The first indigenous peoples of Costa Rica were hunters and gatherers, and when the Spanish conquerors arrived, Costa Rica was divided in two distinct cultural areas due to its geographical location in the Intermediate Area, between Mesoamerican and the Andean cultures, with influences of both cultures.
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually defined as consisting of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from southern Mexico to southeastern Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.
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 Tehuantepec, Mexico's narrowest point, and the former country of Yucatán (1841–1848) was part of Central America. At the other end, before its independence in 1903 Panama was part of South America, as it was a Department of Colombia. At times Belize, a British colony until 1981, where English instead of Spanish is spoken, and where the population is primarily of African origin, has been considered not part of (Spanish-speaking) 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, and a Federal District from 1835 to 1839. Guatemala City was its capital city until 1834, when the seat of government was relocated to San Salvador. The Federal Republic of Central America was bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south by Gran Colombia and on its eastern coastline by the Mosquito Coast and British Honduras, both claimed by the federal republic.
José Francisco Morazán Quesada was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America he was the head of state of Honduras. He rose to prominence at the Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827. Morazán then dominated the political and military scene of Central America until his execution in 1842.
Choluteca is one of the 18 departments (departamentos) into which Honduras is divided. The departmental capital is the city of Choluteca. The Choluteca River runs through the department.
José Trinidad Cabañas Fiallos was a liberal Honduran military general and politician who served as President of Honduras on two separate occasions: From 1 March to 6 July 1852. And 31 December 1853 to 6 June 1855. His role in Honduran history began during the First Central American Civil War. He became a Central America hero, when he attempted to reunite Central America, during Francisco Morazán's tenure and after the unionist's death.
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, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas. The governor-captain general was also president of the Royal Audiencia of Guatemala, the superior court.
José Matías Delgado y de León was a Salvadoran priest and doctor known as El Padre de la Patria Salvadoreña.
Gabino Crispín Gaínza Fernández de Medrano was a Spanish military officer, knight of the Order of St. John and prominent politician in Spain's American colonies. He supported and declared independence on 15 September 1821 in the Kingdom of Guatemala, becoming the first ruler or president "jefe político superior" of a united and independent Central America extending from Soconusco through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica; leader of the Consultive Junta of Guatemala until its dissolution on 21 February 1822. During the Latin American wars of independence, he initially fought on the royalist side in Chile, becoming Royal Governor of Chile. He then became the last Captain General in the Kingdom of Guatemala on behalf of the King of Spain. After independence and the annexation to Mexico, he became the 1st Captain General of Central America on behalf of the Emperor of Mexico.
Pedro Ortiz de la Barriere Castro 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 state of the Province of San Salvador after the signing of the Act of Independence of Central America from September to November 1821. He was killed in action at the Battle of Milingo during the First Central American Civil War.
The 1811 Independence Movement, known in El Salvador as the First Shout of Independence, was the first of a series of revolts in Central America in modern-day El Salvador against Spanish rule and dependency on the Captaincy General of Guatemala. The independence movement was led by prominent Salvadoran and Central American figures such as José Matías Delgado, Manuel José Arce, and Santiago José Celis.
Honduras has been inhabited by a number of indigenous peoples, the most powerful of which, until the ninth century CE, were the Maya. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lenca while other indigenous peoples settled in the northeast and coastal regions. These peoples had their conflicts but maintained commercial relationships with each other and with other populations as distant as Panama and Mexico.
El Salvador became independent from Spain in 1821. It has produced its own stamps since 1867.
The Real Audiencia of Santiago de Guatemala, simply known as the Audiencia of Guatemala or the Audiencia of Los Confines, was a Real Audiencia in the Imperial Spanish territory in Central America known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala (1609-1821). The Audiencia's presiding officer, the president, was the head of the government of the area. The Audiencia was initially created by decrees of November 20, 1542 and September 13, 1543, and had its seat in Antigua Guatemala.
El Salvador and Spain have long-standing cultural and diplomatic relations, owing to the history of the Spanish Empire. Bilateral relations between the two as sovereign states began in 1865. Both nations are members of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, Organization of Ibero-American States and the United Nations.
The annexation of the Partido de Nicoya to Costa Rica is a historical event that refers to the incorporation of the territory of Nicoya to the State of Costa Rica, which occurred on July 25, 1824.
The Intendancy of San Salvador was an administrative division of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, itself an administrative division of the Viceroyalty of New Spain which was a part of the Spanish Empire.
From January 1822 to July 1823, the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a former Spanish colony, was controlled by the First Mexican Empire, and briefly, the Supreme Executive Power—the provisional government that succeeded Mexican imperial rule. The captaincy general consisted of the provinces of Chiapas, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua—the six southernmost provinces of the Mexican Empire. The incorporation of Central America brought Mexico to the height of its territorial extent.
The Second Central American Civil War or the Second Central American Federal War was a military conflict in Central America between 1838 and 1840.
