Federal Republic of Central America - wikipedia Federal Republic of Central America This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2016 ) Federal Republic of Central America República Federal de Centroamérica 1823 -- 1841 Flag Coat of arms Anthem La Granadera `` The Song of the Grenadier '' Capital Guatemala City ( 1821 -- 1834 ) San Salvador ( 1834 -- 1838 ) Government Revolutionary republic History Independence from Spanish Empire September 15, 1821 Independence from First Mexican Empire July 1, 1823 Disestablished 1841 Currency Central American Republic real Preceded by Succeeded by First Mexican Empire Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Los Altos Mosquito Coast Today part of Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Part of a series on Central America Countries Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Culture Central American Spanish Cuisine Mesoamerica Music Ethnic groups Ethnic groups List of indigenous peoples Visual arts by indigenous peoples Religion Anglican Church Bahá'í Faith Buddhism Roman Catholicism Sport Central American Games Central American and Caribbean Games Football Union By country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Demographics By country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Economy By country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Education By country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Environment Bioregion Deforestation List of mammals Montane forests Mountain peaks Pine - oak forests History Central American crisis Federal Republic Federal Republic heads of state Greater Republic Maya civilization Trade By country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Geography Central Highlands Cities Geology Islands Mountains ( Extreme summits Ultra-prominent summits ) Rivers Volcanoes Middle America Middle America Trench By country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Politics and government Integration System Parliament Elections by country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Foreign relations by country Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama Transportation List of busiest airports List of largest airlines Rail transport Related topics Index of articles Americas ( terminology ) Central Time Zone Latin America Federal Republic of Central America, 4 Real ( 1835 ). Struck in the San Jose, Costa Rica mint ( 697 were minted ). The Federal Republic of Central America ( Spanish : República Federal de Centroamérica ), also called the United Provinces of Central America ( Spanish : Provincias Unidas del Centro de América ) in its first year of creation, was a sovereign state in Central America consisting of the territories of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala of New Spain. It existed from September 1823 to 1841, and was a republican democracy. It is also sometimes incorrectly referred to in English as the United States of Central America. The republic consisted of the present - day states of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. ( Panama was part of Bolivar 's República de Colombia in 1821 ). In the 1830s, a sixth state was added -- Los Altos, with its capital in Quetzaltenango -- occupying parts of what are now the western highlands of Guatemala and Chiapas state in southern Mexico. Shortly after Central America declared independence from the Spanish Empire, some of its countries were annexed by the First Mexican Empire in 1822 and then Central America formed the Federal Republic in 1823. From 1838 to 1840 the federation descended into civil war, with conservatives fighting against liberals and separatists fighting to secede. The various political factions were unable to overcome their ideological differences and the federation dissolved after a series of bloody conflicts. Contents 1 History 1.1 Independence 1821 -- 1822 1.2 Absorption into the Empire of Mexico, 1822 -- 1823 1.3 Reconstitution of the Federal Republic 1823 -- 1840 1.4 Dissolution of the union 2 Name and emblems 2.1 Successor flags 3 Later Central American federal unions 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History Main article : History of Central America See also : List of heads of state of Federal Republic of Central America Independence 1821 -- 1822 From the 16th century through 1821, Central America, apart from Panama, formed the Captaincy General of Guatemala within the Spanish Empire. In 1821 a congress of Central American Criollos in Guatemala City composed the Act of Independence of Central America to declare the region 's independence from Spain, effective on September 15 of that year. The process was bloodless with no resistance from the Spanish authorities as the Governor General Brigadier Gabino Gaínza, along with all the royal governors of the five provinces, were retained in office as executive powers pending a full transition to local rule. That date is still marked as independence day by most Central American nations. Absorption into the Empire of Mexico, 1822 -- 1823 Independence proved short - lived, as local law and order broke down. Driven by regional rivalries, many localities refused to accept the newly formed federal powers in Guatemala -- San Salvador, Comayagua, León, and Cartago were in open revolt. The