Central America Under Mexican Rule

From January 1822 to July 1823, the five Central American nations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were controlled by the First Mexican Empire, and briefly, the Supreme Executive Power. Collectively known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala; ), each nation was one of the five southernmost provinces of the Mexican Empire. The incorporation of Central America brought Mexico to the height of its territorial extent.

Only two months after the Act of Independence of Central America was signed in September 1821, Regent of Mexico Agustín de Iturbide, later the Mexican emperor, made a formal request to the Central American government to accept annexation to the Mexican Empire. His request was accepted by the Consultive Junta of Guatemala City on 5 January 1822. Despite the acceptance by the Guatemalan-based government in favor of annexation, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and parts of Nicaragua resisted Mexican annexation, forcing Mexican and allied Guatemalan soldiers to forcefully subjugate the rebellious regions of Central America.

Mexican and allied Guatemalan forces under the command of Brigadier Vicente Filísola, who was serving as the captain general of the Central American provinces, spent just over one year campaigning to forcefully annex El Salvador, which ended in a Mexican victory and El Salvador's annexation in February 1823. In Costa Rica, the government declared independence from Mexico in October 1822, however, a coup by monarchists in March 1823 led to the outbreak of a civil war. The Battle of Ochomogo deposed the monarchist government and reestablished the secessionist government. Meanwhile, a rebellion in Nicaragua led by José Anacleto Ordóñez sought to overthrow the incumbent Nicaraguan government.

Before Filísola could continue to Nicaragua and Costa Rica after his victory in El Salvador, Agustín I was forced to abdicate the Mexican imperial throne and go into exile, and a provisional government was established after the abolition of the monarchy. As a result, Filísola abandoned his orders to continue the conquest of Central America and convened a congress of Central American political leaders to determine the future of Central America.

On 1 July 1823, the Central American congress declared independence from Mexico and established the United Provinces of Central America, later known as the Federal Republic of Central America, which existed until its dissolution in 1841 after a series of civil wars. Not all of Central America chose to become independent, however, as the region of Chiapas remained a part of Mexico and is now one of the country's 31 states. In its "25-Point Program", the far-right Nationalist Front of Mexico (FNM) has called for the reincorporation of Central America to Mexico.

Independence of New Spain

Mexican independence

On 16 September 1810, Criollo priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued the Cry of Dolores, beginning the Mexican War of Independence from the Spanish Empire. His declaration was made as a result of Napoleon's invasion of Spain, which overthrew Spanish King Ferdinand VII and replaced him with Napoleon's brother, Joseph I. Although Ferdinand VII was restored in 1814, some in New Spain were not satisfied with his reign. The constitution of 1812 was suspended in 1814, and high ranking military officers in New Spain demanded in 1820 that the constitution be reinstated.

On 24 February 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, a Mexican general fighting for independence, published his Plan of the Three Guarantees in the city of Iguala, which outlined his vision for the new independent Mexican state. It included the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, and issued special protections to the Catholic Church, which would also be declared as the state religion, to the army, and to both Europeans and mestizos. Iturbide invited Ferdinand VII, any member of his immediate family, or any other Spanish Bourbon prince to rule as the Emperor of Mexico. Until an emperor could be appointed, Iturbide held the position of president of the regency council unopposed.

After eleven years of war between Mexican independence forces and Spanish royalist forces, full independence for Mexico was attained with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba on 24 August 1821 and the issuance of the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire on 28 September 1821.

Central American independence

Central America, which had been administered as a colony of Spain under the Captaincy General of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala, since 1568, launched attempted rebellions in 1811 and 1814 ( es) to gain independence. Both attempts were suppressed by Spanish forces. Despite the opposition to independence by some Central American leaders, such as Gabino Gaínza, on 15 September 1821, Central America declared independence from Spain with the signing of the Act of Independence of Central America in Guatemala City. Independence was sought for in part due to Iturbide's Plan of the Three Guarantees, as it was very popular within Central America.

