Ciudad Bolivar may be reached by either of these lines or by going to Trinidad, B. W. I., on any of the vessels touching there, then taking the river steamers which cross the Gulf of Para and make the Orinoco River landings. Better passage and quicker time can be made for these ports by taking a Red D ship to La Guaira and trans-shipping there to one of the coast boats.
XII
CENTRAL AMERICA
Owing to their many points of similarity in productions and climate and their geographical position, the five republics of Central America, the English colony of British Honduras, as well as the Republic of Panama, may be considered together.
Nicaragua and Costa Rica were discovered by Columbus on his last voyage to the New World in 1502, and a small settlement was made by him in Costa Rica, which the Indians afterwards destroyed, being incensed by the treatment received at the hands of the invaders. In 1540 a further attempt to establish a trading-post was successful and finally in 1565 a Spanish governor was appointed, these colonies having proved to be valuable acquisitions to the crown.
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In the meantime, Cortez, having completely subjugated the Aztecs in Mexico, dispatched his officers in all directions to explore the countries to the south. Pedro Alvaredo, after a series of battles, finally established Spanish rule over San Salvador in 1525, and Guatemala in 1527 when he founded the City of Guatemala. Spanish Honduras was acquired in 1526 by means of conquest.
British Honduras was originally a part of Guatemala, the Spanish troops stationed there having conquered it, and it was ceded by Spain to England in 1760.
Panama was a part of Colombia and was discovered by Columbus in 1502 who minutely explored its shore in search of an expected passage to the Pacific. In 1903 it revolted against Colombia and became an independent republic.
In 1821 the five Central American Spanish Colonies, after many unsuccessful attempts at independence formed a Federation, known as the Central American Federation. This independence, however, was short-lived, for Augustin Iturbide, who had proclaimed himself Emperor of Mexico, annexed them to his territory in 1822 despite their protests. After the downfall of Iturbide’s government and the execution of its head, these states again formed a new union in 1824. Continual friction and lack of harmony among the various countries, caused its dissolution and one state after the other withdrew and ultimately established and proclaimed its independence. Several abortive attempts since the rupture of 1839 have been made to reorganize this union, and the chances are that these states will always maintain their separate individualities.