Independent era of Honduras
For nearly three centuries, Honduras was part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, so its independence revolved around the pro-independence events in the other provinces.
After the occupation of Spain by the French, the first acts of insurrection in favor of Central American independence occurred in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala (1811-1813).
In Honduras, the Spanish resorted to perpetual power in order to suppress the independence cause.
From 1813 to 1820, there were no other notable events in relation to independence in Central America. It was not until early 1821, when Mexico declared its total independence from Spain through the Plan of Iguala on February 24.
This event accelerated the independence of Central America, which was consummated on September 15, 1821, with a declaration drafted by José Cecilio del Valle.
The euphoria of independence lasted very little, as in January 1822, at the initiative of the conservatives and Emperor Agustín de Iturbide, the United Provinces of Central America joined the Mexican Empire. However, this union lasted only until Iturbide’s fall in March 1823.
In March 1824, a congress was held in Guatemala, and the Federal Republic of Central America was founded, composed of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The new republic had a short existence, and after several civil wars, the Union was dissolved on October 26, 1838, and the five states of the Republic became five independent states.
Some of the Central American states attempted several times to reconstitute the Federal Republic of Central America. But these attempts failed and cost the lives of several of their initiators.
A last attempt was made, influenced by Dr. Policarpo Bonilla, President of Honduras, a treaty was signed with Nicaragua and El Salvador, according to which the three republics formed a federation under the name of Greater Republic of Central America.
The three republics became states, and the sovereignty of the federation rested in a Diet composed of three members, one for each state, which was to meet annually in the capital of the federal states.
At the invitation of this Diet, the three states appointed a delegation that met as a Constituent Assembly in Managua and established a Constitution, according to which the three states took the name of the United States of Central America on November 1, 1898.
This Constitution… which in the minds of those who had formed it meant a consolidation of the three federal states and a prompt reorganization of the great Republic of Central America, envisioned by Francisco Morazán, had a sad end.
The day after the Constituent Assembly met, a revolutionary movement hostile to the new federation took place in San Salvador, which resulted in a new administration in this state.
Its first step was to withdraw from the Union, and this separation led to the dissolution of the United States of Central America because, following the example of El Salvador, the states of Honduras and Nicaragua resumed their sovereignty.