Upon independence, the Captaincy General of Guatemala was abolished and the former provinces of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua became semi-independent nations under a provisional national government—the Consultive Junta—which was established in Guatemala to help form a formal federal government for Central America. Elections for a permanent government were scheduled to occur on 1 March 1822. The Spanish-appointed provincial governors remained in place and continued to exercise their authority after independence was declared. The independence of Central America was not considered to be a priority by Spain, due to its relative insignificance in comparison to their other colonies of New Granada, New Spain, and Peru, which they were still fighting for control of.

Central American infighting over annexation

Immediately after independence, prospect of annexation to Mexico divided the Central American ruling class. Monarchist politicians preferred annexation, while more nationalist and republican politicians opposed annexation and wish to retain independence.

Gaínza, who had assumed the political leadership of both Guatemala and the Consultive Junta under the title of Superior Political Chief, was in favor of annexation, as was Nicaraguan clergyman Nicolás García Jerez, the bishop of León, and the Aycinena clan ( es) of Guatemala. Politicians from the cities of León and Comayagua were also in favor. Although most indigenous Central Americans did not have an opinion on the issue of annexation, the K'iche' were in favor of annexation.

Manuel José Arce, a Salvadoran politician, was one of primary opponents to annexation and a leading republican figure. Although some parts of El Salvador sought annexation, the capital city, San Salvador, firmly supported independence. On 4 October 1821, Arce was arrested along with several other Salvadoran politicians by Pedro Barriere, the conservative political chief of El Salvador, for calling on Barriere to hold elections to elect a delegation to be sent to the Consultive Junta. As a result, the Consultive Junta decided to remove Barriere on 11 October 1821 and replace him with Salvadoran priest José Matías Delgado, freeing Arce in the process. Meanwhile, Costa Ricans were initially opposed to independence from Spain; at that time, there was no definitive consensus as to whether Costa favored or opposed annexation. Gaínza did not wish to hold a meeting of Central America's political leaders, fearing that disagreements from the meeting could contribute to the outbreak of a civil war within Central America.

On 28 November 1821, Gaínza received a letter from Iturbide formally requesting the annexation of Central America into the Mexican Empire. In the letter, Iturbide stated that stability and security in Central America could only be possible if it joined a union with Mexico. He claimed to look for harmony with the Central American people, but he also stated that he was sending soldiers to Central America to ensure that order would be protected. On 20 November 1821, Iturbide had already sent 200 soldiers into Chiapas, which declared its separation from Guatemala on 26 September 1821, to seize control of the area.

In response to the letter, Gaínza ordered all 237 municipalities across Central America to publish Iturbide's letter publicly, hold open cabildos, and vote for or against annexation within thirty days. The results of the open cabildos were as follows:

Although the final report of the poll which was issued did not give exact details on how each municipality voted, Gaínza assured the public that the 104 municipalities which voted in favor of complete annexation without any conditions represented a majority of the population. As such, on 5 January 1822, the Consultive Junta voted in unconditional support for the annexation of Central America to the Mexican Empire. As a result of the annexation, Mexico reached the height of its territorial extent, and the people of Central America were automatically granted Mexican citizenship. The Consultive Junta was later dissolved on 21 February 1822.

The Act of Union of the Provinces of Central America with the Mexican Empire, which formalized Central America's annexation to Mexico, was signed by fourteen people. The fourteen signatories were:

* Gabino Gaínza
* Mariano de Aycinena y Piñol
* Miguel Larreynaga
* José Cecilio del Valle
* Mariano Beltranena y Llano
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* Antonio Rivera Cabezas ( es)
* José Mariano Calderón ( es)
* José Antonio Alvarado
* Ángel María Candina ( es)
* Eusebio Castillo
* José Valdés
* José Domingo Diéguez
* Mariano Gálvez

Annexation and subsequent separatist conflicts

Brigadier Vicente Filísola was appointed by Iturbide to command the Mexican soldiers to occupy Central America and solidify Mexican control in the region. The only active resistance against the annexation was in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Republican politicians in El Salvador attempted to usurp authority of Central America from Guatemala City and lead a region-wide resistance to Mexican occupation.

