Its disintegration began when Nicaragua separated from the federation on 5 November 1838, followed by Honduras and Costa Rica (other sources give Nicaragua's secession date as 30 April). Because of the chaotic nature of this period an exact date of disestablishment does not exist, but on 31 May 1838, the Congress met to declare that the provinces were free to create their own independent republics. In reality, this merely legally acknowledged the process of disintegration that had already begun. The union effectively ended in 1840, by which time four of its five states had declared independence. The federal republic was officially dissolved on 30 January 1841 when El Salvador declared its independence as the Republic of San Salvador.

Government and politics

Federal government

The Federal Congress was the country's legislature.

Provinces

An 1864 map of the federal republic

The federal republic consisted of six provinces: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Los Altos, and Nicaragua. Guatemala claimed Belize as part of its territorial extent, however, the coastal parts of Belize were occupied by the British.

Foreign relations

The United States recognized the independence of the Federal Republic of Central America from Spain on 4 August 1824 when U.S. President James Monroe received Cañas as Central America's envoy to the United States. The two countries signed the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation on 5 December 1825. On 3 May 1826, Central America received U.S. Chargé d'Affaires John Williams in Guatemala City. William S. Murphy was the last U.S. diplomat assigned to Central America; he left his post in March 1842 after the federal republic had collapsed.

National symbols

The five rowed volcanos in the coat of arms of Central America was inspired by the Cordillera de Apaneca volcanic range of El Salvador, visible from the city of Sonsonate, which became the capital of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1834.

The country's first flag was adopted on 21 August 1823.

The flag shows a white band between two blue stripes, representing the land between two oceans. The coat of arms shows five mountains (one for each state) between two oceans, surmounted by a Phrygian cap, the emblem of the French Revolution. The flag was introduced to the area by Commodore Louis-Michel Aury and inspired by the Argentine flag.

Economy

Federal Republic of Central America, 4 Escudos/Shields (1835). Struck in the San José, Costa Rica mint (697 were minted).

The country's constitution enabled the federal government to impose taxes and take out foreign loans to finance itself.

Legacy

Reunification attempts

Despite the failure of a lasting political union, the sense of shared history and the hope for eventual reunification persist in the nations formerly in the union. Various attempts were made to reunite Central America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but none succeeded for any length of time:

• The first attempt was in 1844 by former President Francisco Morazán, who became involved in a struggle for control over Costa Rica. After taking control of the capital, Morazán announced he would create a large army to re-create the Federal Republic as the Confederation of Central America and planned to include El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, but popular feeling rapidly turned against him and a sudden revolt resulted in his arrest and execution by firing squad on 15 September of that year.
• A second attempt was made in October 1852 when El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua created a Federation of Central America (Federación de Centro América). The union lasted less than a month.
• In 1856–1857 the region successfully established a military coalition to repel an invasion by the U.S. freebooter William Walker.
• Guatemalan President General Justo Rufino Barrios attempted to reunite the nation by force of arms in the 1880s but he died in battle near the town of Chalchuapa, El Salvador.
• A third union of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador as the Greater Republic of Central America (República Mayor de Centroamérica) lasted from 1896 to 1898.
• The latest attempt occurred between June 1921 and January 1922, when El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica formed a (second) Federation of Central America. The treaty establishing this federation was signed at San José, Costa Rica, on 19 January 1921. The treaty stipulated for the future creation of one state of all the four signatories, under one constitution. This second federation was nearly moribund from the start, having only a Provisional Federal Council of delegates from each state.
• In 1991 an economic and political organization called the Central American Integration System was formed with all Central American countries as well as the Dominican Republic. In addition to the historic backdrop in Central America, advocates of this latest integration effort regularly cite the European Union as a model to emulate.

See also

• Gran Colombia – another short-lived post-Spanish federal state
• Peru–Bolivian Confederation – another short-lived post-Spanish federal state
• Central American Integration System
• Central America-4 Border Control Agreement
• History of Central America
• Central American reunification

References

Bibliography

Books

• Foster, Lynn V. (2007). A Brief History of Central America. Brief History (2nd ed.). New York City: Facts on File. ISBN 9780816066711. OCLC 72161924. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
• Marure, Alejandro (1895). Efemérides de los Hechos Notables Acaecidos en la República de Centro-América Desde el Año de 1821 Hasta el de 1842 [Ephemeris of the Notable Events that Occurred in the Republic of Central America from the Year 1821 to that of 1842] (in Spanish). Central America: Tipografía Nacional. OCLC 02933391. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
• Meléndez Chaverri, Carlos (2000). José Matías Delgado, Prócer Centroamericano [José Matías Delgado, Central American Hero] (in Spanish). Vol. 8 (2nd ed.). San Salvador, El Salvador: Dirección de Publicaciones e Impresos. ISBN 9789992300572. OCLC 1035898393. Retrieved 28 March 2024.

Journals

• Kenyon, Gordon (1 May 1961). "Mexican Influence in Central America, 1821–1823". Hispanic American Historical Review. 41 (2). Duke University Press: 175–205. doi:10.1215/00182168-41.2.175. JSTOR 2510200. OCLC 5548601156. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
• Slade, William F. (July 1917). "The Federation of Central America". Journal of Race Development. 8 (1). Worcester, Massachusetts: 79–150. doi:10.2307/29738226. JSTOR 29738226. OCLC 7961547.
• Smith, Robert S. (1 November 1963). "Financing the Central American Federation, 1821–1838". Hispanic American Historical Review. 43 (4). Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press: 483–510. doi:10.1215/00182168-43.4.483. ISSN 0018-2168. JSTOR 2509898. OCLC 5791738905. Retrieved 3 August 2022.

Web sources

• "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, Since 1776: Central American Federation". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 16 April 2024.

Further reading

• "Constitución de la República Federal de Centroamérica" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
• "Documentos de la Union Centroamericana" (PDF). Organization of American States – Foreign Trade Information System. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

External links

• Map of the Federal Republic of Central America
• Maps showing the collapse of the Central American Republic