history of middle america
... fled to undesirable lowlands of Belize and Guatemala when the Spaniards arrived, and many of the same ceramics, tools, and weapons were discovered that were made after 1638 in Belize. In many of these areas were the Mayan people fled, there is a definite Spanish influence predominately in religion. It was not uncommon at the time to see an entire town of Native Americans to contain one or two Catholic churches with both Mayan and Spanish priests . Today there are between 5 and 6 million Mayan Indians living in Guatemala today, which is half of its total population . The Spanish colonizers came to America with weapons that the natives had never seen before. Having previously waged battles with spears, clubs, and arrows, the Spaniards' guns, trained dogs, horses, and cannons intimidated the natives. The Spanish colonials also made attempts to ally themselves with some native tribes in attempts to increase their numbers. This proved effective in their battles against the Aztecs, where only a few hundred Spanish warriors would fight, but they would also have a few thousand native allies. The Spanish invaders set up colonies all over Central America, though early on rivalries among the conquistadors made it difficult to have a unified Central America. In 1530 Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chiapas, and Panama all functioned under separate orders . By 1543, however, Spain unified the all of Central America. Most of the natives that were left after this transition period that took place either died of disease brought by the Spaniards, were killed, or enslaved. A commercial system was set up in Central America by the Spanish, which put the native slaves to work growing crops, which were specialized by region, and mining for precious metals. Magistrates appointed by Spanish royalty ran this system, and because the salary for such a position was so low, corruption was often very high . The Spanish government paid the new rulers over the land very little, because they had to fund the many wars they were fighting. In turn the magistrates acted more like entrepreneurs, in that the made profits off of ever product produced by the natives and sold to them as well. In the 16th century, the main export for Central America to Spain was Cacao, while in the 17th century Indigo took its place. The new society that the natives lived in comprised of two small upper classes, the previously mentioned Spanish administrative authority and the Creole landholding elite. Under these middle classes lived the natives, many of whom lived on large haciendas, living off of subsistence farming. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Spanish empire was in a costly war, which would seriously alter the history of Central America. Bourbon Philip V's policy after 1750 was directly responsible for much of the change. It increased a centralized authority, and reasserted royal control that had diminished in the previous years. It made a strong emphasis on agricultural exports, especially indigo, cacao, and tobacco, and took power away from the clergy and Creole elite . This new policy also heightened the strong regionalism on the isthmus, as the provinces resisted the growing power of the Guatemalan establishment, which became a major center for European trade. As the century closed, a growing preference for the appointment of Spaniards to rule in Central America contributed to the Creole resentment. In 1808, France invaded Spain. This caused increased difficulties in Central America due to unwelcome new and higher taxes and demands for "patriotic donations" to support Spain against the French. Some reforms were also made, like the Cadiz Constitution of 1812 that provided colonial representation in the Spanish parliament and elections for provincial offices . This increased the importance of politics in Central America, and laid the foundations for Creole democracy. Increased Native American uprisings occurred in this time, but unlike the situation in South America, they were unsuccessful. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, Ferdinand VII annulled the 1812 constitution, which caused Creole to oppose Spanish rule in Central America. The reinstatement of the constitution by the Spanish in 1820 created political factions that are the basis of the Liberal and Conservative parties that dominated Central America for the following century. A council in Guatemala City accepted an independence plan made by a Mexican Creole named Agustin Iturbide on September 15, 1821, but there were differences among the provinces that had to be dealt with. Civil war erupted in Granada and San Salvador, who refused to accept the decision, and after a long siege Iturbide's plan was scrapped. On July 1, 1823 a Liberal dominated assembly from all of the provinces gathered in Guatemala and declared its independence from Spain under the name United Provinces of Central America. In 1824 it adopted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Central America, a document similar to the Spanish Constitution of 1812, providing for a federation of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Chiapas decided to stay with Mexico, and Panama had become part of the Republic of Columbia in 1821. In 1824 the constitution provided a single-house legislature and reserved considerable autonomy to the states, yet it offered an adequate framework for a union. Different provincial ideologies began to show themselves at this time, and the first presidential election led to disaster. A Liberal, Manual Jose Arce, won the election although it appeared that his opponent had more popular votes. This electoral process angered not only conservatives who were displeased with the electoral process, but also extreme liberals who feel that their candidate had sold out to conservatives to gain votes after electing a conservative to replace a liberal Guatemalan state governor. The Salvadoran state government rebelled, touching off a civil war from 1826 to 1829. The Liberals won the bloody struggle in 1829, under the command of Francisco Morazan . Under his presidency he exiled Conservatives, including the archbishop and other clergy, and instituted economic, social, educational, and judicial reforms. Morazan presidency is also contained a lot of internal conflict. In 1833 Morazan was forced to quell Native American interests that resurfaced in a rebellion in El Salvador. In 1837 peasants revolted in Guatemala due to the Liberal policies of the governor and the panic due to a cholera epidemic. They not only expelled the governor, but also divided up the liberals so that the conservatives had a chance to take control. An attempt, under liberal leadership, was successful in attempting to form a 6th state from parts of Western Guatemala, but it was quickly retaken. The federation was in disarray at this point, and by 1938 Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica all withdrew from the union . In 1847 Guatemala declared itself a sovereign republic, and Costa Rica soon followed in 1848. In 1855 in Nicaragua, William Walker made himself president with the aid of the alliance of Nicaraguan Liberals, only to find a united army from all five states ready to defeat. By 1872 the Liberals had returned to power in every state except Nicaragua, and they continued to dominate politics through the middle of the 20th century. They placed strong importance on agricultural exports as the key to national modernization. A transportation and communication infrastructure was also developed by the Liberals, which aided them in bringing Central America into the North Atlantic Trade economy. In 1903 the United States began its construction on the Panama Canal, which would greatly impact the economy of this tiny nation in the years to come. This time period from about 1870 up until the 1940's was characterized by military dictatorships, who aided the farmers by protecting there interests. By the middle of the 20th century, the powerful political and economic elites associated with the export-led economies promoted by the Liberal parties faced strong representation from the middle- and working-class people. The Communist nation is believed to have had a significant influence on the working people of Central America. What happened from this point in time differs from country to country. In Guatemala, armed conflict started in 1963 and lasted for 33 years. Its origins are traced back to the overthrow of democratically elected president Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. El Salvador suffered a civil war that began in 1979 and ended in 1992 with a peace agreement. Nicaragua experienced civil war from 1974 to 1979, which ended in the overthrow of self-imposed dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Costa Rica and Honduras were successful in establishing a democratic state, though due to the difficulties in the other countries foreign trade was greatly impacted in these countries . In 1987 a Central American Peace Plan was established that was instigated by President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica. It would later include unification plans, similar to that of the European Union. In the 1980's the countries in Central America experienced an economic slump, where they saw large external imbalances, high inflation, output stagnation, and a deterioration of social conditions. Contributing factors were the armed outbursts in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua (which had adverse effects on the economies of Costa Rica and Honduras). Structural policies and Latin American debt...