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From January 1822 to July 1823, the
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...
, a former Spanish colony, was controlled by the
First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...
, and briefly, the
Supreme Executive Power The Supreme Executive Power () was the provisional government of Mexico that governed between the fall of the First Mexican Empire in April 1823 and the election of the first Mexican president, Guadalupe Victoria, in October 1824. After Emperor ...
—the provisional government that succeeded Mexican imperial rule. The captaincy general consisted of the provinces of
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, and
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
—the six southernmost provinces of the Mexican Empire. The incorporation of Central America brought Mexico to the height of its territorial extent. Only two months after the
Act of Independence of Central America The Act of Independence of Central America (), also known as the Act of Independence of Guatemala, is the legal document by which the Provincial Council of the Province of Guatemala proclaimed the independence of Central America from the Spanish ...
was signed in September 1821, Regent of Mexico
Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...
, who later became the
emperor of Mexico The Emperor of Mexico () was the head of state and head of government of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions during the 19th century. With the Mexican Declaration of Independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico briefly became an independent mon ...
in May 1822, made a formal request to the Consultive Junta of Guatemala City—the Central American government—to accept annexation to the Mexican Empire. His request was accepted on 5 January 1822. Despite the acceptance by the Guatemalan-based government, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and parts of Nicaragua resisted Mexican annexation, and Mexican and allied Guatemalan soldiers were mobilized to subjugate those regions. Mexican and allied Guatemalan forces were commanded by Brigadier Vicente Filísola, who was serving as the captain general of the Central American provinces. Just over a year was spent on a military campaign that defeated the resistance and ended in the annexation of El Salvador in February 1823. In Costa Rica, the government declared independence from Mexico in October 1822, however, a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
by pro-Mexican monarchists in March 1823 led to the outbreak of a civil war. The Ochomogo War of April 1823 deposed the monarchist government and reestablished the secessionist government. Meanwhile, a rebellion in Nicaragua led by José Anacleto Ordóñez sought to overthrow the incumbent Nicaraguan government. Before Filísola could continue to Nicaragua and Costa Rica after his victory in El Salvador, Iturbide was forced to abdicate the Mexican imperial throne and go into exile, and a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
was established after the abolition of the monarchy. As a result, Filísola abandoned his orders to continue the conquest of Central America and convened a congress of Central American political leaders to determine the future of Central America. On 1 July 1823, the Central American congress declared independence from Mexico and established the
United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
, later known as the Federal Republic of Central America, which existed until its dissolution in 1841 after the
First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and
Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
Central American Civil Wars. Not all of Central America chose to become independent, however, as Chiapas remained a part of Mexico and is now one of the country's 31 states.


Independence of New Spain


Mexican independence

On 16 September 1810,
criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
priest
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War ...
issued the
Cry of Dolores The Cry of Dolores () occurred in Dolores Hidalgo, Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the pronunciamiento, call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Indep ...
, a call for Mexican independence from the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. This began the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...
in
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
, Spain's colony that encompassed modern-day Mexico, Central America, and the southwestern United States. Hidalgo's declaration was a reaction to the French invasion of Spain; the invasion overthrew Spanish King
Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
and replaced him with
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's brother,
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
. Although Ferdinand was restored as king of Spain in 1814, some in New Spain were not satisfied with his reign as the
constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution w ...
was suspended. In 1820, high-ranking military officers in New Spain demanded that the constitution be reinstated. On 24 February 1821,
Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...
, a Mexican general fighting for independence, published his Plan of the Three Guarantees in the city of Iguala. This plan outlined his vision for the new independent Mexican state. It contained three key provisions: the establishment of a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
, that
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
would be the state religion (receiving special protections), and that the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and people of both European descent and
mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
s (people of mixed-European and indigenous ancestry) would also receive special protections. Iturbide invited Ferdinand, any member of Ferdinand's immediate family, or any other Spanish Bourbon prince to rule as the
emperor of Mexico The Emperor of Mexico () was the head of state and head of government of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions during the 19th century. With the Mexican Declaration of Independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico briefly became an independent mon ...
. Until an emperor could be appointed, Iturbide held the position of president of the regency council unopposed. After 11 years of war between Mexican independence forces and Spanish royalist forces, Mexico attained full independence in 1821 with the
Treaty of Córdoba The Treaty of Córdoba established Mexican independence from Spain at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence. It was signed on August 24, 1821 in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. The signatories were the head of the Army of the Three Guar ...
on 24 August and the
Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire Declaration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * Declaration (book), ''Declaration'' (book), a self-published electronic pamphlet by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri * The Declaration (novel), ''The Declaration'' (novel), a 2 ...
on 28 September; Spain later rejected the Treaty of Córdoba in February 1822, and the Mexicans interpreted this rejection as Ferdinand and the Bourbons also rejecting the Mexican throne.