Suppression of Salvadoran resistance

Arce and Delgado organized an armed Salvadoran resistance and prepared to engage in battle with Mexican forces. Gaínza, who was serving as the captain general of Central America, dedicated Guatemalan soldiers to support the Mexicans in March 1822 and placed them under the command of Chilean Sergeant José Nicolás de Abós y Padilla ( es). Salvadoran and Guatemalan forces clashed in the town of El Espinal in March 1822, ending in a Salvadoran victory which forced Abós y Padilla's soldiers to retreat. Gaínza sacked Abós y Padilla and replaced him with Manuel Arzú on 19 March 1822, and also supplied him with more soldiers. Arzú's army succeeded in occupying San Salvador on 5 April 1822 and forced Salvadoran soldiers to abandon the city.

Filísola remained in Chiapas as Guatemalan forces occupied San Salvador. After requests from the Guatemalan government for his presence, he arrived at Guatemala City on 12 June 1822. He succeeded Gaínza as the captain general and political chief of all of Central America on 23 June 1822. On 30 August 1822, Filísola managed to negotiate an armistice with El Salvador, ending tensions between Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The delegations which negotiated the armistice included Antonio José Cañas and Juan Francisco Sosa from El Salvador, and Colonel Felipe Codallos and Lieutenant Colonel José Luis González Ojeda from Guatemala.

Filísola sent a message of the armistice to Iturbide, who had assumed the throne of the Mexican Empire on 19 May 1822 becoming Emperor Agustín I; however, he rejected the armistice. He believed that the armistice was not enough to ensure the loyalty of El Salvador, and ordered Filísola to again occupy San Salvador and extract a total submission to Mexican authority from its government. Additionally, on 10 November 1822, the Salvadoran congress declared that it was not able to ratify the armistice, and that El Salvador would defend its rights with force.

Following Agustín I's orders, Filísola exited Guatemala City on 11 November 1822 with 2,000 to occupy San Salvador. In response to Filísola's invasion, Delgado sent a message to the Mexican government offering full annexation on the sole condition that representatives from El Salvador will be allowed to participate in the formulation of the new Mexican constitution. Before Filísola's forces invaded El Salvador, the Salvadoran government junta sent an envoy of diplomats to Washington, D.C. to formally request annexation to the United States in an attempt to avoid being completely conquered by Mexican forces. The envoy arrived in mid-1823, but they were not invited to meet either President James Monroe or Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. By then, the Mexican Empire had already collapsed.

On 7 December 1822, Filísola occupied the Salvadoran city of Coatepeque. On 21 December 1822, he was informed that Arce's soldiers had fortified themselves in the cities of San Miguel, San Martín, and Cojutepeque, and that Delgado's symbolic religious support was boosting public morale in San Salvador. Although the Mexican army numbered 5,000 soldiers, while the Salvadoran forces numbered less than 1,000 and were armed with only machetes and spears, Filísola recognized that attempting to subjugate the seemingly determined rebel army would be difficult. Filísola issued an ultimatum to Arce on 14 January 1823, stating that annexation to the United States was hopeless and that annexation to the Mexican Empire was inevitable; Arce sent Filísola a response the following day, rejecting the ultimatum.

After the rejection, Mexican forces marched on San Salvador and subjugated the city on 9 February 1823, securing Mexico's annexation of El Salvador. The defending Salvadorans abandoned the city two days prior on 7 February 1823, and under the command of Mariano Prado, retreated to Honduras, where they later surrendered near in Gualcince on 21 February 1823.

Civil war in Costa Rica

The Electoral Junta was established in Costa Rica on 5 January 1822 after the Interim Junta was abolished, and five days later, the junta approved Costa Rica's annexation to the Mexican Empire. The Electoral Junta was succeeded by the Superior Gubernatorial Junta ( es) on 13 January 1822, and its president, Rafael Barroeta y Castilla ( es), began preparations to hold elections which would determine Costa Rica's representatives in the Mexican Constituent Congress ( es). The election was held on 31 January 1822.

