Portal:Central America

The Central America Portal

Map of Central America

Central America is a subregion of the Americas. 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 usually consists 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

Panama (/ˈpænəmɑː/ ⓘ PAN-ə-mah, /pænəˈmɑː/ pan-ə-MAH; Spanish: Panamá IPA: [panaˈma] ⓘ), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country in Central America, spanning the southern tip of North America into the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's over 4 million inhabitants.0

Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Spanish colonists arrived in the 16th century. It broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties agreed to transfer the canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999. The surrounding territory was first returned in 1979. (Full article...)

Did you know...

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

The following are images from various Central America-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

18 October 2023 – Holy See–Nicaragua relations
Nicaragua releases 12 Catholic priests, critical of President Daniel Ortega's regime, and sends them to Rome, Italy, following an agreement with Vatican City. (AFP via The Manila Times)
9 October 2023 – 2023 Guatemalan general election
Dozens of road blockades are reported throughout the country, mainly in Guatemala City, organized by community organizations demanding the resignation of Attorney General María Consuelo Porras. (Prensa Libre)
30 September 2023 – Aftermath of the 2023 Guatemalan general election
The office of the Attorney General of Guatemala seizes the tally sheets of votes from the general election and the runoff. The judges of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal opposed the seizure but were attacked by police and prosecutors. Electoral tribunal officials were also intimidated. (AP) (Prensa Libre)
29 September 2023 – Aftermath of 2023 Guatemalan general election
Rafael Curruchiche, a prosecutor in the Guatemalan attorney general's office, accuses the Organization of American States and the European Union of interference in the election and says that around a thousand people denounced irregularities in electoral process. (Prensa Libre)(Prensa Libre)
25 September 2023 –
Six people are killed and 13 others are missing following heavy rains and a landslide in Guatemala City, Guatemala. (AFP via GMA News)
12 September 2023 – Aftermath of the 2023 Guatemalan general election
The office of the Attorney General carries out raids in the offices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and opens electoral boxes containing the electoral ballots. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal condemns the raids. (Prensa Libre)

Subcategories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
Central America
Countries in Central America
Central America-related lists
Buildings and structures in Central America
Cannabis in Central America
Central American culture
Economy of Central America
Education in Central America
Environment of Central America
Geography of Central America
Government in Central America
Health in Central America
History of Central America
Organizations based in Central America
Central American people
People of Central America
Politics of Central America
Regions of Central America
Central American society
Images of Central America
Central America stubs

Topics

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.