Central American independence

Central America had been administered as a colony of Spain under the
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...
(also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala) since 1568. The region launched rebellions in
1811 Events January–March * January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana. * January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón ...
and to gain independence, but both were suppressed by Spanish forces. Gabino Gaínza, the captain general of Guatemala, initially opposed independence but changed his mind once proponents of independence told him that he could remain as captain general even after independence. On 15 September 1821, Central America declared independence from Spain with the signing of the
Act of Independence of Central America The Act of Independence of Central America (), also known as the Act of Independence of Guatemala, is the legal document by which the Provincial Council of the Province of Guatemala proclaimed the independence of Central America from the Spanish ...
in
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
. Central America pursued independence in part because of Iturbide's Plan of the Three Guarantees, which was very popular within Central America. Upon independence, the Captaincy General of Guatemala was abolished. The captaincy general's former provinces—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua—united under the Consultive Junta, a provisional national government was established in Guatemala to form a formal federal government for Central America. Elections for a permanent government were scheduled to occur on 1 March 1822. The Spanish-appointed provincial governors remained in place and continued to exercise their authority after independence was declared. The independence of Central America was not considered to be a priority by Spain due to its relative insignificance in comparison to their other colonies of New Granada, northern New Spain (Mexico), and
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, which they were still fighting for control of.


Central American infighting over annexation

Immediately after independence, the idea of annexation to Mexico divided the Central American ruling class.
Monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
politicians preferred annexation due to their ideological alignment to the monarchist Mexican Empire and their belief that Central America was "unable to handle the problems of independence alone". Others argued that annexation would also help diversify the region's economy, which was mostly dependent on
indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
exports, and open trade to Mexico and Europe. Meanwhile,
nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
and republicans opposed annexation and wished to retain independence due to their ideological differences with Mexico. Gaínza (who had since assumed the political leadership of both Guatemala and the Consultive Junta), Nicaraguan Bishop Nicolás García Jerez, and the Guatemalan supported annexation. Politicians from the Nicaraguan city of León were in favor of annexation. In the Honduran city of
Comayagua Comayagua () is a city, municipality and old capital of Honduras, located northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and above sea level. The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authoriti ...
, Brigadier , the political chief of Honduras, rejected the legitimacy of the independent Central American government and swore his loyalty to the Plan of the Three Guarantees. The question of annexation to Mexico or independence was not important to the majority of indigenous Central Americans as it did not affect them. The K'iche', the largest Guatemalan indigenous group, were in favor of annexation as Mexico allowed the K'iche' to control their own affairs during the annexation process. Manuel José Arce, a Salvadoran politician and a leading republican figure, was one of the primary opponents to annexation. Although some parts of El Salvador sought annexation, the capital city,
San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
, firmly supported independence. On 4 October 1821,
Pedro Barriere Pedro Ortiz de la Barriere Castro (1768 – 18 May 1827) was a Spanish politician, military officer, and lawyer who served as the colonial intendant of the Intendancy of San Salvador from 1819 until 1821. He also served the first head of sta ...
, the conservative political chief of El Salvador, arrested Arce and several other Salvadoran politicians for calling upon Barrier to hold elections to elect a delegation for the Consultive Junta. In response to Barriere's action and seeking to prevent civil unrest in San Salvador, Consultive Junta removed Barriere from his position on 11 October. The Consultive Junta replaced him with Salvadoran priest
José Matías Delgado José Matías Delgado y de León (24 February 1767 – 12 November 1832) was a Salvadoran priest and doctor known as ''El Padre de la Patria Salvadoreña'' (The Father of the Salvadoran Fatherland). He was a prominent leader in the independen ...
. Delgado proceeded to free the politicians who Barriere arrested. Costa Rica maintained a neutral position regarding independence or annexation to Mexico due to its relative isolation from the rest of Central America and because it previously opposed the initial declaration of independence from Spain. The Costa Rican provisional government waited for a definitive decision from the Consultive Junta. Gaínza did not wish to hold a meeting of Central America's political leaders, fearing that disagreements from the meeting could contribute to the outbreak of a civil war within Central America. On 28 November 1821, Gaínza received a letter from Iturbide formally requesting the annexation of Central America into the Mexican Empire. In the letter, Iturbide stated that stability and security in Central America could only be possible if it joined a union with Mexico. He claimed to be seeking harmony with the Central American people, but he also stated that he was sending soldiers to Central America to ensure that order would be protected. Iturbide had already sent 200 soldiers into
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
on 20 November to seize control of the area; although, Chiapas had already declared its separation from Guatemala on 26 September. In response to the letter, Gaínza ordered all 237 municipalities across Central America to publish Iturbide's letter, hold
open cabildo The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political assembly for convening citizens to deliberate policy. Originating in Spanish America as an iteration of the ''cabildo'', it also spread to Spain. His ...
s (municipal councils where citizens could give their input on government decisions), and vote on annexation within thirty days. The result of the open cabildos was a decision in favor of complete annexation without any conditions. Although the issued final report of the poll did not wait for the results of the 67 remaining open cabildos to be counted and did not give exact details on how each municipality voted, Gaínza assured the public that the 104 municipalities which voted in favor of complete annexation without any conditions represented a majority of the population. As such, on 5 January 1822, the Consultive Junta voted in unconditional support for the annexation of Central America to the Mexican Empire. As a result of the annexation, Mexico reached the height of its territorial extent, and the people of Central America were automatically granted Mexican citizenship. The Consultive Junta was dissolved on 21 February 1822. The Act of Union of the Provinces of Central America with the Mexican Empire, which formalized Central America's annexation to Mexico, was signed by fourteen politicians and religious leaders. The fourteen signatories were: * Gabino Gaínza *
Mariano de Aycinena y Piñol Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see als ...
* Miguel Larreynaga *
José Cecilio del Valle José Cecilio Díaz del Valle (November 22, 1780 – March 2, 1834) was a philosopher, politician, lawyer, and journalist and one of the most important figures in Central America during the transition from colonial government to independenc ...
* Mariano Beltranena y Llano * * Antonio Rivera Cabezas * José Mariano Calderón * José Antonio Alvarado * * Eusebio Castillo * José Valdés * José Domingo Diéguez *
Mariano Gálvez José Felipe Mariano Gálvez ( – March 29, 1862 in Mexico) was a jurist and Liberal politician in Guatemala. For two consecutive terms from August 28, 1831, to March 3, 1838, he was chief of state of the State of Guatemala, within the Federal ...


