Editing History of Central America (section)

== Independence ==
<!-- This section is linked from [[Declaration of independence]] -->
[[File: José Matias Delgado.jpg |thumb|[[José Matías Delgado|José Matías Delgado y de León]] listed as the intellectual leader of the independence movement; Delgado was defined as influential, skillful, and intelligent, he started the revolutionary movements against the Spanish crown.]]
[[File:Vergara detalle firmaacta1821.JPG|thumb|left|José Matías Delgado At the time of signing the Central American act of independence, in a representation of the meeting of September 15, 1821 of the Chilean painter Luis Vergara Ahumada.]][[File:Próceres de la independencia Centroamérica.png|thumb|Heroes of Central American Independence]] 
In 1811, [[1811 Independence Movement|independence movements]]  broke out in El Salvador in reaction to events in the [[Peninsular War]], and again in 1814 after the restoration of [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]]. Both revolts were easily suppressed and the political unrest was subsumed into the general political process in the Spanish world that led to the [[Spanish Constitution of 1812]]. Between 1810 and 1814, the Captaincy General elected seven representatives to the [[Cortes of Cádiz]], in addition to forming a locally elected Provincial Deputation.<ref>Marie Laure Rieu-Millan. ''Los diputados americanos en las Cortes de Cádiz: Igualdad o independencia.'' Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1990, 43. {{ISBN|978-84-00-07091-5}}</ref> In 1821 a congress of Central American ''[[Spanish Criollo peoples|Criollos]]'' in Guatemala City composed the [[Act of Independence of Central America]] to declare the region's independence from Spain, effective on 15 September of that year.<ref name="documentos">{{Cite web|title = Documentos de la Union Centroamericana|website = Organization of American States - Foreign Trade Information System|url = http://www.sice.oas.org/sica/Studies/DocUnionCentroamericana.pdf|access-date = 12 October 2014}}</ref> That date is still marked as [[independence Day|independence day]] by most Central American nations. The Spanish Captain General, [[Gabino Gaínza]], sympathized with the rebels and it was decided that he should stay on as interim leader until a new government could be formed. Independence was short-lived, for the conservative leaders in Guatemala welcomed [[Central America under Mexican rule|annexation]] by the [[First Mexican Empire]] of [[Agustín de Iturbide]] on 5 January 1822. Central American [[liberalism|liberals]] objected to this, but an army from Mexico under General [[Vicente Filísola]] occupied Guatemala City and quelled dissent.

When Mexico [[First Mexican Republic|became]] a [[republic]] the following year, it acknowledged Central America's right to determine its own destiny. On 1 July 1823, the congress of Central America declared the Absolute Declaration. The primary provision of this declaration was the absolute independence of Central America from Spain, Mexico, and any other foreign nation, including any in North America. With regards to Spain, the declaration stated that Spain had usurped the rights of the colonies in Central America for three centuries, and reiterated the earlier independence acts of 1821. On the issue of Mexico and annexation into a greater Spanish American state in North America, the declaration labeled Mexican involvement in Central American independence as forceful and unlawful. This served to de-legitimize Mexican actions during the previous two years and separate Central America as a political entity. Further, a [[Republic]]an system of government was established under a unitary system. Though Guatemala would attempt to unify the provinces of Central America with its adoption of federalism, regional divisions endured.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rojas|first=Xiomara Avendaño|date=2018-02-26|title=Hispanic Constitutionalism and the Independence Process in the Kingdom of Guatemala, 1808–1823|url=https://oxfordre.com/latinamericanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.001.0001/acrefore-9780199366439-e-599|access-date=2021-03-18|website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History|language=en|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.599|isbn=9780199366439}}</ref> The conflicts between powerful urban centers in each region, including Guatemala itself, would make it difficult to unify provinces internally, and it was all the harder to do so as a wider region. The conflict between republicans and monarchists also made political unity difficult in Central America. These qualities would exist for decades after the region's separation from Spain and Mexico and would help to create the modern boundaries of Central America.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stanger|first=Francis Merriman|date=1932|title=National Origins in Central America|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2506428|journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review|volume=12|issue=1|pages=18–45|doi=10.2307/2506428|jstor=2506428|issn=0018-2168}}</ref> 

=== Federal Republic of Central America ===
[[File:Flag of the United Provinces of Central America.svg|thumb|Flag of Central America]]

In 1823, the [[Federal Republic of Central America]] was formed. It was intended to be a [[federal republic]] modeled after the [[United States|United States of America]]. It was provisionally known as "The United Provinces of Central America," while the final name according to the Constitution of 1824 was "The Federal Republic of Central America." It is sometimes incorrectly referred to in English as "The United States of Central America." The Central American nation consisted of the states of [[Guatemala]], [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[Costa Rica]]. In the 1830s, an additional state was added, [[Los Altos, Central America|Los Altos]], with its capital in [[Quetzaltenango]], occupying parts of what is now the western highlands of Guatemala as well as part of [[Chiapas]] (now part of Mexico), but this state was reincorporated into Guatemala and Mexico respectively in 1840.

Central American liberals had high hopes for the federal republic, which they believed would evolve into a modern, democratic nation, enriched by trade crossing through it between the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and the [[Pacific Ocean|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]].

The Union dissolved in [[civil war]] between 1838 and 1840. Its disintegration began when [[Nicaragua]] separated from the federation on November 5, 1838. The United Provinces of Central America (or PUCA- Provincias Unidas De Centro-America in Spanish) is the name given to the different states of Central America in the time after Central America's independence and before becoming their own distinct nations (between 1823 and 1840<ref>{{cite web |title=United Provinces of Central America |url=http://www.britannica.com/place/United-Provinces-of-Central-America |access-date=April 15, 2016 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>). It was a political movement that strived to unify the regions of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala (Panama and Belize at the time were under separate ownership) under a liberal federal government and believed that united they would be a stronger political unit. Unfortunately, due to many strong political disagreements within the different states, the UPCA eventually disbanded and the regions became separate nations with devastating political and economic civil wars that are still felt today.

