Federal Republic of Central America República Federal de Centro América
1823–1839/1841
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Dios, Unión, Libertad "God, Union, Liberty"
Anthem: La Granadera "The Grenadier"
An orthographic projection of the world with the Federal Republic of Central America in green
Capital	Guatemala City (until 1834) San Salvador (from 1834)
Common languages	Spanish and various indigenous languages
Religion	Catholicism
Demonym(s)	Central American
Government	Federal presidential republic
President
• 1825–1829	Manuel José Arce (first)
• 1835–1839	Francisco Morazán (last)
Legislature	Federal Congress[a]
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Historical era	Spanish American wars of independence
• Independence from the Spanish Empire	15 September 1821
• Independence from the First Mexican Empire	1 July 1823
• Constitution adopted	22 November 1824
• Dissolution	17 April 1839
• El Salvador declares its independence	30 January 1841
Population
• 1824	1,287,491
• 1839	1,900,000
Currency	Real
Preceded by Succeeded by First Mexican Empire Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Los Altos British Honduras

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The Federal Republic of Central America (Spanish: República Federal de Centro América), 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 1839. The federal republic was composed of five states: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Shortly after Central America, then known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala, 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. It adopted its constitution [es] in November 1824 and held its first presidential election in April 1825, during which, liberal politician Manuel José Arce was elected as the country's first president. The federal republic was unstable and quickly descended into a series of civil wars and internal rebellions. From 1826 to 1829 and again from 1838 to 1840, conservatives fought against liberals for control of the federal government. These factions were unable to overcome their ideological differences and the bloody conflicts ended in the federal republic's effective dissolution in 1839.

Since the dissolution of the federal republic, there have been several attempts to reunify Central America.

Name[edit]

The country's first name, adopted upon independence from the First Mexican Empire on 1 July 1823, was the United Provinces of Central America (Spanish: Provincias Unidas del Centro de América).^[b][3][4] Upon the adoption of the country's constitution [es] on 22 November 1824, the United Provinces of Central America changed its name to the Federal Republic of Central America (República Federal de Centro América).^[5] The federal republic has alternatively been referred to as the Federation of Central America ("Federación de Centro América").^[6] Additionally, in the years shortly after independence, some official government documents referred to the country as the Federated States of Central America (Estados Federados del Centro de América).^[7][8]

Background[edit]

Colonial Central America[edit]

The Spanish conquered Central America in the 16th century. In 1542, Central America was organized into an audiencia, prior to which, the region was divided into numerous audiencias.^[9] The Central American audiencia initially extended north to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and south to the Isthmus of Panama,^[10] but in 1560, Spain transfered control of the Yucatán Peninsula to New Spain (modern-day Mexico), and in 1567, Spain transfered control of Panama to Peru.^[9] In 1568, the Central American audiencia was reorganized as the Captaincy General of Guatemala.^[10] The captaincy general was internally subdivided into corregimientos, gobiernos, greater mayorships, and intendancies.^[11]

Central American independence[edit]

On 15 September 1821, leading Central American colonial administrators declared independence from Spain and signed the Act of Independence of Central America. Independence leaders established the Consultive Junta to temporarily govern the newly-independent Central America until a permanent government could be established. Most government administrators, including Brigadier General Gabino Gaínza (the final captain general of Guatemala), retained their positions.^[12]

After independence, Central American leaders were divided on wether to remain independent or to join the First Mexican Empire;^[13] monarchists supported annexation while republicans and nationalists opposed it, both due to ideological similarities or differences.^[14] In November 1821, Mexican Regent Agustín de Iturbide formally asked the Consultive Junta to join the First Mexican Empire,^[15] and on 5 January 1822, the junta voted in favor of annexation.^[16] The Mexicans sent Brigadier General Vicente Filísola to enforce the annexation of Central America.^[17]

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.^{[citation needed]} On 1 July 1823, the Central American congress declared independence from Mexico, however, Chiapas chose to remain a part of Mexico.^[18]

History[edit]

National Constituent Assembly[edit]