Annexation and subsequent separatist conflicts

Brigadier General Vicente Filísola was appointed by Iturbide to command Mexican soldiers to occupy Central America and solidify Mexican control in the region. The active resistance against the annexation was in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Republican politicians in El Salvador attempted to usurp authority of Central America from Guatemala City and lead a region-wide resistance to Mexican occupation.


Suppression of Salvadoran resistance

Arce and Delgado organized an armed Salvadoran resistance and prepared to engage in battle with Mexican forces. Gaínza, who was serving as the captain general of Central America, committed Guatemalan soldiers to support the Mexicans in March 1822 and placed them under the command of Chilean Sergeant . Salvadoran and Guatemalan forces clashed in the town of El Espinal on 3 March, ending in a Salvadoran victory which forced Abós y Padilla's soldiers to retreat. Gaínza discharged Abós y Padilla and replaced him with Colonel Manuel Arzú on 19 March. Gaínza also reinforced Arzú with more soldiers. Arzú's army succeeded in occupying San Salvador on 5 April and forced Salvadoran soldiers to abandon the city. Filísola remained in Chiapas as Guatemalan forces occupied San Salvador. After requests from the Guatemalan government for his presence, Filísola arrived at Guatemala City on 12 June 1822. He succeeded Gaínza as the captain general and political chief of Central America on 23 June. On 30 August, Filísola negotiated an armistice with El Salvador which involved the Salvadoran government presenting its rights and complains before the Mexican government in November and ceding seven municipalities to the Guatemalan government. The delegations which negotiated the armistice included Antonio José Cañas and Juan Francisco Sosa from El Salvador, and Colonel Felipe Codallos and Lieutenant Colonel José Luis González Ojeda from Guatemala. Filísola advised Iturbide (who had assumed the throne of the Mexican Empire on 19 May 1822) of the armistice. Iturbide rejected the armistice. He believed that the armistice was not enough to ensure the loyalty of El Salvador, and ordered Filísola to again occupy San Salvador and extract a total submission to Mexican authority from its government. On 10 November, the Salvadoran congress declared that it was not able to ratify the armistice, and that El Salvador would defend its rights with force. Before Filísola's forces invaded El Salvador, the Salvadoran government junta sent an envoy of diplomats to Washington, D.C. to formally request annexation to the United States in an attempt to avoid being completely conquered by Mexican forces. During this time, a rumor spread in El Salvador that the United States had sent an expeditionary force of 1,500 soldiers to enforce the annexation, but no such expedition existed. The envoy arrived in mid-1823, but they were not invited to meet either President
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
or Secretary of State
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...
. By then, the Mexican Empire had already collapsed. Following Iturbide's orders, Filísola left Guatemala City on 11 November 1822 with 2,000 troops to again occupy San Salvador. In response to Filísola's invasion, Delgado sent a message to the Mexican government offering full annexation on the sole condition that representatives from El Salvador would be allowed to participate in the formulation of the new Mexican constitution. On 7 December, Filísola occupied the Salvadoran city of Coatepeque. The Mexican army numbered 5,000 soldiers while Salvadoran forces numbered less than 1,000 and were armed with only machetes and spears. Despite Filísola's numerical advantage, he recognized that attempting to subjugate the rebel army would be difficult as Delgado's symbolic religious support was boosting public morale in San Salvador. On 21 December, Filísola was informed that Arce's soldiers had fortified themselves in the cities of San Miguel, San Martín, and Cojutepeque. Filísola issued an
