Index
t indicates table; n indicates note
at bottom of table
A
abortion, chapter 5
Acaxual (Acajutla), battle of, chapter 4
Accessory Transit, chapter 6
Acuña Ortega, Victor, chapter 1
Afro-descendant people
in Belize, chapter 2
in Costa Rica, chapter 7
in Guatemala, chapter 1, chapter 3
in Honduras, chapter 2, chapter 5
in Nicaragua, chapter 6
in Panama, chapter 8
rape of women, chapter 1
Sandinista Revolution and, chapter 6
struggle for ancestral lands and, chapter 9
see also Garifuna people
Agency for International Development, U. S. (USAID), chapter 2
agrarian reform
in El Salvador, chapter 4
in Guatemala, chapter 3
in Nicaragua, chapter 9
Agrarian Reform Law (1952), chapter 3
Agua Zarca Dam, chapter 5
Aguilar, Eugenio, chapter 4
Alliance for Progress, chapter 1
Alliance of Costa Rican Women, chapter 7
Altún Ha, chapter 2
Alvarado, Gonzalo de, chapter 4
Alvarado, Pedro de, chapter 4
Alvarado Quesada, Carlos, 112
Álvarez Martínez, Gustavo, 76, 84
Ama, Feliciano, 64
Amaya, Rufina, 68
American Community Survey (ACS), 18n, 19n
Amnesty International, 69
anthropology and anthropologists, 48, 125
Aquino, Anastasio, 61
Arana Osorio, Carlos Manual, 40, 50
Araujo, Arturo, 63
Araujo, Manuel Enrique, 63
Árbenz Guzmán, Jacobo, 15, 40, 46, 47–48, 49, 138
Arce, Manuel José, 44, 58, 61, 114
archeology
in Costa Rica, 112–13
in Guatemala, 41
in Nicaragua, 95
ARENA (National Republican Alliance), 58, 59, 69, 72
Argentina, 103
Arias, Harmodio, 128
Arias Dávila, Pedro, 96
Arias Madrid, Arnulfo, 128
Armas, Carlos Castillo, 40, 48
Arzú, Álvaro, 40
asylum
caravans to U. S., 87
minors seeking, 19
Nicaraguans seeking, in Costa Rica, 107–8, 120–21, 143
audiencia (Guatemala high court), 4
Aycock, J. F., 83
B
Balladares, Pérez, 131
banana production
in Bluefields, 98
Coto War and, 116
foreign interests and, 14
migration and, 17
10-hour workday in, 16
“banana republic,” 80–81
Banco de América, 105
banking, 133
Barrio 18 (18th Street) gang, 57, 72
Barrios, Gerardo, 58
Barrios, Justo Rufino, 40, 45, 114–15, 137
Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam, 132–33
Bay of Pigs operation, 49
Belize (formerly British Honduras)
border dispute with Guatemala, 12, 25, 26, 30, 34–36, 36f, 37, 40
colonization and English rule, 27–29
devaluation of British Honduran dollar, 26, 30
gains independence, 29–31
Garifuna people in, 25, 29, 32–34
land rights movement in, 33–34
map, 24
natural disasters in, 30, 145–47a
not always considered part of Central America, 4–5
official language and ethnic composition of, 5, 25
pre-Columbian era, 27
present-day, 31–32
restores diplomatic relations with
Guatemala, 40
timeline of key events, 25–26
tourism in, 32–33
Belizean Kriol language, 25, 26, 37
Belize Estate and Produce Company, 30
biodiversity, 119
Biodiversity Law (1998), 120
Bluefields, Nicaragua, 97–99
Blue Shirts (Camisas Azules), 137
Bolívar, Simón, 126
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, 86
Bonilla, Manuel, 81–82
border disputes
Belize with Guatemala, 12, 25, 26, 30, 34–36, 36f, 37, 40
Central American Court of Justice prevented from ruling on, 139
Costa Rica with Nicaragua, 112
El Salvador with Honduras, 59, 76
Guatemala with Belize, 12, 25, 26, 30, 34–36, 36f, 37, 40
International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules on, 26, 36, 76, 112
“Border War,” 19
British Honduras. see Belize
Brown Shirts, 137
Bryan-Chamorro Treaty (1972), 102
Bush, George H. W., 130
Buts’ Tiliw, 42
C
Cáceres, Alonso de, 79
CACM (Central American Common Market), 65, 66, 84, 101
cafetaleros (coffee growers), 64
CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement), 94, 139
Calderón Guardia, Rafael Ángel, 116–17
Calderón Sol, Armando, 59
Callejas, Rafael, 76
Camisas Azules (Blue Shirts), 137
campesinos (peasant farmers), 16. 67, 107
canals
in El Salvador, 63
New Panama Canal Company, 126, 127
Panama Canal, 9, 14, 17, 115, 123, 126–27
Captaincy General of Guatemala, 43, 44
caravans, 87
Carías Andino, Tiburcio, 76, 82–83, 137
CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market), 31–32
Carpio, Ramiro de León, 40
Casariego y Acevedo, Mario, 50–51
Casas-Zamora, Kevin, 19
caserío (a small settlement surrounded by farmland), 116
Castaneda Castro, Salvador, 64–65
Castillo Mejía, David, 90
Castro, Fidel, 86
las catorce familias (14 families), 11, 57, 62
caudillo (strong-arm leadership), 11, 12, 46, 102, 136–38
Cayman Islands, 81
Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, 108
Central America
caudillo (strong-arm leadership in), 11, 12, 46, 102, 136–38
coffee production in, during the 1880s, 14
corruption in, 20t
countries comprising, 3
current day conditions, 19–21
geography of, 3
history of natural disasters in, 145–48a
influence of United Fruit Company in, 139
map, viii
migration from, 17–19, 18–19t, 87, 142–43
movement for drugs from South to North America and, 135
neocolonialism and 20th century social movements, 14–17
northern triangle sub-region of, 5, 18, 142
race, ethnicity, and colonization in, 6–11, 8t
rule of law in, 21t
social movements in, 140–42
strategic importance of, 135
unsolved journalist murders in, 20t
U. S. foreign policy impact upon, 135
Central American Court of Justice, 139
Central America(n) Federation. see United Provinces of Central America
Central American Free Trade Agreement, 75
Central American Minors Refugee Parole Program, 19
Central American University, 58, 69
Central American Workers Congress (1911), 62
Central Intelligence Agency, U. S. (CIA), 47–48, 49, 69
el Centro de Derechos de la Mujer (Center for Women’s Rights);, 88
el Centro de Estudios de la Mujer (Center for Women’s Studies), 88
Cerén, Salvador Sánchez, 72
Cerezeda, Andrés de, 78
Cerezo, Marco Vinicio, 40
Cerro Colorado (copper deposit), 132
Chamorro, Emiliano, 100
Chapultepec Peace Accords, 70
Chávez, Hugo, 86
Chiapas. see Mexico
Chibcha (ethnic group), 112
China and Chinese
extractive companies, 140
in Panama, 131–32
Chinchilla, Laura, 112
Chinese Panamanian Association, 132
Chomsky, Aviva, 6
CICIG (International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala), 41, 54, 137
Citizens’ Action Party, 112
Clapp, Bill, 21
Çocamba, Chief, 78–79
cochineal, 14
CODEH (Committee for the Defense of Human Rights), 88
COFADEH (Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras), 88
coffee production
during the 1880s, 14
in Guatemala, 45–46
Cold War, 15, 30, 79, 102, 104, 138
Colectivo contra la Violencia de la Mujer (Collective Against Violence Against Women), 88
Colombia
Medellin drug cartel and, 129
Panama as part of, 12, 123, 126, 127
signs treaty with U. S., 127
colonization
British vs. Spanish model of, 10
race, ethnicity and history of, 6–11, 8t
see also specific countries
colonos
Indians resisting dispossession, 62
settlers, 108
Columbus, Christopher
arrives in Costa Rica, 111, 113
Indigenous population prior to, 6
arrives in Panama, 125
comarcas (regions occupied by Indigenous populations), 132, 134
communism
accusations of, 64
Communist Party outlawed in Honduras, 82
in Costa Rica, 117
FMLN and Marxist-Leninist leanings, 68
Reagan’s fears of, in El Salvador, 69
U. S. support for Contras against, 104–5
Concertación accords (1991), 105
conservatives vs. liberals, 11–14
in El Salvador, 61
in Guatemala, 44–46
impact of caudillo leaders on, 136–37
in Nicaragua, 93, 97, 99–100, 100–101
Constitutionalist War, 100–101
Contras
Chamorro brokers peace with, 105
immigration to Costa Rica, 118
U. S. support for, 76, 84, 94, 104–5
Convention of London (1786), 34
copper, 132
Cortizo, Laurenito “Nito,” 124, 134
Cosgrove, Serena, 21–22
Costa Rica
advantages as “the poorest province,” 12
Afro-descendant people in, 111, 115–16, 119
archeology in, 112–13
banana production in, 111, 115
border dispute with Nicaragua, 112
China and Chinese in, 111, 115–16
coffee production in, 10, 113–14
communism in, 117
Contras and immigration to, 118
Coto War with Panama, 112, 116
disbands army, 14
