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| Second Central American Civil War | |||||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||||
Unionists | Separatists | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Francisco Morazán José Trinidad Cabañas Indalecio Cordero |  Rafael Carrera  Francisco Ferrera  Bernardo Méndez | ||||||||
The Second Central American Civil War or the Second Central American Federal War was a military conflict in Central America between 1838 and 1840.
A military coup brought to the Headquarters of Costa Rica, in May 1838, Mr. Braulio Carrillo, a character judged by some to be a good Head of State and by others to be a tyrant In reality, Carrillo maintained order in his country; but he established himself as the arbiter of the destinies of that town. The laws that he enacted tended to consolidate him, he suppressed freedom and persecuted anyone who hindered him. On June 25, 1838, an extraordinary Assembly declared him Supreme Head of the State.
Carrillo began by ordering deputies and senators to leave their positions in the Federal Congress and Senate, and had the State Assembly declare, on November 14 of the same year, Costa Rica in the fullness of its sovereignty. Costa Rica has since formed an independent nation.
On May 18, 1838, the Federal Congress, meeting in San Salvador, authorized the States to organize themselves regardless of national laws, while the Fundamental Charter of the Republic was reformed, and as such, the Head of Honduras, Justo Herrera, who had been in command since 1837, called a Constituent Assembly, who declared, on October 12, 1838, the sovereignty and independence of the country.
In such circumstances, separated from the Federal Pact, Nicaragua first, Honduras later and Costa Rica last, it was not possible to hold elections for the renewal of the authorities of the Republic, whose constitutional period was about to end, so, when the February 2, 1839, without deputies to Congress, Magistrates to the Supreme Court and Chief of the Executive having been elected, the Republic remained headless and the Federal Pact was effectively dissolved.
The Assembly of Guatemala, meeting in January 1839, declared General Carlos Salazar Head of State, and Mariano Rivera Paz returned to the Government Council.
The conservative party, which openly conspired to throw Salazar out of power, received with pleasure the news that the Commander of Mita, Rafael Carrera, had revolted again in Mataquescuintla, against the constituted Government, (March 24) and that he was marching quickly over the city of Guatemala, which he managed to occupy after a short resistance, on the following April 13. Carrera placed Rivera Paz in leadership, and Salazar took the path of exile.
One of Rivera Paz's first acts was to declare that the State of Guatemala resumed its independence (Decree of April 17) forming the country into the departments of Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Verapaz and Chiquimula, a decree that earned the approval of the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Central America on the following July 14. [1]
Morazán in El Salvador was fighting on two fronts: against Guatemala and against Honduras. He invaded and occupied Guatemala again in 1838, but without being able to hold it, and thus, always victorious on the battlefield, he was unable to face the strength of his enemies leave a permanent work, nor avoid chaos. [2]
Not achieving his victorious day of 1838 nothing other than accentuate the differences between Guatemalans and Salvadorans.
While on the part of Honduras, General Francisco Ferrera, who became chief of the army of his country, invaded El Salvador with a contingent of 1,500 Hondurans and Nicaraguans, who were easily defeated by the Morazan troops, inferior in number, on April 5, 1839, in El Espíritu Santo, colonel dying in action Colombian Benítez, one of Morazán's most loyal collaborators. [3]
Ferrera requested new reinforcements from Nicaragua and organized "the peacekeeping army of Central America », with which he invaded El Salvador again, reaching Cojutepeque, but was defeated in San Pedro Perulapán by the federal army, under the command of Morazán, on September 25, 1839. [4]
The triumph of San Pedro was the last hope of the federals. Jose Trinidad Cabañas , second of Morazán and future president of Honduras, invaded his country and occupied Comayagua and Tegucigalpa , forcing the separatist authorities to withdraw to Olancho, but on January 31, 1840, he was defeated in the Llano del Potrero [5] and two months later the same Morazán was decisively defeated in Guatemala, which he invaded for the last time in a vain attempt to revive the dying Federation. [6]
The defeat of Morazán in Guatemala and that of Cabañas in Honduras marked the end of the Central American unity.
Morazán returned to San Salvador, and although welcomed with respect, he was defeated and he considered it preferable to choose the path of ostracism, marching with a group of his supporters to settle in David, which was then part of the Republic of Colombia.
On February 1, 1841, El Salvador also declared itself separated from the federal pact, which was already a fact since the armistice of Saint Vincent [ disambiguation needed ] with Honduras, on June 5, 1839, had established in its article 8.9 that "The Contracting States, they mutually guarantee their independence, sovereignty and freedom."
The dissolution of the Federation offered a unique opportunity for the ambitions of foreign powers to expand their domains at the expense of the dissolved nationality reduced to five divided and weak States.
On April 20, 1839, the United Kingdom occupied the island of Roatán, on the coast of Honduras, and Mexico occupied Soconusco, on the border with Guatemala, in 1842.