ultimatum An ; ; : ultimata or ultimatums) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a coercion, threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the ...
to Arce on 14 January 1823, stating that annexation to the United States was hopeless and that annexation to the Mexican Empire was inevitable. Arce sent Filísola a response the following day rejecting the ultimatum. After the rejection, Mexican forces marched on Apopa and
Ayutuxtepeque Ayutuxtepeque is a district in the San Salvador department of El Salvador. It is one of the nine municipalities that make up the San Salvador Metropolitan Area (AMSS). The name of the municipality means "Armadillos Hill (or Mountain)" Municipa ...
on 7 February 1823, all the while being attacked by Salvadoran soldiers using
guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
. The Salvadoran soldiers defending San Salvador fled the city that same day. Two days later, Filísola captured San Salvador and became the province's governor. The Salvadoran soldiers who fled the city retreated to Honduras under the command of Mariano Prado, where they surrendered to Filísola near the town of Gualcince on 21 February.


Civil war in Costa Rica

The Electoral Junta was established in Costa Rica on 5 January 1822, abolishing the Interim Junta which had governed Costa Rica since December 1821. On 10 January, the Electoral Junta approved Costa Rica's annexation to the Mexican Empire. The Electoral Junta was succeeded by the on 13 January, and its president, (who had been appointed by the junta upon its formation), began preparations for elections which would determine Costa Rica's representatives in the . The election was held on 31 January. Barroeta served as the junta's president until 13 April when he was replaced by Santiago de Bonilla y Laya-Bolívar. Bonilla was succeeded by José María de Peralta on 14 July, who himself was succeeded by José Rafael Gallegos on 16 October. When Iturbide abolished the Constituent Congress on 31 October 1822 without a new constitution being drafted, some Costa Ricans became frustrated with the Mexican emperor. The frustrations divided Costa Rican politicians on whether to remain with Mexico or to secede. On 8 March 1823, the Superior Gubernatorial Junta voted to secede from Mexico, declaring: "The Province of Costa Rica shall be absolutely free and independent of any power, therefore in the use of its rights and the current congress in the exercise of its sovereignty." The declaration of independence was not universally agreed upon by all Costa Rican politicians, leading to a civil conflict among the Costa Rican ruling class between those in favor of independence (republicans) and those in favor of remaining with Mexico (monarchists). On 14 March 1823, the Superior Gubernatorial Junta led by (who had succeeded Gallegos on 1 January 1823) was dissolved in favor of the Provincial Deputation led by Rafael Francisco Osejo. Osejo and the new government, however, were overthrown in a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
by monarchist Joaquín de Oreamuno on 29 March. Republican Gregorio José Ramírez was declared as the leader of Costa Rica in opposition of Oreamuno in the city of
Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela (canton), Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of ...
on 1 April. Ramírez led republican forces in battle against the monarchists on 5 April 1823 in the Battle of Ochomogo. The battle ended in a republican victory and the overthrow of Oreamuno. Afterwards, Ramírez assumed the position of supreme leader of Costa Rica. Ramírez was succeeded by José María de Peralta on 16 April, who was then succeeded by a second Superior Gubernatorial Junta led by on 10 May, which remained in power until September 1824.