The [[Captaincy General of Guatemala|kingdom of Guatemala]], as Central America was more commonly known as during Spanish and Mexican rule, had been annexed into Mexico in 1822 under the rule of emperor [[Agustín de Iturbide]]. The annexation was not without controversy, however, and tensions simmered between the republicans and nationalists favoring complete independence on one side and monarchists, who often favored annexation into Mexico, on the other. These tensions took varying forms depending on the region in question. In El Salvador, the provincial council openly defied annexation into Mexico. Meanwhile, in other regions, inner tensions between cities such as Leon Granada in Nicaragua made any sense of unity fleeting at best.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kenyon|first=Gordon|date=1961|title=Mexican Influence in Central America, 1821-1823|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2510200|journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review|volume=41|issue=2|pages=175–205|doi=10.2307/2510200|jstor=2510200|issn=0018-2168}}</ref> Shortly after the annexation, opposition against the monarch from Central American nationalists and republicans continued to grow. These groups pushed for independence from Mexico. Iturbide's unsuccessful leadership of Central America and the seeming collapse of the Mexican Empire caused his party to fail against the uprising rebels and on July 1, 1823, Central America gained its independence.

[[Image:CentralAmerica1892.jpg|thumb|Central America in 1892]]

After independence, officials from the different regions gathered in a junta to decide the future of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. They decided to unite into a federation of five autonomous states, thus creating the UPCA, a term coined by Brigadier General [[Vicente Filisola]], who was stationed in [[Guatemala City]].

The UPCA's aims were to be a liberal government with political principles modeled after the United States,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Foster|first1=Lyn|title=A Brief History of Central America|date=April 15, 2016|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=9780816066711|pages=[https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofce0000fost/page/135 135–160]|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofce0000fost/page/135}}</ref> and also to remain united. They felt that the “provinces alone were too small and weak economically to survive as sovereign states” so they “avert[ed] fragmentation of the isthmus”<ref name="A Brief History of Central America">{{cite book|last1=Foster|first1=Lyn|title=A Brief History of Central America|date=April 15, 2016|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=9780816066711|pages=[https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofce0000fost/page/136 136]|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofce0000fost/page/136}}</ref> and pushed for union. However, the UPCA soon noticed that there were many political ideals between the regions and conservative parties on the other end of the political spectrum actively showed their discontent under the new liberal regime. Despite this, the beginning of the federation went relatively smoothly and negotiations helped them reform borders, capital cities were moved to accommodate the citizens, and economies of coffee grew high. All the while, tensions between the liberals and conservatives and power struggles within the different economies increasingly grew.

One of the most notable key figures of UPCA was [[Francisco Morazan]], a liberal advocate who was chosen president of the UPCA. In the 1820s and through the 1830s Morazan took an active role in liberal movements throughout Central America, especially in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras against conservative parties. These battles between parties increasingly divided the nation causing sour relationships and distance between them. Differences between liberals who wanted [[free trade]], favored a republic and had anti-clerical views contested those of the conservatives who wanted a monarchy, trade under close control and power to the church.  These conflicts, along with [[cholera]] outbreaks, foreign intervention, and distress among those in poverty caused many insurgencies, resulting in various civil wars throughout Central America.

Morazan was captured in Costa Rica by the conservative party and they assassinated him on September 15, 1842,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pearcy|first1=Thomas|title=The History of Central America|date=April 15, 2016|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|isbn=978-0313322938|pages=40–60}}</ref> which marked the official end of the UPCA. Upon notification of his death, greater turmoil and fights among the opposing liberal and conservative parties increased. It is said that the conservative-liberal struggles that Morazan campaigned for are still in effect today.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pearcy|first1=Thomas|title=The History of Central America|date=April 15, 2016|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|isbn=978-0313322938|pages=54}}</ref> In addition, lacking a central authority proved to be unproductive and created more disputes and distrust within the different nations. In fact, foreigners who were looking to make economic and/or political negotiations were told that they had to go to each individual region for consultations and found it inconvenient.<ref name="A Brief History of Central America"/>
The desire for power and their inability to overcome bad relations among each other led to the fall of the UPCA. Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica seceded from the union in 1838. In 1839 Guatemala seceded, and in 1840 El Salvador did the same.

The provinces shortly after became their own separate republican nations, of which we are more familiar with today and eventually Panama and Belize came to be seen as part of what we know today as "Central America." Tensions among the different nations, however, continued to grow more aggressive throughout the rest of the 19th century. Despite knowing that unification would overall work better for Central America, they remained separate. Though many attempts to reunite the nations have been attempted throughout the years, none has succeeded.  Civil wars continued to be part of Central America through the 20th into the 21st century.

=== Greater Republic of Central America ===
{{Main|Greater Republic of Central America|Central American reunification}}

Various attempts were made to reunite Central America in the 19th 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 proposed to restore the union as the Confederation of Central America and planned to include El Salvador, Guatemala, 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 ({{lang|es|Federacion de Centro America}}). 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.

The third union of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador as the Greater [[Greater Republic of Central America|Republic of Central America]] or "Republica Mayor de Centroamerica" lasted from 1896 to 1898. The last 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 January 19, 1921. 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 concept of [[Central American reunification]], though lacking enthusiasm from the leaders of the individual countries, arose from time to time. In 1856–1857, the region successfully established a military coalition to repel an invasion by American adventurer [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]]. Today, all five nations fly [[flag]]s 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.