Upon Central America's independence from Mexico, the Central American congress proclaimed the establishment of the United Provinces of Central America.^[18][19] The following day, the congress reorganized itself into the National Constituent Assembly and tasked itself with drafting a constitution for the newly-independent Central America.^[1][20] Delgado initially served as Central America's provisional president until 10 July 1823 when the National Constituent Assembly appointed a triumvirate [es] consisting of Arce, Juan Vicente Villacorta, Pedro Molina Mazariegos. As Arce was in the United States at the time of the triumvirate's establishment, Antonio Rivera Cabezas was appointed as his substitute.^[21] The three triumvirs would rotate executive power among themselves on a monthly basis.^[22]

Initially, the National Constituent Assembly was composed of delegates from only El Salvador and Guatemala;^[23] Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua did not send their delegates until October 1823^[1] as they were refusing to send delegates until Mexican soldiers had withdrawn from Central America.^[24] The National Constituent Assembly consisted of 64 delegates distributed across Central America.^[c] The National Constituent Assembly served as the de facto government of Central America until the constitution could be adopted.^[1] The two political factions which composed the National Constituent Assembly were the liberals and the conservatives; the liberals supported a federalism while the conservatives supported centralism.^[21]

On 14 September 1823, Captain Rafael Ariza y Torres launched an insurrection in Guatemala City (the capital city) as the Central American government was unable to pay its debts to the military.^[25] Although Ariza pledged his loyalty to the National Constituent Assembly, many assemblymen fled the city and called for soldiers from Chiquimula, Quetzaltenango, and San Salvador to suppress the insurrection.^[26] Neither Ariza's rebels nor Colonel José Rivas and his 750 soldiers from San Salvador wanted to engage in battle.^[27] Conservatives took advantage of the situation and forced the triumvirate to resign on 6 October.^[28] They installed a second, less liberal triumvirate [es] consisting of Arce, José Cecilio del Valle, and Tomás O'Horan. As both Arce and Valle were outside of the country at the time of the second triumvirate's formation, they were substituted by José Santiago Milla and Villacorta, respectively.^[29] Arce and Valle did not assume their positions on the triumvirate until 1824.^[30]

The second triumvirate ordered Rivas to march 150 soldiers into Guatemala City, and soon after, Ariza fled the country for exile in Mexico. The National Constituent Assembly subsequently returned to Guatemala City.^[29] The Salvadoran government ordered Rivas to remain near Guatemala City and verify that the National Constituent Assembly was functioning. On 12 October 1823, Rivas determined that the assembly was suppressing civil liberties and marched back into the city. On 17 October, 200 soldiers from Quetzaltenango arrived in Guatemala City and skirmished with Rivas' forces as the soldiers from Quetzaltenango believed that Rivas was acting as an agent on behalf of El Salvador.^[31] After a few days, the assembly drafted an agreement to appease both armies. Rivas' forces withdrew back to El Salvador and the soldiers from Quetzaltenango returned home.^[32]

In December 1823, the National Constituent Assembly resumed work on drafting a federal constitution which was based on the federal system of the United States.^[33][15] The assembly drafted the constitution on 12 June 1824 and published it on 4 July.^[34] On 22 November, the constitution was formally adopted once all 64 members of the assembly signed it. The National Constituent Assembly dissolved itself on 23 January 1825. It was succeeded by the Federal Congress (the country's legislature) on 6 February.^[35]

1825 election and first civil war[edit]

The federal republic's first presidential election occurred on 21 April 1825.^[36] Arce was the liberals' candidate while Valle was the conservatives' candidate.^[37] During the election, 41 of the 82 electors voted for Valle, 34 voted for Arce, 4 voted for other candidates, and 3 did not vote. Federal Congress argued that no candidate won a majority by including the 3 that did not vote into the final vote total, and congress tasked itself with determining the outcome of the election. As the liberals held a majority on the Federal Congress, they voted 22–4 in favor of electing Arce as president.^[38] Although Valle was entitled to become vice president as he was the election's runner up, he refused to accept the position, as did fellow conservative José Francisco Barrundia. Ultimately, conservative Mariano Beltranena became Arce's vice president.^[37] Arce and Beltranena assumed office on 29 April.^[36]