In October 1822, some Costa Ricans became frustrated with Agustín I when he abolished the Constituent Congress without a new constitution being drafted. The frustrations divided Costa Rican politicians on whether to remain with Mexico or to secede. On 8 March 1823, the junta voted to secede from Mexico, declaring: "The Province of Costa Rica shall be absolutely free and independent of any power, therefore in the use of its rights and the current congress in the exercise of its sovereignty." The declaration of independence was not universally agreed upon by all Costa Rican politicians and led to a civil conflict between the Costa Rican ruling class between those in favor of independence (republicans) and those in favor of remaining with Mexico (monarchists).

On 14 March 1823, the Superior Gubernatorial Junta was dissolved in favor of the Provincial Deputation led by Rafael Francisco Osejo. Osejo and the new government, however, were overthrown in a coup d'état by monarchist Joaquín de Oreamuno on 29 March 1823. Republican Gregorio José Ramírez was declared as the leader of Costa Rica in opposition of Oreamuno in the city of Alajuela on 1 April 1823.

Ramírez led republican forces in battle against the monarchists on 5 April 1823 in the Battle of Ochomogo. The battle ended in a republican victory and the overthrow of Oreamuno. Afterwards, Ramírez assumed the position as the absolute leader of Costa Rica. Ramírez was succeeded by José María de Peralta on 16 April 1823, who was then succeeded by a second Superior Gubernatorial Junta led by Manuel Alvarado e Hidalgo ( es) on 10 May 1823, which remained in power until September 1824.

Unrest in Nicaragua

José Anacleto Ordóñez, a Nicaraguan soldier and merchant, launched a rebellion against Mexican rule on 16 January 1823. He and his supporters bloodlessly captured the military barracks in Granada, which was followed by a series of lootings and robberies by his supporters and civilians in the cities of Granada, Jinotepe, Juigalpa, and Masaya. The violence caused many in the affected cities to flee to Managua, which remained under the control of pro-Mexican forces.

On 23 February 1823, Miguel González Saravia y Colarte ( es), the governor of Nicaragua, forcibly recaptured Granada with an army of 1,000 soldiers, forcing Ordóñez and his supporters to flee the city. Ordóñez bestowed upon himself the title of ''caudillo'' and retreated to Masaya, where he continued his rebellion. On 17 April 1823, González Saravia stepped down as the governor of Nicaragua and was replaced by José Carmen Salazar, and five days later, Ordóñez's rebel forces captured Crisanto Sacasa, the pro-Mexican commander of Granada and held him as a prisoner of war. Salazar attempted to make peace with Ordóñez's rebellion, however, his rebellion continued, well past the independence of Central America, resulting in Ordóñez overthrowing the government of Pablo Méndez in August 1824.

Independence from Mexico

Abdication of Agustín I

After the subjugation of El Salvador, Filísola was going to continue his campaign on securing Mexican control of Central America, including subjugating the rebellious city of Granada and solidifying control of Costa Rica. Before he could continue, however, he heard news about a military-led plot to depose Agustín I. Filísola returned to Guatemala City in March 1823, abandoning his orders to complete the annexation of Central America.

Agustín I was forced to abdicate the Mexican throne and go into exile on 19 March 1823, marking the end of the Mexican Empire. In its place, three Mexican military officers—Nicolás Bravo, Guadalupe Victoria, and Pedro Negrete—established the Supreme Executive Power, a provisional government formed in the wake of the abolition of the Mexican monarchy, with the three serving as joint heads of state. On 29 March 1823, after news of Agustín I's abdication reach Filísola, he called for the formation of a Central American congress to decide the future of Central America. On 1 April 1823, the Mexican Constituent Congress instructed Mexican forces in Central America to cease hostilities with anti-annexation and republican forces, and Filísola expressed his support for the Central American people to determine their own "destiny".

On 7 May 1823, Filísola appointed Codallos, who was his second-in-command during the campaign to annex El Salvador, as the military chief of San Salvador in his absence. Less than one month later on 25 May 1823, Salvadorans managed to pressure Codallos and the garrison of 500 Mexican and Guatemalan soldiers under his command to leave San Salvador. In his place, Salvadoran politicians and military leaders established another Consultive Junta, based in San Salvador. The junta was composed of Prado, Colonel José Justo Milla, and Colonel José Rivas. The junta was later dissolved on 17 June 1823 and Prado assumed sole governance of El Salvador.

