United Provinces of Central America

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Provincias Unidas del Centro de América República Federal de Centroamérica
Image:Flag of the Federal Republic of Central America.svg
Flag of the Federation
Image:Location ProviniasUnidasdelCentrodeAmérica.png
Capital Guatemala City; in 1834 moved to San Salvador
Created 1823
Dissolved 1840
Demonym Centroamerican

Image:CentralAmerica1860Map.jpg

The United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) was a country that existed in Central America from July 1823 to approximately 1840. It was intended to be a federal republic modeled after the USA. The coat of arms on the nation's flag from 1823–1824 referred to the federation as the Provincias Unidas del Centro de América ("United Provinces of Central America") but its 1824 constitution, coat of arms and flag called it the "Federal Republic of Central America" (República Federal de Centroamérica / Centro América). It is also sometimes referred to in English as the "United States of Central America".

The UPCA consisted of the states of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In the 1830s an additional state was added, Los Altos, with its capital in Quetzaltenango, occupying parts of what are now the western highlands of Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas. During the period of 1838–1840 the federation dissolved in civil war.

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Politics

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 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. The liberal democratic project was strongly opposed by conservative factions allied with the Roman Catholic clergy and the wealthy landowners. Transportation and communication routes between the states were extremely deficient. The bulk of the population lacked any sense of commitment towards the broader federation. The federal bureaucracy in Guatemala City proved ineffectual. Wars soon broke out between various factions both in the federation and within individual states. The poverty and extreme political instability of the region prevented the construction of an inter-oceanic canal (see Nicaragua Canal and Panama Canal), from which Central America could have obtained considerable economic benefits.

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Presidents

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Dissolution of the Union

The union dissolved in civil war between 1838 and 1840. Its disintegration began when Nicaragua separated from the federation on November 5, 1838, followed by Honduras and Costa Rica. The union effectively dissolved in 1840, by which time four of its five states had declared independence. The union was only officially ended upon El Salvador's self-proclamation of the establishment of an independent republic in February 1841.

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 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).

Modern day flags of the five nations
Image:Flag of Guatemala.svg Image:Flag of Nicaragua.svg Image:Flag of El Salvador.svg Image:Flag of Honduras.svg Image:Flag of Costa Rica.svg
Guatemala Nicaragua El Salvador Honduras Costa Rica
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See also

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External links

da:Mellemamerikas Forenede Stater de:Zentralamerikanische Konföderation el:Ενωμένες Επαρχίες της Κεντρικής Αμερικής es:Provincias Unidas del Centro de América fr:Provinces unies d'Amérique centrale ko:중앙아메리카 연방 it:Province Unite dell'America Centrale lt:Jungtinės Centrinės Amerikos Provincijos nl:Verenigde Staten van Centraal-Amerika ja:中米連邦 no:Den mellomamerikanske føderasjon pl:Zjednoczone Prowincje Ameryki Środkowej pt:Estados Unidos da América Central ru:Соединённые Провинции Центральной Америки fi:Keski-Amerikan liittovaltio zh:中美洲联合省

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