Everything about The Federal Republic Of Central America totally explained
The
Federal Republic of Central America, also known as the
United Central Provinces of America, was a short-lived
American
state in
Central America. An experiment in republican
democracy, it existed from July 1823 to 1840. It was intended to be a
federal republic modeled after the
United States of America. The
coat of arms on the
nation's
flag from 1823–1824 referred to the
federation (in
Spanish) as
Provincias Unidas del Centro de América ("United Provinces of the Center of America"); however, its 1824
constitution, coat of arms, and flag called it
República Federal de Centroamérica / Centro América ("Federal Republic of the Center of America"). It is also sometimes incorrectly referred to in
English as the United States of Central America. The concept flag was introduced to the area by Commodore
Louis-Michel Aury inspired in the
Argentine flag. Commodore Aury established the first independent republic in
Old Providence Island (Isla de Providencia) in 1818, off the coast of
Nicaragua.
The republic consisted of the states of
Guatemala (which initially included a large part of what is now the
Mexican state of
Chiapas),
El Salvador,
Honduras,
Nicaragua, and
Costa Rica. In the 1830s, an additional sixth state was added –
Los Altos, with its capital in
Quetzaltenango – occupying parts of what are now the western highlands of Guatemala and Chiapas. Although the new nation was now independent of
Spain, it had been annexed by
Mexico. The annexation was the focus of disagreement, some seeing the Mexican constitution with its abolition of slavery and establishment of free trade as an improvement over the status quo. During the period of 1838–1840, the federation engaged in
civil war by Conservatives fighting against the Liberals. Without a sustained struggle for independence to cement a sense of national identity, the various political frictions were unable to overcome their ideological differences and the federation dissolved after a series of bloody conflicts.
Politics
Central American
liberals had high hopes for the federal republic, which they believed would evolve into a modern, democratic nation, enriched by trade passing through it between the
Atlantic and the
Pacific oceans. These aspirations are reflected in the emblems of the federal republic: 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.
In practice, however, the federation faced insurmountable problems. As a governor of Mexico,
Vicente Filisola occupied
Guatemala City after the formation of Federal Republic of Central America and was successful in annexing
El Salvador in 1823, causing an uprising there. In compliance with the Mexican constitution, Filisola convened the
Central American congress which forthwith declared its independence from Mexico. Filisola wasn't able to maintain a fighting force, and his troops were sent back to Mexico by the residents of Guatemala City who paid for their transportation.
Various attempts were made to reunite Central America in the
nineteenth century, but none succeeded for any length of time:
The first attempt was in 1842 by former President Francisco Morazán, who was quickly captured and executed. The abortive attempt aimed to restore the union as the Confederation of Central America and included El Salvador, Guatemala (which withdrew early), Honduras, and Nicaragua. This first attempt lasted until 1844.
A second attempt was made and lasted from October to November 1852 when El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua created a Federation of Central America (Federación de Centro América). Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios attempted to reunite the nation by force of arms in the 1880s and was killed in the process, like his 1842 predecessor.
A third union of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador as the Greater Republic of Central America or "República Mayor de Centroamérica" lasted from 1896 to 1898.
The latest attempt occurred between June 1921 and January 1922 when El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras formed a (second) Federation of Central America. This second Federation was nearly moribund from the start, having only a Provisional Federal Council made up of delegates from each state.
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. In 1856–1857 the region successfully established a military coalition to repel an invasion by U.S. adventurer William Walker. Today, all five nations fly flags that retain the old federal motif of two outer blue bands bounding an inner white stripe. (Costa Rica, traditionally the least committed of the five to regional integration, modified its flag significantly in 1848 by darkening the blue and adding a double-wide inner red band, in honor of the French tricolor.) The short lived sixth state of Los Altos was forcibly annexed by Guatemala's Rafael Carrera.
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