Central American congress

On 18 June 1823, the Mexican congress instructed Filísola to be in attendance of the upcoming session of the Central American congress and to maintain friendly relations in the hope that the congress would vote to remain a part of Mexico. The Mexican congress did instruct him, however, to respect the congress' decision whether to remain in union with Mexico or to become an independent state.

The session of the Central American congress began on 29 June 1823 with representatives from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico in attendance. Chiapas, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua boycotted the conference until Filísola resigned as captain general and withdrew all Mexican forces from Central America. During the congress, 37 of the 41 representatives voted to appoint Delgado as the president of the congress, then known as the National Constituent Assembly of Central America.

On 1 July 1823, the National Constituent Assembly of Central America issued the Decree of Absolute Independence of the Provinces of Central America, declaring independence from Mexico and reaffirming independence from Spain. The declaration formed the United Provinces of Central America. Chiapas, however, did not join the newly declared Central American state, and chose to remain a part of Mexico, and its decision to remain with Mexico was confirmed in a referendum on 26 May 1824.

After the residents of Guatemala City raised enough money to pay for the Mexican army's withdrawal, Filísola and his soldiers withdrew from Guatemala and returned to Chiapas on 3 August 1823. The United Provinces of Central America, later known as the Federal Republic of Central America, continued to exist until its collapse in 1841 following two civil wars to form the modern states of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Central America's independence resulted in many provinces of Mexico to desire increased regional autonomy for themselves. Most provinces called upon the national government to establish a new national congress as they believed those under Agustín I were illegitimate. Meanwhile, the provinces of Oaxaca, Yucatán, and Zacatecas announced the establishments of their own local juntas in place of a national congress, and San Luis Potosí and the Eastern Interior Provinces stated that they would declare independence from Mexico unless a new congress was established.

Government

Captaincy government

The head of state of Central America during Mexico's annexation of the region was the same as the head of state of Mexico. Agustín I ruled as regent, and then as emperor, from January 1822 until his abdication in March 1823, after which, the three leaders of the provisional government—Bravo, Victoria, and Negrete—served as joint heads of state.

On a more regional level, the five provinces were organized into the Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala; ), and the captaincy general was governed by a captain general from the capital in Guatemala City. The position of captain general existed throughout Mexico's rule, and it was held by Gaínza (January to June 1822), Filísola (June 1822 to November 1822; March 1823 to July 1823), and Codallos (November 1822 to March 1823).

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Individual provincial governments

The following are lists of the political leaders of the five individual provinces. Control of the provinces changed multiple times between monarchists in favor of annexation and republicans in favor of secession, usually as a result of conflicts and unrest within the provinces.

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Costa Rica

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

Nicaragua

Representation in the national legislature

The Mexican Constituent Congress was established on 24 February 1822 and was tasked with drafting a constitution for the Mexican Empire. In November 1821, the Mexican government decided on the electoral procedures to select representatives for the Constituent Congress and that it would consist of 162 members. After Central America joined the empire, Iturbide wanted to extent congressional representation to the region. Due to unavailable demographical data at the time, Iturbide reluctantly allowed Central America to have 40 representatives in the Constituent Congress, which he thought was a "prudent" amount. Despite being allowed to have 40 representatives, only 38 were elected.

The following is a list of Central America's representatives in the Constituent Congress:

Chiapas: 7
* José Anselmo Lara
* Pedro Celís
* Bonifacio Fernández de Córdova
* Luciano Figueroa
* Juan María Lazaga
* Manuel de Mier y Terán
* Marcial Zebadúa

Costa Rica: 2
* José Antonio Alvarado
* José Francisco de Peralta

El Salvador: 0

Guatemala: 15
* José Antonio Acayaga
* Pedro Arrollave
* Tomás Beltranena
* Mariano de Aycinena y Piñol
* Antonio de Larrazábal y Arrivillaga ( es)
* Cirilo Flores Estrada ( es)
* José Ignacio Grijalva
* Mariano Larrabe
* Miguel Larreynaga
* Juan de Dios Mayorga ( es)
* Pedro Molina Mazariegos
* Isidoro Montúfar
* José Vicente Orantes
* Antonio Rivera Cabezas
* Joaquín Yúdice