discrimination against racial and ethnic groups, 111
economic development of, 139
“exceptionalism” and, 118–19
feminism in, 120
GNP, 116
independence from Spain and, 114–16
influence of United Fruit Company in, 139
map, 110
natural disasters in, 145–46a, 148a
Nicaraguans seek asylum in, 93, 107, 108, 111, 118, 142–43
no ore deposits in, 113
pre-Columbian era, 112–13
present day, 119–21
social security system in, 117
Spain colonizes, 113
strikes in, 112
timeline of key events, 111–12
tourism in, 118–19
twentieth century, 116–18
United Provinces of Central America and, 111
Costa Rican Law of Immigration (1862), 116
Covid-19 pandemic, 36
coyote(smuggler), 87
Creoles
in El Salvador, 61
English Creole language, 25, 26, 37
los Criollos (elite families), 11, 39, 44
Cristiani, Alfredo, 58, 69, 70
CRM (Revolutionary Mass Coordination), 67
Cruz, Arturo, 104
Cuba, 30 49, 67, 71, 78, 86, 104
Current Population Survey. Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 18n
Cuyamel Fruit Company, 82
D
Dangriga (“standing waters,” formerly Stann Creek town), 33
Dávila, Miguel, 82
death penalty, 115
death squads
in El Salvador, 17, 57, 58, 68, 69, 137
FMLN demands dissolution of, 69
in Nicaragua, 76
de Bastidas, Rodrigo, 123, 125
de las Casas, Francisco, 78
de León, Carmen Rosa, 137
Democratic Alliance of Civic Opposition, 130
Democratic Change party, 134
“democratic regression,” 137
Democratic Revolutionary Party, 124, 134
Dempsey, Isabeau J. Belisle, 22
deportations
from Honduras to El Salvador, 58
from U. S. to El Salvador, 71, 72
of West Indian laborers from Honduras, 81
depression
effect upon Panama’s economy, 128
in Honduras, 79
Díaz, Adolfo, 100
Diquís (ethnic group), 112
disease
effect upon Costa Rican population, 113
effect upon Maya civilization, 27, 42
effect upon workers at New Panama Canal Company, 126
as most lethal effect of Spanish conquest, 7
Dole (Standard Fruit and Steamship Company), 80
Dollar Diplomacy, 15
drug trafficking
in Guatemala, 137
in Honduras, 85, 86, 87, 137–38
Noriega accused of, 124, 129–30
through Central America, 135
E
earthquakes, 4, 94, 102, 146–48a
economic development
Panama’s financial service sector and, 123, 133
religion and, 17
U. S. foreign policy influence upon, 15, 139
violence intertwined with economic oppression, 62
Economist, 136
EGP (Guerrilla Army of the Poor), 50
18 Rabbit, 42
ejidal (communal) lands, 61
Electoral Code of Laws (1945), 117
El Salvador
activism and social movements in, 57, 58, 59, 69, 70–71
border dispute with Honduras, 59, 76
campesino rebellion, 16
coffee production in, 57, 58, 61–62, 63
conservative vs. liberal politics in, 12, 61
construction of railroad to U. S., 63
death squads in, 17, 57, 58, 68, 69, 137
declares independence from Spain, 60–62
deportations from Honduras to, 58
deportations from U. S. to, 72
in the early twentieth century, 62–66
Football War and, 83–84
fourteen families (“las catorce familias”), 11, 57, 62
GNP, 75
influence of Sandinista Revolution on, 67
introduces social security system, 65
joins OGP, 59
Labor Party, modeled on Great Britain’s, 63
map, 56
Meléndz family dynasty in, 137
Nahua people in, 59, 60, 61, 64, 77–78
natural disasters in, 4, 145–48a
population, 57
pre-Columbian history, 59–60
present-day, 72
Reagan’s fears of communism in, 69
Spain colonizes, 60
timeline of key events, 57–59
United Provinces of Central America and, 57–58
encomienda system (tribute and forced labor), 4, 7, 60
Endara, Guillermo, 124, 130, 132
English language
as official language of Belize, 5
West Indians’ ability to speak, 115
environmental activism, 16–17
ERP (People’s Revolutionary Army), 68
Estrada Cabrera, Manuel, 137
ethnicity
composition of Central America by, 6–11, 8t
discrimination due to, 52
Panama and Black Ethnicity, 131
Europe
Enlightenment philosophies from, 13
extractive companies from, 139–40
immigrants from, to Spanish America, 10–11
influence of economic and political developments, 31, 135, 139–40
Evangelical faith, 17