ensuing anarchy prompted the land - owning wealthy and conservative class to advocate union with Mexico. On January 25, 1822 the Junta consultiva in Guatemala City voted for annexation. A few weeks later General Vicente Filísola, the envoy of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide of the First Mexican Empire, arrived in Guatemala as the new ruler. The annexation was controversial, with some seeing the Mexican constitution with its abolition of slavery and establishment of free trade as an improvement over the status quo. Central American liberals in San Salvador objected to this and refused to accept Filísola 's authority. The army was ordered to quell dissent. In the case of Costa Rica, the country decided to join the Mexican Empire as part of the resolutions upon conclusion of the Battle of Ochomogo ( April 5, 1823 ), which is considered the first civil war of Costa Rica. After Iturbide abdicated ( March 19, 1823 ), Mexico became a republic ( formally proclaimed on November 1, 1823 ) and offered the previously annexed Central American provinces the right to determine their own destiny. Filísola turned over his power to the hastily formed National Constituent Assembly, which comprised representatives from each of the five provinces. On July 1, 1823 the Congress of Central America declared absolute independence from Spain, Mexico, and any other foreign nation, and established a republican system of government. Reconstitution of the Federal Republic 1823 -- 1840 The liberal - dominated Assembly elected Manuel José Arce as president but he soon turned against his own faction and dissolved the Assembly. San Salvador rose in revolt against federal authority. Honduras and Nicaragua joined the rebellion and Arce was deposed in 1829. The victors led by the Honduran Francisco Morazán took power and Morazán was proclaimed president in 1830. To appease liberal supporters, the capital was relocated from Guatemala City to San Salvador in 1831 but Morazán 's hold on power was waning as conservatives regained control in the provinces. The Assembly in 1838 adjourned with the declaration that the provinces were free to rule themselves as the Federal Republic dissolved. In 1839 Morazán was exiled as rebels from Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua entered San Salvador, evicting the governing institutions that held the region together. Dissolution of the union In practice, the federation faced insurmountable problems, and the union slid into 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 ( other sources give Nicaragua 's secession date as April 30 ). Because of the chaotic nature of this period an exact date of disestablishment does not exist, but on May 31, 1838, the congress met to declare that the provinces were free to create their own independent republics. In reality, this merely legally acknowledged the process of disintegration that had already begun. The union effectively ended in 1840, by which time four of its five states had declared independence. The official end came only upon El Salvador 's self - proclamation of the establishment of an independent republic in February 1841. Name and emblems This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2017 ) 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 flag was introduced to the area by Commodore Louis - Michel Aury inspired by the Argentine flag, also adopting the term united provinces, used in Argentina 's original name, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata ( `` United Provinces of the Silver River '' ). Successor flags Today, all five successor nations ' flags retain the old federal motif of two outer blue bands bounding an inner white stripe ( Costa Rica modified its flag significantly in 1848, darkening the blue and adding a double - wide inner red band ). The short - lived sixth state of Los Altos was annexed by Mexico as the state of Chiapas. Flag of the original Federal Republic of Central America 1823 - 1839 Member nations 1839 Guatemala El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Los Altos Current flags Guatemala El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Chiapas Later Central American Federal unions 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. Various attempts were made to reunite Central America in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but none succeeded for any length of time : The first attempt was in 1842 by former President Francisco Morazán, who became involved in a struggle for control over Costa Rica. After taking control over the capital, Morazán announced he would create a large army to re-create the Federal Republic as the Confederation of Central America and planned to include El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, but popular feeling rapidly turned against him and a sudden revolt resulted in his arrest and execution by firing squad on September 15 of that year. A second attempt was made in October 1852 when El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua created a Federation of Central America ( Federación de Centro América ). The union lasted less than a month. In 1856 -- 1857 the region successfully established a military coalition to repel an invasion by U.S. freebooter William Walker. Guatemalan President General Justo Rufino Barrios attempted to reunite the nation by force of arms in the 1880s but he died in battle near the town of Chalchuapa, El Salvador. 