Unrest in Nicaragua

José Anacleto Ordóñez, a Nicaraguan soldier, merchant, and nationalist who opposed Mexican rule over Nicaragua, launched a rebellion against the pro-Mexican government on 16 January 1823. He and his supporters bloodlessly captured the military barracks in
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
. This was followed by a series of lootings and robberies by Ordóñez's supporters in the cities of Granada, Jinotepe, Juigalpa, and
Masaya Masaya () is the capital city of Masaya Department in Nicaragua. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada, Nicaragua, Granada and 31 km southeast of Managua. It is located just east of the Masaya Volcano, an active volcano ...
. The violence caused many in the affected cities to flee to
Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
, which remained under the control of pro-Mexican forces. On 23 February 1823, Nicaraguan governor (who had been Nicaragua's final Spanish governor) forcibly recaptured Granada with an army of 1,000 soldiers, forcing Ordóñez and his supporters to flee the city. Ordóñez bestowed upon himself the title of and retreated to Masaya, where he continued his rebellion. On 17 April, González Saravia stepped down as the governor of Nicaragua and was replaced by José Carmen Salazar. Five days later, Ordóñez's rebel forces captured Crisanto Sacasa, the pro-Mexican commander of Granada, and held him as a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
. Salazar attempted to make peace with Ordóñez's rebellion, but Ordoñez's rebellion continued well past the independence of Central America, resulting in Ordóñez overthrowing the government of Pablo Méndez in August 1824.


Independence from Mexico


Iturbide's abdication

After the subjugation of El Salvador, Filísola planned to continue his campaign for Mexican control of Central America, including subjugating the rebellious city of Granada and solidifying control of Costa Rica. Before he could continue, however, he heard news about a military-led plot to depose Iturbide. Filísola returned to Guatemala City in March 1823, abandoning his orders to complete the annexation of Central America. As a result of the plot against him, Iturbide abdicated the Mexican throne and went into exile on 19 March 1823, marking the end of the Mexican Empire. In its place, three Mexican military officers—
Nicolás Bravo Nicolás Bravo Rueda (10 September 1786 – 22 April 1854) was a Mexican soldier and politician who served as interim President of Mexico three times, in 1839, 1842, and 1846. Previously, he fought in the Mexican War of Independence, and ser ...
,
Guadalupe Victoria Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and politician who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence and afte ...
, and Pedro Negrete—established the
Supreme Executive Power The Supreme Executive Power () was the provisional government of Mexico that governed between the fall of the First Mexican Empire in April 1823 and the election of the first Mexican president, Guadalupe Victoria, in October 1824. After Emperor ...
, serving as joint
heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "
he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of a
provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
formed in the wake of the abolition of the Mexican monarchy. On 29 March, after news of Iturbide's abdication reached Filísola, he called for the formation of a Central American congress to decide the future of Central America. On 1 April, the Mexican Constituent Congress (which has been restored on 7 February 1823) instructed Mexican forces in Central America to cease hostilities with anti-annexation and republican forces, and Filísola expressed his support for the Central American people to determine their own "destiny". On 7 May 1823, Filísola appointed Codallos, who was his second-in-command during the campaign to annex El Salvador, as the military chief of San Salvador in his absence. Less than one month later on 25 May, Salvadorans managed to pressure Codallos and the garrison of 500 Mexican and Guatemalan soldiers under his command to leave San Salvador. In his place, Salvadoran politicians and military leaders established another Consultive Junta, based in San Salvador. The junta was composed of Prado, Colonel José Justo Milla, and Colonel José Rivas. The junta was later dissolved on 17 June and Prado assumed sole governance of El Salvador.