F
FAR (Rebel Armed Forces), 50
la Federación de Asociaciones Femeninas (the Federation of Feminist Associations), 88
Federal Republic of Central America. see United Provinces of Central America
femicide
in Guatemala, 52
Feminist Culture League, 120
Feminist League, 120
FENASTRAS (National Federation of Salvadoran Workers), 69
Ferrera, Francisco, 80
Figueres Ferrer, José, 112, 117
FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front), 58, 59, 68–72, 137
FNRP (Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular, National Popular Resistance), 85
Football War (“the Hundred Hour War”), 65–66, 76, 83–84, 101
fourteen families (las catorce familias
FPL: (Popular Forces of Farabundo Martí Liberation), 68
France
canal building in Panama and, 123, 126, 127
end of piracy and, 97
republican innovations from, 13
Francis, Pope, 59
Frommer’s guidebook, 118
FRTS (Regional Federation of Salvadorean Workers), 62, 63, 64
fruit export companies
migrant labor for, 9
in Nicaragua, 98–99
see also specific companies
G
Gálvez, Juan Manuel, 83
Gálvez, Mariano, 45
gang violence
effect upon unaccompanied minors, 19
in Honduras, 87
immigration as result of, 87
maras, 142
MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) gang, 57, 72
Garifuna people
Garifuna Settlement Day in Belize, 29
in Nicaragua, 99
protests against land development, 141–42
gender violence, 43, 52. see also femicide
General Confederation of Salvadoran Workers (CGTS), 65
General Law of Common Education (1886), 120
genocide
Matanza as, 64
trial of Ríos Montt for, 41, 53
Gerardi, Juan José, 17, 40, 53
Global Witness report (2017), 89
GNP (gross national product)
of Costa Rica, 116
of El Salvador, 75
of Honduras, 75
Godolphin Treaty (1670), 28
Goldman Environmental Prize, 89
golpistas (traitors), 108
Governmental Commission of Dialogue, 69
Great Britain
Belize and Guatemala land dispute and, 12, 26
colonizes Belize, 5, 10, 26, 28, 34–35
colonizes Nicaragua, 10, 93, 96, 98
emphasis on settler colonialism, 10
Labor Party, as model for El Salvador’s, 63
migrants from British West India, 9
as neocolonial power, 5, 9, 15
in northern Honduras, 79
use of slaves, 4
Guardia, Tomás, 115
Guardia Nacional (Nicaraguan National Guard), 101, 102, 103, 140
Guatemala
Afro-descendant people in, 9, 43
agrarian reform in, 40, 47, 48, 51
ancestral lands and Indigenous communities, 141
archeology in, 41
Belize restores diplomatic relations with, 40
border dispute with Belize, 12, 25, 26, 30, 34–36, 36f, 37, 40
coffee production in, 45–46
conservatives vs. liberals in, 44–46
los Criolos (elite families), 11, 39, 44
democratic regression in, 137
economic development of, 139
end of the war, 51
femicide and homicide in, 52, 57
immigration to U. S., 87
independence and early state building, 44–46
indigenous Maya communities in, 8, 9, 39, 41–42, 53
infant mortality rate in, 43
influence of United Fruit Company in, 139
intercolonial trade, 4
joins OGP, 41
map, 38
natural disasters in, 4, 145–48a
pre-Columbian era, 41–42
present-day, 51–54
remittances from immigrants to home, 72
Spain colonizes, 42–43
timeline of key events, 39–41
twentieth century, 46–48
Guatemala: ¡Nunca Más! or Guatemala: Never Again (REMI report), 40, 53
Gunnlaugsson, Sigmundur Davíð, 133
H
hacienda system, 60
Hale, Charles R., 141
Happy Planet Index, 111
Hauhautls (ethnic group), 60
Hay-Herran Treaty (1903), 126
Hernández, Juan Orlando (JOH), 77, 86, 89
Hernández de Córdoba, Francisco, 93, 96
Hernández Martínez, Maximiliano, 58, 63–64, 71, 82
Herrera, Antonio de, 41
Herrera, Dionisio de, 80
Hitler, Adolf, 137
HKND (Chinese company), 106
homicide rate
in Nicaragua, 93
see also femicide
Honduras
ancestral lands and Indigenous communities, 141
banana production in, 75, 76, 80
becomes part of Mexican Empire, 75
border dispute with El Salvador, 59, 76
conservatives vs. liberals in, 80, 81–82, 85–86
democratic regression in, 137
deports immigrants from El Salvador, 58
deports West Indian laborers, 81