Honduras: 10
* Cayetano Bosque
* Próspero de Herrera
* José Cecilio del Valle
* Manuel Gutiérrez
* Joaquín Lindo
* Juan Lindo
* Francisco Antonio Márquez
* José Santiago Milla
* Jacinto Rubí
* José Gregorio Tinoco de Contreras ( de)

Nicaragua: 4
* Víctor de la Guardia y Ayala ( es)
* Manuel López de la Plata
* Joaquín Herdosia
* Juan José Quiñones

Agustín I abolished the Constituent Congress on 31 October 1822 before a constitution was approved, and replaced it with the National Institutional Junta. Of the 55-member legislature, 13 were from Central America. The Central American representatives were Arrollave, Beltranena, Celís, de la Plata, Fernández de Córdova, Figueroa, Gutiérrez, Larreynaga, Montúfar, Orantes, Peralta, Quiñones, and Rubí. The National Institutional Junta was short-lived and was abolished on 29 March 1823, shortly after Agustín I abdicated.

Economy

For Mexico, the annexation of Central America was seen as a way to help stabilize the country's struggling economy after a decade of fighting against Spanish rule, especially the mining and agriculture fields. Central America's annexation offered the Mexican government a larger population to institute taxes upon which would help the country rebuild its infrastructure. Additionally, leaders in Central America saw annexation as a way to help its own economy.

Upon independence from Spain in September 1821, the Central American government owed 3,138,451 pesos of foreign debt, and by October 1823, after the end of the period of Mexican rule, the debt increased to 3,583,576 pesos. Further economic difficulties included a decline in indigo production which predated independence, the decline of textile production to a "state of extreme decadence" due to competing English cotton goods, and the government's failure to collect taxes worth 385,693 pesos from the provinces. In an attempt to alleviate the debt and economic troubles, a tariff law was passed in 1822—placing taxes on various exports from Central America—and the exporting of coins was made illegal. In 1822, Gaínza issued 40,000 pesos in the form of banknotes, which was the first use of paper money in Central America. The Central American federal government eventually defaulted on its debt the mid-1820s.

Sometime between 1823 and 1825, a congressional commission by the government of the Federal Republic of Central America began an investigation into why the mint in Guatemala City had been "reduced" to the "condition of insignificance" it was it. Initially, the commission believed that the mint was "despoiled" between 1822 and 1823 by Gaínza and Filísola, who supposedly used the mint to directly fund their military operations in the annexation of El Salvador. Additionally, the residents of Guatemala City were forced to raise enough money to pay for the Mexican army's withdrawal from Central America in August 1823. Eventually, the commission's initial belief was proven incorrect, as it later found that the reason the mint had been producing less money was because the mint failed to make loans to miners.

To celebrate the incorporation of Central America to the Mexican Empire, Iturbide authorized the minting of proclamation medals in gold, silver, and bronze, however, they did not have any monetary value. Four types of medals were struck for Central America dating to late-1822 for Chiapas, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and León; the location of where the medals were minted is unknown.

See also

* History of Central America
* Relations of Mexico with Central America
** Costa Rica–Mexico relations
** El Salvador–Mexico relations
** Guatemala–Mexico relations
** Honduras–Mexico relations
** Nicaragua–Mexico relations

Notes

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External links

Act of Annexation of Central America to the Mexican Empire
(in Spanish) from the National Assembly of Nicaragua

{{DEFAULTSORT:Central America Under Mexican Rule
19th century in Central America
19th century in Costa Rica
19th century in El Salvador
19th century in Guatemala
19th century in Honduras
19th century in Nicaragua
1822 establishments in Mexico
1823 disestablishments in Mexico
1822 in Central America
1823 in Central America
History of Central America
History of Chiapas
Costa Rica–Mexico relations
El Salvador–Mexico relations
Guatemala–Mexico relations
Honduras–Mexico relations
Mexico–Nicaragua relations
Mexican Empire