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 states.^{[citation needed]}

Second civil war[edit]

The Assembly in 1838 adjourned with the declaration that the states 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.^{[citation needed]}

The union slid into civil war between 1838 and 1840.^{[citation needed]} Its disintegration began when Nicaragua separated from the federation on 5 November 1838, followed by Honduras and Costa Rica^{[citation needed]} (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 states were free to create their own independent republics.^{[citation needed]} In reality, this merely legally acknowledged the process of disintegration that had already begun.^{[citation needed]} The union effectively ended in 1840, by which time four of its five states had declared independence.^{[citation needed]}

Dissolution[edit]

On 17 April 1839, Carrera issued a decree declaring the dissolution the Federal Republic of Central America; the Federal Congress accepted the decree on 14 July.^[39] On 30 January 1841, El Salvador declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Central America as the Republic of San Salvador.^[40]

Government and politics[edit]

Federal government[edit]

According to the constitution, the government of the Federal Republic of Central America was "popular, representative, and federal".^[41] All elected officials in the federal republic were elected through indirect elections; voters voted for electors who would vote on behalf their behalf, rather than voting directly for candidates who were seeking public office. In presidential, vice presidential, and legislative elections, there were three rounds of voting; voters elected electors in the first round, electors voted for a further set of electors in the second round, and those electors voted for the actual candidates seeking public office in the third round.^[42]

The federal republic's government was also divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.^[41] The Federal Congress was the legislative branch of the Federal Republic of Central America.^[43] The Federal Congress was a bicameral legislature.^[44] The Chamber of Deputies was the lower house and consisted of 41 deputies allocated to each state^[d] on a basis of one deputy per 30,000 people.^[38] and The Senate was the upper house and consisted of two senators from each state for a total of ten senators.^[18][45] The Senate acted as a de facto executive council which approved legislation passed by the Council of Deputies. The Council of Deputies was able to override a Senate veto with a two-third majority, or a three-fourths majority for legislation regarding taxation.^[46] From 1824 to 1838, there were a total of 11 sessions of the Federal Congress.^[47]

The president led the executive branch of the federal republic. The president was elected to a four-year term and served as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president of the Federal Republic of Central America was relatively weaker compared to other contemporary Latin American presidents, particularly because the president did not have veto power and was required by the constitution to implement all laws passed by the Federal Congress.^[46] The Supreme Court was established on 2 August 1824 and served as the federal republic's judicial branch.^[48] The court consisted of between five to seven justices each elected to two-year terms. These terms were staggered.^[46]

State governments[edit]

On 5 May 1824, the National Constituent Assembly ordered each of the federal republic's five states to instal state-level legislatures to which resemble the Federal Congress.^[49]

Administrative divisions[edit]

The federal republic consisted of five states:^[49] Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Briefly, from 1838 to 1839, the federal government considered separating Los Altos from Guatemala and elevating it to the status of a states.^[50] Guatemala claimed Belize as part of its territorial extent, however, the coastal parts of Belize were occupied by the British.^[18]

Political factions[edit]

The two major political factions of the Federal Republic of Central America were the liberals (also referred to as federalists) and the conservatives (also referred to as centralists).^[51] These factions did not organize themselves into proper political parties until after the collapse of the federal republic.^[52] The liberals were supported by the upper-middle class and intellectuals, while the conservatives were supported by wealthy landowners, established colonial-era families, and the clergy.^[53]

The liberals supported implementing a federal government and granting various devolved powers to the country's states, while the conservatives supported centralizing power around the national government.^[21] The liberals attempted to implement freedom of religion in 1823,^[54] however, resistance from the predominantly Catholic population led to the liberals failing to implement the reform; instead, Catholicism was established as the country's official religion.^[21][46] In 1825, an executive decree required all Catholic clergymen in the to swear an oath of allegiance to the federal republic. The clergy opposed this decree as they perceived it as diminishing the power and authority of the Catholic Church.^[54] The liberals also attempted and failed to implement freedom of the press.^[21]