drug trafficking in, 85, 86, 87, 137–38
economic development of, 139
environmental activism in, 77, 89, 141–42
ethnic composition of, 75
Football War and, 65–66
fruit export companies in, 80, 139
gang violence in, 87
Garifuna protest against land development, 141–42
GNP, 75
Great Britain in northern, 79
human rights movement in, 76, 88
immigration to U. S., 75, 87, 142
independence, 79–81
joins OGP, 77
map, 74
Maya and Mayan civilization in, 77
Nahua people in, 77–78
National Party of Honduras, 76, 81, 82, 83, 85–86
natural disasters in, 145–47a
outlaws abortion, 88
outlaws Communist Party, 82
pre-Columbian era, 77–78
railroad construction in, 82
remittances from immigrants to families, 72
social movements in, 87–88
strikes in, 76, 82, 83, 87, 88
timeline of key events, 75–77
twentieth century, 81–85
2009 coup and aftermath, 85–87
United Provinces of Central America and, 76, 80
U. S. intervenes in, 75, 76, 81, 84–85
Horton, Lynn, 105
Hull-Alfaro Treaty (1936), 128
human rights movement
among Indigenous communities, 8, 51
Carter and, 103
Cosgrove monitors, 22
in El Salvador, 57, 58, 59, 69, 70
U. S. support of governments with bad, 18
hurricanes
effect upon Caribbean coast, 4
history of, 145–47a
I
I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala (Menchú), 40
ilbal (instrument for seeing), 42
immigrants and immigration
from British West Indies, 9
from China to Panama, 132
construction of Panama Canal and, 127
Costa Rican Law of Immigration (1862), 116
effect of U. S. foreign policy upon, 139, 142
European immigration to El Salvador, 62
from Honduras to U. S., 75
from Nicaragua to Costa Rica, 93, 107, 108, 111, 120–21, 142–43
undocumented and Football War, 83–84
Indigenous peoples
activism of, 8
in Costa Rica, 111, 112, 119–20
effect of disease upon, 7
of Guatemala, 8, 9, 39, 41–42, 53
move to escape mestizo leaders, 140
in Nicaragua, 107
prior to arrival of Columbus, 6–7
rape of women, 10
Sandinista Revolution and, 103–5
struggle for ancestral lands and, 141
Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, 107
infant mortality rates, 43
Institute for Sustainable Development, 137
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 108
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 76
International Commission against Impunity, 52
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
on border dispute between Belize and Guatemala, 26, 36
on border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, 112
on border dispute between Honduras and El Salvador, 76
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 107
International Labor Organization Convention 107, 119
International Monetary Fund (IMF), 103, 105
Iturbide, Agustín de, 44
K
Kaqchikel nation, 42
Kennedy, John F., 15
Key, Carol, 32
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 133
K’iche nation and religion, 42
L
Labor Party, 63
landslides, 145–48a
languages
English Creole (Belizean Kriol), 25, 27
latifundios (large landed estates), 60, 63
Lempira, Chief, 79
Lemus, José María, 65
Lencas (ethnic group), 59
Liberty and Refoundation Party (“Libre”), 90
liquor industry, 116
Lobo, Porfirio “Pepe,” 86
logging industry
migrant labor and, 9
slave labor and, 4
López Arellano, Osvaldo, 76
Lowenthal, David, 30
M
MACCIH (Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras), 86
Madrid, Treaty of (1670), 79
mahogany extraction, 25, 29, 30
MAN (Movimiento Ambientalista Nicaragüense or Environmental Movement of Nicaragua, 107
mandamiento policy (forcible conscription), 45
Manifest Destiny, 99
MAO (Environmentalist Movement of Olancho), 89
maps
Belize, 24
of border dispute between Belize and Guatemala, 36f, 37
Central America, viii
Costa Rica, 110
El Salvador, 56
Guatemala, 38
Honduras, 74
Nicaragua, 92
Panama, 122
“Marchas por la Vida” (Marches for Life), 89
Marine Corps, U. S., 81, 100, 127, 140
Mariscal-Spender Treaty (1893), 26
Martí, Agustín Farabundo, 58, 64
Martinelli, Ricardo, 124
Martínez, Emma, 83