Central American congress

On 18 June 1823, the Mexican Constituent Congress instructed Filísola to be in attendance of the upcoming session of the Central American congress and to maintain friendly relations in the hope that the congress would vote to remain a part of Mexico. The Mexican congress did instruct him, however, to respect the Central American congress' decision whether to remain in union with Mexico or to become an independent state. The session of the Central American congress began on 29 June 1823 with representatives from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico in attendance. Chiapas, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua stated that they would boycott the conference until Filísola resigned as captain general and withdrew all Mexican forces from Central America. During the congress, 37 of the 41 representatives voted to appoint Delgado as the president of the congress, then known as the National Constituent Assembly of Central America. On 1 July, the National Constituent Assembly of Central America issued the Decree of Absolute Independence of the Provinces of Central America, declaring independence from Mexico and reaffirming independence from Spain. The declaration formed the
United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
. Chiapas, however, did not join the newly declared Central American state, choosing to remain a part of Mexico. Its decision to remain with Mexico was confirmed in a referendum on 26 May 1824. After the residents of Guatemala City raised enough money to pay for the Mexican army's withdrawal, Filísola and his soldiers withdrew from Guatemala and returned to Chiapas on 3 August 1823. Central American independence was formally recognized by Mexico on 20 August 1824. The United Provinces of Central America, later known as the Federal Republic of Central America, continued to exist until its 1841 collapse following the
First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and
Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
Central American Civil Wars. Central America's independence led many Mexican provinces to desire increased regional autonomy for themselves. Most provinces called upon the national government to establish a new national congress as they believed those under Iturbide were illegitimate. Meanwhile, the provinces of
Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
,
Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...
, and
Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...
announced the establishments of their own local juntas in place of a national congress, and
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...
and the Eastern Interior Provinces stated that they would declare independence from Mexico unless a new congress was established. The situation in Mexico stabilized after the Mexican Constituent Congress ratified a new constitution in October 1824 and the country became a
federal republic A federal republic is a federation of Federated state, states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means a country that is governed by elected re ...
.


Government


Captaincy government

During Mexico's annexation of the region, Mexico and Central America had the same heads of state. Iturbide ruled as regent, and then as emperor, from January 1822 until his abdication in March 1823, after which, the three leaders of the provisional government—Bravo, Victoria, and Negrete—served as joint heads of state. At the regional level, the five provinces were organized into the Captaincy General of Guatemala (), and the captaincy general was governed by a captain general from the capital in Guatemala City. The position of captain general existed throughout Mexico's rule, and it was held by Gaínza, Filísola, and Codallos. ; Color key :


Individual provincial governments

The following are lists of the political leaders of the five individual provinces. Control of the provinces changed multiple times between monarchists in favor of annexation and republicans in favor of secession, usually as a result of conflicts and unrest within the provinces. ; Color key : :


Costa Rica


El Salvador


Guatemala


Honduras


Nicaragua


Representation in the national legislature

The Mexican Constituent Congress was established on 24 February 1822 and was tasked with drafting a constitution for the Mexican Empire. In November 1821, the Mexican government decided on the electoral procedures to select representatives for the Constituent Congress, which it decided would consist of 162 members. After Central America joined the empire, Iturbide wanted to extend congressional representation to the region. Due to unavailable demographic data at the time, Iturbide reluctantly allowed Central America to have 40 representatives in the Constituent Congress, which he thought was a "prudent" amount. Despite being allowed to have 40 representatives, only 38 were elected. The following is a list of Central America's representatives in the Constituent Congress: Chiapas: 7 * José Anselmo Lara * Pedro Celís * Bonifacio Fernández de Córdova *
Luciano Figueroa Luciano Gabriel "Lucho" Figueroa Herrera (; born 19 May 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Club career Figueroa was born in Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe. He be ...
* Juan María Lazaga * Manuel de Mier y Terán * Marcial Zebadúa Costa Rica: 2 * José Antonio Alvarado * José Francisco de Peralta El Salvador: 0 Guatemala: 15 *
Mariano de Aycinena y Piñol Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see als ...
* José Antonio Acayaga * Pedro Arrollave * Tomás Beltranena * * * José Ignacio Grijalva * Mariano Larrabe * * Miguel Larreynaga *
Pedro Molina Mazariegos Pedro José Antonio Molina Mazariegos (April 29, 1777, Guatemala — September 21, 1854) was a Central American politician, considered one of the founders of liberalism in Guatemala. Career At the head of a party named ''Los Cacos'' (The ...
* Isidoro Montúfar * José Vicente Orantes * Antonio Rivera Cabezas * Joaquín Yúdice Honduras: 10 * Cayetano Bosque * Manuel Gutiérrez * Próspero de Herrera * Joaquín Lindo * Juan Lindo * Francisco Antonio Márquez * José Santiago Milla * Jacinto Rubí * *
José Cecilio del Valle José Cecilio Díaz del Valle (November 22, 1780 – March 2, 1834) was a philosopher, politician, lawyer, and journalist and one of the most important figures in Central America during the transition from colonial government to independenc ...
Nicaragua: 4 * * Joaquín Herdosia * Manuel López de la Plata * Juan José Quiñones Iturbide abolished the Constituent Congress on 31 October 1822 before a constitution was approved, and replaced it with the National Institutional Junta. Of the 55-member legislature, 13 were from Central America. The Central American representatives in the National Institutional Junta were Arrollave, Beltranena, Celís, de la Plata, Fernández de Córdova, Figueroa, Gutiérrez, Larreynaga, Montúfar, Orantes, Peralta, Quiñones, and Rubí. The National Institutional Junta was abolished on 29 March 1823, five months after it formed and shortly after Iturbide abdicated.