Foreign relations[edit]

Mexico recognized Central American independence in August 1823.^[2]

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.^[55]

National symbols[edit]

While resisting the Mexican attempt to annex Central America in 1822, Arce's forces waved a triband of blue-white-blue inspired by the flag of Argentina.^[56] The flag of the Federal Republic of Central America, which was adopted on 21 August 1823,^[57] was based on Arce's 1822 design.^[56] The flag adopted retained the blue-white-blue triband design with the country's coat of arms in the center.^[57] The federal republic's coat of arms consisted of an equilateral triangle. Contained within the triangle were a rainbow at the top, a Phrygian cap with beams of light emanating from it in the center, and a row of five rounded volcanos surrounded by two oceans at the bottom.^[57]

The federal republic's national motto was "God, Union, Liberty" ("Dios, Unión, Libertad"). This motto was adopted on 4 August 1823 and replaced the previous motto of "God keep you many years" ("Dios guarde a Ud. muchos años") used since before independence.^[53]

Demographics[edit]

Population of Central America (1824)^[58]

State	Population
Costa Rica	70,000
El Salvador	212,573
Guatemala	660,580
Honduras	137,069
Nicaragua	207,269
Total	1,287,491

In 1824, Central America had an estimated population of 1,287,491;^[18][58] by 1839, it had an estimated population of 1,900,000.^[59] The country's population was unevenly distributed across the states, with over half of the population being located in Guatemala alone in 1824. The constitution granted political representation in the Federal Congress proportional to population, to this population imbalance granted Guatemala a greater proportion of representation in the legislature than the other states.^[60]

Central America was not ethnically homogenous.^[44] In 1824, 65 percent of the population was indigenous, 31 percent was mixed (Ladino or mestizo), and 4 percent was white (Spanish or criollo).^[18] Additionally, ethnic composition varied throuhgout the Central American states. In Guatemala, up to 70 percent of the population was indigenous; El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua were almost entirely composed of mestizos; Costa Rica self-reported to be 80 percent white.^[61]

Central America's white and mixed population predominantly spoke Spanish, while the majority indigenous population spoke their various native indigenous languages. The majority of Central Americans in the federal republic were illiterate.^[61] Catholicism was the largest and official religion of Central America and the Catholic Church was very influential in federal politics.^[62]

Economy[edit]

The country's constitution enabled the federal government to impose taxes and take out foreign loans to finance itself.^[64]

Under Spanish colonial rule, Central America's economy was primarily reliant on agriculture as there was not an abundance of natural resources in the region.^[65][66] This agriculture-based economy continued for the first few years of the federal republic's existence, as its primary exports were lumber products, indigo, cochineal, and cacao.^[67]

On 19 March 1824, the National Constituent Assembly passed a law which prohibited the minting of coins with "the bust, coat of arms, or whatever other emblems which are typical and distinctive of the Spanish monarchy" ("el busto, escudo de armas o cualesquiera otros emblemas que sean propios y distintivos de la monarquía española"). The law also ordered the creation of a new currency. The observe would depicts the design of the country's coat of arms on the observe, while the reverse would depict a tree and the phrase "Free Grow Fertile" ("Libre Crezca Fecundo").^[68][69]

The constitution abolished slavery.^[46]

Legacy[edit]

Reunification attempts[edit]

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[edit]

• 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

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Books[edit]

Journals[edit]

Web sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

• "Constitución de la República Federal de Centro América, Decretada por la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente en 22 de Noviembre de 1824" [Constitution of the Federal Republic of Central America, Decreed by the National Constituent Assembly on 22 November 1824] (PDF). National Constituent Assembly of Central America (in Spanish). 22 November 1822. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
• Trabanino, José Guillermo. "Documentos de la Unión Centroamericana" [Documents of the Central American Union] (PDF). Organization of American States (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2014.

14°37′N 90°31′W / 14.617°N 90.517°W / 14.617; -90.517