Martínez Peláez, Severo, 44
Marx, Karl, 48
La Matanza (The Slaughter), 64
Maya and Mayan civilization in Belize, 27, 33–34
effect of disease upon, 27, 42
effect of multiculturalism for, 141
in Guatemala, 8, 9, 39, 41–42, 53
in Honduras, 77
in Nicaragua, 95
Mayoraga, Francisco, 106
“Mayoraga Plan” (“Plan of 100 Days”), 106
Medellin drug cartel, 129
Meiggs, Henry, 115
Mein, John Gordon, 50
Meléndez, Carlos, 63
Meléndez-Quiñónez dynasty, 58, 63, 137
Melgar Castro, Juan Alberto, 76
Méndez Montenegro, Julio César, 40, 49
Menéndez, Andrés Ignacio, 64
Menéndez, José, 65
mestizaje (interracial/intercultural mixing), 9
mestizos
in Costa Rica, 113
defined, 25
as effect of Spanish conquest, 10
in El Salvador, 57
Indigenous groups move away from, 140
in Nicaragua, 97
not amenable to compromise, 12
in Panama, 123
Mexico
Central America forms part of independent, 12
Chapultepec Peace Accords signed in, 70
claims on Belizean territory, 26, 34
countries declare independence from, 4, 12
drops claims to Belize, 34
Honduras becomes part of Mexican Empire, 75
incursions of Indigenous peoples to Guatemala, 15
migration from Central America to, 17
migration through, to U. S., 87
state of Chiapas, 5, 7, 12, 44, 78
United Provinces of Central America declares independence from, 4
Micheletti, Roberto, 86
microchips, 119
Migration Policy Institute (MPI), 18, 19n
Military Youth (Juventud Militar), 65, 67
minifundistas (peasants who worked small farms), 114
mining
concessions for extraction-based companies, 71, 139–40, 142
in Nicaragua, 96
no ore deposits in Costa Rica, 113
protests against, 141
protests by Indigenous Panamanians, 124, 132
slaves used for, 79
Spanish colonization and, 4, 27, 60, 96, 125
U. S. investments in, 98
Miskito Indigenous people, 79, 98, 108, 118
Mobile Military Police, 51
MODESCO (Colón Unemployed Movement), 131
Molina, Arturo Armando, 66
Molina, Miguel Tomás, 63
Montejo, Francisco de, 78–79
Montt, Efraín Ríos, 40, 50–51, 53
Mora, Juan, 100
Mora, Manuel, 117
Morales, Samuel, 53
Morales, José, 53
Mora Porras, Juan Rafael, 114
Morgan, Henry, 126
Morgan and Garrison, 99–100
Mosquito Coast, 29, 79, 97–99, 98
Mossack Fonseca, 133
mountain ranges, 3
Movimiento de Mujeres por la Paz (Women’s Movement for Peace), 88
N
Nahua people and language
in Costa Rica, 112
in El Salvador, 59, 60, 61, 64
in Honduras, 77–78
Narváez, Benjamín N., 118
Nassau Understanding, 31
National Census, 119
National Church, 29
National Council for the Black Ethnicity (2007), 131
National Liberal Party, 112
National Liberation Army, 117
National Opposition Union, 94
National Party of Honduras, 76, 81, 82, 83, 85–86
National Popular Resistance Front, 90
National Republic Party, 117
National Union Party, 117
National War, 100
New Man, New Woman (hombre nuevo revolucionario), 103–4, 140–41
New Panama Canal Company, 126, 127
Newson, Linda A., 10
New York Times, 19
Ngäbe—Buglé (ethnic group), 132–33, 134
Nicaragua
African population of, in 17th century, 9
ancestral lands and Indigenous communities, 141
archeology in, 95
border dispute with Costa Rica, 112
Caribbean Coast, 97–99
coffee production in, 97
death squads in, 76
economic development of, 139
foreign relations with Great Britain, 97–99
fruit export companies in, 98–99, 139
gains independence from Mexico and Spain, 94, 96–97
Garifuna in, 99
immigration to Costa Rica, 93, 107, 108, 111, 120–21, 142–43
liberal politics and, 12
map, 92
Maya in, 95
natural disasters in, 4, 101, 145–48a
pre-Columbian era, 95
railroad construction in, 97
Spain colonizes, 95–96
timeline of key events, 93–95
universities closed in, 107
U. S. influence in., 93, 97–101, 140
withdrawal of U. S. Marines from, 140
1944 Revolution “Ten Years of Spring,” 46
Nixon, Richard, 102
Non-Aligned Nations summit (1976), 30–31, 35
Nonualcos (the“tribe of mutes”), 61
Noriega, Manuel, 15, 124, 129–31
Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) party, 59
O
OAS (Organization of American States), 86, 89
Obama, Barak, 19