Economy

For Mexico, the annexation of Central America was seen as a way to help stabilize the country's struggling economy, especially the mining and agricultural industries, after a decade of fighting against Spanish rule. Central America's annexation offered the Mexican government a larger tax base, which would help the country rebuild its infrastructure. Additionally, leaders in Central America saw annexation as a way to help its own economy by allowing diversification and opening trade to Mexico and potentially Europe. Upon gaining independence from Spain in September 1821, the Central American government owed 3,138,451 pesos () of foreign debt; by October 1823, after the end of the period of Mexican rule, the debt increased to 3,583,576 pesos (). Further economic difficulties included a decline in indigo production which predated independence, the decline of textile production to a "state of extreme ecline due to competing English cotton goods, and the government's failure to collect 385,693 pesos () in taxes from the provinces. In an attempt to alleviate its debt and economic troubles, the captaincy general passed a tariff law in 1822 which placed taxes on various exports from Central America and made the exporting of coins illegal. That same year, Gaínza issued 40,000 pesos () in the form of banknotes, which was the first use of paper money in Central America. The Central American federal government eventually defaulted on its debt in the mid-1820s. Sometime between 1823 and 1825, a congressional commission by the government of the Federal Republic of Central America began an investigation into why the
mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
in Guatemala City had been "reduced" to the "condition of insignificance" it was in. Initially, the commission believed that the mint was "despoiled" between 1822 and 1823 by Gaínza and Filísola, who supposedly used the mint to directly fund their military operations in the annexation of El Salvador. Additionally, the residents of Guatemala City were forced to raise enough money to pay for the Mexican army's withdrawal from Central America in August 1823. Eventually, the commission's initial belief was proven incorrect, as it later found that the reason the mint had been producing less money was that the mint failed to make loans to miners. To celebrate the incorporation of Central America into the Mexican Empire, Iturbide authorized the minting of proclamation medals in gold, silver, and bronze; however, the medals did not have any monetary value. Four types of medals were struck for Central America dating to late-1822 for Chiapas,
Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...
, Guatemala, and León; the location of where the medals were minted is unknown. Although
Mariano de Aycinena y Piñol Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see als ...
made a proposal to abolish
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
in 1821, slavery remained legal in Central America while it was ruled by Mexico. Slavery was not made illegal until 24 April 1824 by an executive decree and Central America's later adoption of its
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
, however, prior to then, many slaves had already been freed by their owners.


See also

*
History of Central America Central America is commonly said to include Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. This definition matches modern political borders. Central America begins geographically in Mexico, at the Isthmus of Tehuan ...
* Relations of Mexico with Central America ** Costa Rica–Mexico relations ** El Salvador–Mexico relations ** Guatemala–Mexico relations ** Honduras–Mexico relations ** Nicaragua–Mexico relations


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography


Books

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Journal articles

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Web sources

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Further reading

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External links


Act of Annexation of Central America to the Mexican Empire
(in Spanish) from the National Assembly of Nicaragua {{DEFAULTSORT:Central America Under Mexican Rule 19th century in Central America 19th century in Costa Rica 19th century in El Salvador 19th century in Guatemala 19th century in Honduras 19th century in Nicaragua 1822 establishments in Mexico 1823 disestablishments in Mexico 1822 in Central America 1823 in Central America History of Central America History of Chiapas Costa Rica–Mexico relations El Salvador–Mexico relations Guatemala–Mexico relations Honduras–Mexico relations Mexico–Nicaragua relations Mexican Empire