The greatest danger came from Great Britain, which saw the opportunity to recover the territory lost in the first national war sixty years before.
In a last attempt to reunite Central America, Francisco Morazán, invaded Costa Rica and was president of that nation until a rebellion broke out and he was executed
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 which existed from 1823 to 1839/1841. The federal republic was composed of five states: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The federal republic was bordered to the north by Mexico, to the south by Gran Colombia, and on its eastern coastline by the Mosquito Coast and British Honduras.
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.
José Rafael Carrera y Turcios was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. During his military career and presidency, new nations in Central America were facing numerous problems: William Walker's invasions, liberal attempts to overthrow the Catholic Church and aristocrats' power, the Civil War in the United States, Mayan uprising in the east, Belize boundary dispute with the United Kingdom, and the wars in Mexico under Benito Juárez. This led to a rise of caudillos, a term that refers to charismatic populist leaders among the indigenous people.
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.
Tomás Valladares was a liberal Nicaraguan politician, military officer with the rank of brigadier, member of the Democratic Party, and staunch Central American Unionist who served as acting Supreme Director of Nicaragua from 7 November 1839 to 21 September 1840. His son was Juan de la Cruz Valladares.
Francisco Malespín Herrera was a Salvadoran military officer and politician, elected as the president of El Salvador in 1844. He served from 7 February 1844 to 15 February 1845, when he was deposed by his vice president Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán after invading and overthrowing the liberal government in Nicaraguan. He also led El Salvador to a short unsuccessful war against Guatemala. After being deposed, Malespin returned to El Salvador with forces from Honduras, but he was captured and assassinated. Some of Malespin's closest allies were Francisco Ferrera in Honduras as well as Juan Lindo, both conservatives. He was supported by Honduras after his downfall.
Diego Vigil y Cocaña was a Central American politician. He was the last president of the Federal Republic of Central America (1839–40), during its disintegration. He was also chief of state of the federal states of Honduras (1829) and El Salvador.
Carlos Salazar Castro was a Central American military officer and Liberal politician. Briefly in 1834 he was provisional president of El Salvador, and in 1839 he was provisional president of Guatemala.
Licenciado José María Silva was a Liberal Salvadoran politician. He was twice briefly chief of state of the State of El Salvador, within the Federal Republic of Central America.
Timoteo Menéndez was a Salvadoran politician who served twice as head of state of El Salvador when it was a state within the Federal Republic of Central America.
Pablo Sánchez de Buitrago Sandoval y Benavente was a legitimist Nicaraguan politician who served as the 2nd Supreme Director of Nicaragua from 4 March 1841 to 1 April 1843. He was the first non-acting, elected Supreme Director.
Braulio Evaristo Carrillo Colina was the Head of State of Costa Rica during two periods: the first between 1835 and 1837, and the de facto between 1838 and 1842.
Mariano Rivera Paz was Head of State of Guatemala and its first president.
Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol was an ecclesiastical and intellectual conservative in Central America. He was President of the Pontifical University of San Carlos Borromeo from 1825 to 1829 and then of the Universidad Nacional from 1840 to 1865. He was a thinker criticized by liberal historians for his strong relationship with the conservative government of General Rafael Carrera and for eliminating the possibility of getting the Central American Union which the Liberals wanted. His participation in the government has been assessed more objectively in research conducted between 1980 and 2010. He was heir in 1814 to the noble title of III Marquess of Aycinena, and bishop in partibus of Trajanopolis from 1859. He had a taste for law, oratorical talent and wrote over twenty works.
Agustín Guzmán López, nicknamed "The Altense Hero", was a liberal Central American military general, politician and positivist, who was appointed as Army Commander in Chief of the State of Los Altos when it was formed as part of the Federal Republic of Central America on March 2, 1838. He was defeated by Rafael Carrera on March 19, 1840, and Los Altos was re-annexed by Guatemala. Trying to re-establish Los Altos once again while Carrera was briefly in exile in 1848, he tried to occupy Guatemala City along with rebel leader Agustín Reyes, and after setting fire to Carrera's house, he was killed by enemy fire in the Plaza de Armas.
The Free State of Costa Rica was the name acquired by Costa Rica after its split from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1838 and until the proclamation of the First Costa Rican Republic in 1847.
Barrios' War of Reunification, also known as Barrios' great attempt, was a war initiated by Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios in 1885 with the goal of reunifying Central America. Of the five Central American countries, only Honduras supported Barrios' reunification effort; Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua opposed it, as did Mexico.
The Battle of La Trinidad occurred in Honduras in 1827, during the revolutionary period in Central America between 1811 and 1844.
The Salvadoran Campaign of 1832 or the Salvadoran Rebellion of 1832 was a military conflict in El Salvador in 1832.
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