Obando y Bravo, Miguel, 102
ODECA (Organization of Central American States), 65
OGP (Open Government Partnership), 41, 59, 77, 112, 120, 124
“Ojo por Ojo” (Eye for an Eye death squad), 50
Olid, Cristóbal de, 78
Oliva, Bertha, 88
O’Neill, Arturo, 28
Operation Just Cause, 130
ORDEN (Democratic Nationalist Organization), 66
Organization of American States, 77, 117
Ortega, Daniel, 93, 94–95, 106–7, 120–21, 137
Ortega, Humberto, 105
Osorio, Óscar, 65
P
Padilla, Visitación, 88
Palma, Gustavo, 47
Panama
Afro-descendant people in, 123
Black Ethnicity and, 131
China and Chinese in, 131–32
Columbus lands in, 125
Coto War with Costa Rica, 112, 116
enjoys high standard of living, 14
financial service sector in, 123, 133
gains independence from Colombia, 127
gains independence from Spain, 123, 126
Gran Colombia and, 125–26
Indigenous peoples in, 123, 125, 132
joins OGP, 124
map, 122
natural disasters in, 145–46a, 148a
Ngäbe—Buglé (ethnic group), 132–33, 134
not always considered part of Central America, 4–5
as part of Colombia, 12, 123, 126
pirates and piracy in, 126
pre-Columbian era, 125
social movements, 131–33
social security system in, 124
Spain colonizes, 125–26
timeline of key events, 123–24
tourism in, 133
twentieth century, 127–29
Panama Canal
completed, 123
effect upon Panama’s economy, 14, 123
migrant labor and building of, 9, 17
U. S. buys right to build, 123, 126–27
PAR (Renewal Action Party), 65
Paz Garcia, Policarpo, 76
PCN (National Conciliation Party), 58, 66
PCS (Salvadoran Communist Party), 68
PDC (Christian Democratic Party), 66
PDF (Panama Defense Forces), 129
Pearl Lagoon basin, 98
Pentecostal faith, 17
Peralta, Enrique, 40
PetroCaribe oil alliance, 85
Picado Michalski, Teodoro, 117
Pillai, Vijayan K., 32
Pipil (ethnic group), 7, 59–60, 77
pirates and piracy, 96, 97, 126
see also Baymen
PNC (National Civilian Police), 72
Population Reference Bureau, 116f
Popul Vuh (“the Book of the People”), 39, 42
Portillo, Alfonso, 40
Protestantism, 17
PRTC (Revolutionary Party of the Central American Workers), 68
PRUD (Revolutionary Party of Democratic Unification), 65
Q
Quetzalcoatl (mythological figure), 59
Quiñónez Molina, Alfonso, 63
Quiros, Ana, 107
Quirós, Juan Bautista, 116
R
race
composition of Central America by, 6–11, 8t
discrimination of Indigenous people, 44
immigration laws and, 116
railroad construction
Chinese labor for, 132
from El Salvador to U. S., 63
in Honduras, 82
migrant labor and, 9
in Nicaragua and, 97
between Panama and U. S., 123, 126
see also specific railroads
Ramirez, Sergio, 108
rape and forced unions
during Guatemalan civil war, 51, 53
of Indigenous and Afro-descendant women, 10
not grounds for abortion in Honduras, 88
Reagan, Ronald, 67, 68–69, 84, 104
Refugee Resettlement camps, Office of the, 19
religion and religious freedom
destruction of religious artifacts, 133
Morazán grants religious freedom in El Salvador, 61
in pre-Columbian Honduras, 78
see also specific religions
REMHI report (Historical Memory Recovery Project), 53
remittances, 87
Revolutionary Council, 65
Río San Juan, Battle of (1762), 94
RN (National Resistance), 68
Roman Catholic Church
backs Picado’s presidency in Costa Rica, 117
Hernández Martínez’s relationship with, 64
Jesuits and household murdered, 58, 69–70
opposition to President Romero’s government, 66–67
role in ending El Salvador civil war, 70
supports colonization of Guatemala, 52
Romer Bosque, Pío, 63
Romero, Arturo, 64
Romero, Carlos Humberto, 58, 66
Romero, St. Óscar, 17, 58, 59, 66, 67
Roosevelt Corollary, 15
Roux, Romulo, 134
rubber, 98
S
Sacasa, Juan Bautista, 100
Salvadoran Armed Forces, 57, 68–69
San Carlos of Guatemala, University of, 50
Sánchez, Francisco “Chico,” 64
Sandinistas and Sandinista Revolution
aftermath of Somoza regime, 103–5
immigration to Costa Rica, 118
influence upon El Salvador, 67
Sandinistas hand over power, 105–6
Sandinista Youth, 137
Sandino, Augusto César, 94, 100–101, 102, 140
Santamaría, Juan, 114
