Page "Central America" Paragraph 5

After the dissolution of Spanish authority, the former Captaincy General remained intact as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire.

Central America then emerged as a distinct political entity upon the independence of the Federal Republic of Central America a representative democracy with its capital at Guatemala City.

This union consisted of the present day nations of Guatemala ( which included the former state of Los Altos ), El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica ( which included a region which is now part of Panama, and the Guanacaste Province which was once part of Nicaragua ), and Soconusco, a portion of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas.

The Republic lasted from 1823 to 1838, when it began to disintegrate due to civil wars.