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, 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. The treaty stipulated for the future creation of one state of all the four signatories, under one constitution. This second Federation was nearly moribund from the start, having only a Provisional Federal Council made up of delegates from each state. See also Gran Colombia -- another short - lived post-Spanish federal state Peru -- Bolivian Confederation -- another short - lived post-Spanish federal state Golden Circle ( proposed country ) -- a proposed Caribbean federation Union of South American Nations Central American Integration System Central America - 4 Border Control Agreement References Jump up ^ Cuhaj, George S., ed. ( 2009 ). Standard Catalog of World Gold Coins 1601 -- Present ( 6 ed. ). Krause. p. 224. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4402 - 0424 - 1. Jump up ^ Foster, Lynn V. ( 2000 ). A Brief History of Central America. New York : Facts on File. pp. 134 -- 136. ISBN 0 - 8160 - 3962 - 3. Jump up ^ `` Documentos de la Union Centroamericana '' ( pdf ). Organization of American States -- Foreign Trade Information System. Retrieved October 12, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Munro, Dana. The Five Republics of Central America. New York : Oxford University Press, 1918. pp 24 -- 34. Jump up ^ `` New Physical, Political, Industrial and Commercial Map of Central America and the Antilles : With a Special Map of the Possessions of the Belgian Colonization Company of Central America, the State of Guatemala ''. World Digital Library. 1845. Retrieved July 4, 2013. Jump up ^ Minster, Christopher. `` The Federal Republic of Central America ( 1823 -- 1840 ) ''. Latin American History. About.com. Retrieved November 5, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Sandoval, Victor Hugo. `` Federal Republic of Central America ''. Monedas de Guatemala. Retrieved November 5, 2013. Jump up ^ Karnes, Thomas L. ( 1961 ). The Failure of Union : Central America, 1824 -- 1960. Durham, NC : University of North Carolina Press. p. 85. Jump up ^ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 5, pp. 10 -- 31. External links Constitutions from several attempts at Central American unification ( in Spanish ) Central America - Historical Unions and Federations WorldStatesmen - Guatemala Map of the FRCA Maps showing the collapse of the Central American Republic ( omniatlas.com ) Guatemala articles History Spanish conquest New Granada Captaincy General Federal Republic of Central America Ten Years of Spring ( 1944 -- 1954 ) 1954 coup d'état Civil War ( 1960 -- 1996 ) 1976 earthquake Geography Biodiversity Biosphere reserves Cities Earthquakes Ecoregions Fauna Flora Islands Lakes National parks Ramsar sites Rivers Volcanism Water resources World Heritage Sites Politics Administrative divisions Congress Constitution Elections Foreign relations Law enforcement Military Political parties Presidents Economy Central bank Coffee Currency Telecommunications Tourism Transport Society Crime Demographics Education Languages LGBT rights Religion Water supply and sanitation Culture Anthem Cuisine Flag Literature Media Music National emblem Public holidays Outline Index Bibliography Portal Coordinates : 14 ° 37 ′ N 90 ° 31 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 14.617 ° N 90.517 ° W ﻿ / 14.617 ; - 90.517 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Federal_Republic_of_Central_America&oldid=842867541 '' Categories : Former countries in North America Former federations States and territories established in 1823 States and territories disestablished in 1841 Federal Republic of Central America Former countries in Central America Former republics History of Central America History of Guatemala History of Costa Rica History of El Salvador History of Honduras History of Nicaragua 1820s in North America 1830s in North America 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 1820s in Mexico 1830s in Mexico 1823 establishments in Central America 1838 disestablishments in Central America Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from October 2017 Articles needing additional references from October 2016 All articles needing additional references Articles containing Spanish - language text Former country articles requiring maintenance Pages using infobox former country with unknown parameters Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2017 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2016 All articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from May 2016 Articles needing additional references from October 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2017 Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Afrikaans Asturianu تۆرکجه Беларуская Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Kiswahili Latina Lietuvių Македонски Bahasa Melayu Nāhuatl Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 37 more Edit links This page was last edited on 25 May 2018, at 06 : 27. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the union of independent central american states begin to fall apart
Answer: 1838