The 1827 Honduran coup d'état was a military takeover of the Honduran government under

Dionisio de Herrera José Dionisio de la Trinidad de Herrera y Díaz del Valle (9 October 1781 in Choluteca, Honduras – 13 June 1850 in San Vicente, El Salvador) was a Liberal Honduran politician, head of state of Honduras from 1824 to 1827 and head of ...

, initiated on April 4 by the then Lieutenant General José Justo Milla. The first

constitution of Honduras The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras () was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982, amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005,Dates of ratification. and 10 interpretations by C ...

, dated 11 December 1825, established four-year terms for the head of state, with Herrera's initial term to end on 16 September 1827. He was however unable to finish his term due to the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. The assembly took the position that his position was provisional.

Background

was appointed

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the province of

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...

on 23 March 1823. The first

Congress of Honduras The National Congress ( es, Congreso Nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras. Organization The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The nominal President of the National Congress of Honduras is current ...

, a

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

convened on 16 September 1824, and effected the union of Comayagua and

, declaring them alternate capitals of Honduras, and chose

as First Chief of the State of Honduras, with Lieutenant General José Justo Milla as his deputy. At the time Honduras was part of the short-lived

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

, established in 1823. The president of the

Manuel José Arce Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga (1 January 1787 – 14 December 1847) was a decorated salvadoran General and president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1825 to 1829, followed by Francisco Morazán. Background Manuel José Arce was ...

, opposed Herrera and the Liberal Party of Honduras. In October 1826 Arce dissolved

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and the Senate, trying establish a

centralist Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a partic ...

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...

system, allying himself with the conservatives, by which he lost the support of his own party, the liberals. This brought him into conflict with both the federal government and the states, denounced by Herrera and

Mariano Prado Mariano Prado Baca (1776 – 1837) was a Central American lawyer and a four-time, liberal chief of state of El Salvador, while it was a state in the Federal Republic of Central America (1823–24, 1824, 1826–29 and 1832-33). Biography Born in ...

, Chief of State of El Salvador. On 1 November 1826 Herrera was attacked in his house; hired men fired from the street into his bedroom. In December 1826 the conservative priest excommunicated Herrera, claiming that he was influenced by freemasons and heretics.

Coup d'état

Arce called on the Honduran army commanded by the deputy chief of state, José Justo Milla Pineda, to support Irías. On 4 April 1827 the siege of Comayagua began. On 10 May, after 36 days, the square was surrendered by the military chief Fernández.

Aftermath

Herrera was taken prisoner May 9, and sent to Guatemala, where he remained in prison for two years. On 15 March 1829 General

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a Central American politician who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America h ...

and his army were intercepted by the federal troops of Colonel Prado in Las Charcas. Morazán held a superior position and crushed Prado's army. Later, Morazán moved to recover his former positions in Pínula and Aceytuno, putting him once more in control of

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

, where he finally freed Herrera.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Honduran coup d'etat Conflicts in 1827

1827 Events January–March * January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place on Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart. * January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, be ...

1827 coup 1827 in politics 1820s coups d'état and coup attempts

Background

Coup d'état

Aftermath

See also

References