Seattle International Foundation, 21
Seattle University. Central America Initiative, 21
Secret Anticommunist Army, 51
Serrano, Jorge Elias, 40
Seven Years’ War, 94
Silent Holocaust, 51
Slave Emancipation Act (1833), 29
slaves and slavery
in Guatemala, 43
Liberals seek to abolish, 13
to supplement indigenous labor, 4, 9, 79
social security system
in Costa Rica, 117
in El Salvador, 65
in Panama, 124
Somos Muchas (We Are Many), 88
Somoza Debayle, Anastasio, 94, 102
Somoza García, Anastasio, 82, 101–3, 117, 137, 138, 140
Soto-Keith agreement (1877), 115
Spain
attempts to colonize Belize, 25, 28
colonizes Costa Rica, 113
colonizes El Salvador, 60
colonizes Guatemala, 41–42
colonizes Nicaragua, 93, 95–96
colonizes Panama, 125–26
countries declare independence from, 4, 12
immigration from, 10
recognition of Indigenous land, 7
slavery and, 9
Spanish Viceroyalty of New Andalucia. see New Granada
Sprenkels, Ralph, 70
Stann Creek Town, 33
State Department, U. S., 48, 100
Stewart, Bill, 103
St. George’s Caye, Battle of (1798), 25, 28
strikes
in Costa Rica, 112
in El Salvador, 64
in Honduras, 76, 82, 83, 87, 88
in Nicaragua, 103
Suazo Córdova, Roberto, 84
Subsidy Laws (1879, 1889), 97
suffrage
universal adult, in Belize, 26, 30
for women, in Costa Rica, 120
sweep operations, 68
T
Taft, William Howard, 15
Tagatécu (lord), 59
Tamayo, Andrés, 89
Tatoni (princes), 59
Tierra de Resistentes (Land of Resisters), 89
Tinoco Granados, Federico, 112, 116
Torres-Rivas, Edelberto, 14, 70
Torrijos-Carter Treaty
1977, 129
1999, 130–31
Torrijos Herrera, Omar, 30–31, 35, 124, 128–29, 131
tourism
in Costa Rica, 118–19
in Nicaragua, 107
in Panama, 133
transparency rates, 20t
tribute. see encomienda system
Trujillo Railroad Company, 82
U
Ubico Casteñada, Jorge, 40, 46, 82, 137
UDP (United Democratic Party), 26, 31, 35
Ulate-Figueres Pact (1949), 117
unaccompanied children, 19
Ungo, Guillermo, 66
United Fruit Company, 40, 46, 47, 48, 83, 112, 115, 139
United Nations
condemns Cáceres’ assassination, 89–90
condemns coup in Honduras, 86
Costa Rica and, 117
criticizes human rights abuses in Guatemala, 40
on homicide rate in Honduras, 87
on Hurricane Mitch, 85
sponsors peace agreement in El Salvador, 58, 70
United Provinces of Central America
declares independence from Spain, 4
El Salvador and, 57–58
Guatemala and, 39
United States
Bay of Pigs operation and, 49
buys right to build Panama Canal, 123, 126–27
Central American immigrants by country of origin, 19t
Central Americans in, 18t
deports gang members to El Salvador, 72
Guatemalan population in, 39
immigrants from El Salvador to, 57
immigrants from Honduras to, 87
impact of foreign policy in Central America, 15–16, 135, 138–40
intervention in Coto War, 116
intervention in El Salvador, 57, 62–63
intervention in Honduras, 75, 76,. 81, 84–85
Nicaragua pushes back against, 100–101
pact with New Granada transoceanic railway, 123, 126
replaces Great Britain as dominant world power, 62, 98
signs treaty with Colombia, 127
stock market crashes, 63
supports counterinsurgency campaigns in Guatemala, 50
World Court condemns, 94
UNO (National Opposition Union), 66, 105
UNT (National Worker Union party), 64
URNG (National Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity), 50
USSR, 104
V
Vaccaro brothers, 80
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 99–100
Varela, Juan Carlos, 124
Victores, Óscar Humberto Mejía, 51
W
Walker, William, 15, 80, 94, 99–100, 112, 114, 138
“War of the Captains, The ,” 96
West Indian laborers, 81, 111, 115, 127
“white legend” (“la leyenda blanca”), 119
women
in Costa Rica, 120
in El Salvador, 71
gender and class overtones of mestizaje, 10
as members of FMLN, 68
Menchú wins Nobel Peace Prize, 40
voting rights in Belize, 26
see also gender violence; rape and forced unions
Wood, Elisabeth J., 62
Work Code, 117
World Court, 94
World Fact Book, 8n
Wyke-Aycinena Treaty (1859), 34–35
X
Xunantunich (Lady of the Rock), 27
Y
Ydigoras Fuentes, Miguel, 49
