Portal:Central America
Wikipedia portal for content related to Central America / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portal maintenance status: (December 2018)
|
The Central America Portal
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. 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 northern Guatemala to central 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.
In the pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east. Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Spain began to colonize the Americas. From 1609 to 1821, the majority of Central American territories (except for what would become Belize and Panama, and including the modern Mexican state of Chiapas) were governed by the viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which established New Spain's independence from Spain. On 15 September 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire and provide for the establishment of a new Central American state. Some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region (i.e. what would become Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) were annexed to the First Mexican Empire; however in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America until 1838. (Full article...)
Selected article
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. Honduras 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 to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Tegucigalpa.
Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, before the Spanish colonization in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability, and remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice. (Full article...)Did you know...
- ... that the Corozal was the most powerful dredger ever built when she was launched in 1911 to work on the Panama Canal?
- ... that goalkeeper Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup?
- ... that peasant leader Medardo Mairena was the sixth aspiring presidential candidate in the 2021 Nicaraguan general election to be arrested?
- ... that the government of El Salvador, the Catholic Church, and street gangs negotiated a truce to reduce homicides from 2012 to 2014?
- ... that the Central American government voted for annexation to the First Mexican Empire after a request from Regent Agustín de Iturbide?
- ... that Panama cross-banded tree frog males synchronize their mating calls to confuse predators that locate them by sound?
- ... that Nicaraguan cartoonist Pedro X. Molina has had to flee his home country twice in his lifetime?
- ... that to animate conquistadors in Jungle Cruise, frogs were recorded in a Costa Rican forest?
Related portals
Get involved
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Central America-related articles, see WikiProject Central America.
Need help?
Do you have a question about Central America that you can't find the answer to?
Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
General images
- Image 2Illustration that recreates the structures of the archaeological site of Yarumela or El Chircal in Honduras, this place reflects the Olmec influence that existed in Central America in the pre-classic period. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 3Indigenous Salvadoran women dancing in the traditional "Procession of Palms" a custom celebrated in the town of Panchimalco in El Salvador. (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
- Image 7Berta Caceres, Lencan environmental activist. -Honduran (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
- Image 8Flag of Central America (from History of Central America)
- Image 9K'inich Kan B'alam II, the Classic period ruler of Palenque, as depicted on a stele (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 10Mesoamerica and Central America in the 16th century before Spanish arrival [according to whom?] (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 14El Mirador flourished from 600 BCE to 100 CE, and may have had a population of over 100,000. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 15One of the earliest examples of the Mesoamerican writing systems, the Epi-Olmec script on the La Mojarra Stela 1 dated to around 150 CE. Mesoamerica is one of the five places in the world where writing has developed independently. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 17Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites, urban centers, and tourist attractions of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 19José Matías Delgado y de León listed as the intellectual leader of the independence movement; Delgado was defined as influential, skillful, and intelligent, he started the revolutionary movements against the Spanish crown. (from History of Central America)
- Image 20Zapotec mask of the Bat God. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 2120th century political map of Central America (from History of Central America)
- Image 23Art with ideological and political meaning: depiction of an Aztec tzompantli (skull-rack) from the Ramirez Codex (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 24Celebration of the Chinese year in Costa Rica (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
- Image 29The xoloitzcuintle is one of the naguales of the god Quetzalcoatl. In this form, it helps the dead cross the Chicnahuapan, a river that separates the world of the living from the dead. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 30The Aztec Empire in 1512 (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 32"Head Variant" or "Patron Gods" glyphs for Maya days (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 33José Matías Delgado At the time of signing the Central American act of independence, in a representation of the meeting of September 15, 1821 of the Chilean painter Luis Vergara Ahumada. (from History of Central America)
- Image 34Central America until 1860, showing the Kingdom of Mosquitia. (from History of Central America)
- Image 35Anthropomorphic figure from the Proto-Lencan culture found at Los Naranjos, Honduras. An example of Mesomerican art during the preclassic Period. (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 37Ballgame marker from the classic Lowland Maya site of Chinkultic, Mexico depicting a ballplayer in full gear (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 38Harry Shum, Jr Asian-Costa Rican – Glee Actor/Dancer (from Ethnic groups in Central America)
- Image 44Landscape of the Mesoamerican highlands (from Mesoamerica)
- Image 45The Avenue of the Dead in Teotihuacan, an example of a Mesoamerican settlement planned according to concepts of directionality (from Mesoamerica)
In the news
- 15 May 2024 – Nicaragua–United States relations
- The United States impose visa restrictions on more than 250 members of the Nicaraguan government and also sanction three Nicaraguan entities for "repressive action" and a failure to control migrant smuggling through Nicaragua. (Reuters)
- 5 May 2024 – 2024 Panamanian general election
- Panamanians elect their President and members of the National Assembly. (Reuters)
- José Raúl Mulino, the stand-in for former president Ricardo Martinelli, wins the presidential election with more than 35% of the vote, after his three nearest opponents conceded. He will assume office in July. (AP)
- 3 May 2024 –
- Panama bans First Quantum Minerals from extracting copper following the closure of its Cobre Panamá mine last year. (Reuters) (The Globe and Mail)
- 30 April 2024 –
- The International Court of Justice rejects a request by Nicaragua asking the court to order Germany to suspend aid to Israel. (euronews)
Subcategories
- Select [►] to view subcategories
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus