CENTRAL AMERICA 



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CENTRAL AMERICA 



_ Grove | THE STORY OF 



^XENTRAL AMERICA, the tropical 

 land mass connecting North America and 

 South America. Authorities differ as to the 

 exact definition of the term, some preferring to 

 include in it the southernmost states of Mex- 

 ico; but as most commonly understood, 

 Central America consists of the republics of 

 Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, 

 Costa Rica and Panama, and the colony of 

 British Honduras. Lying between the Atlantic 

 and the Pacific, it stretches from Mexico, to 

 Colombia, and has an area of about 181,500 

 square miles. When Panama was a part of 

 Colombia it was classed as South American 

 territory. 



The Central American states, described under 

 their titles, are in a very backward condition, 

 and the entire area attracted only casual atten- 

 tion from the rest of the world until plans 

 began to be formed for connecting the Atlantic 

 and Pacific oceans by a great ship canal. 

 Then, since the narrowest strip of dividing 

 land is in Central America, eyes were turned 

 in that direction, and at least one state, Pana- 

 ma, has been one of the centers of world 

 interest for years. 



Physical Features. In general, Central 

 America is mountainous, and its western range, 

 though broken at intervals by little east and 

 west ranges, really is continuous with the 

 great mountain systems of North America 

 and South America. Volcanoes are numerous, 

 though for the most part inactive, and ruins 

 show where more than one city has been 

 destroyed by them. The highest peak, Aca- 

 tenango, rises 13,800 feet above the sea. On 

 the west the coast in most places drops 

 abruptly to the water, presenting a gloomy and 

 frowning appearance, but on the east hot, 

 moist plains slope gently back throughout 

 most of its length. 



Everywhere the climate is warm, and in the 

 lowlands most unhealthful. This accounts in 

 a measure for the backwardness of the states, 

 for Europeans and Americans have not cared 

 to risk their lives to establish industries, but 



the wonders that have been accomplished in 

 the Canal Zone in Panama show what may 

 some time be done to make even the damp 

 coast regions healthful, by the extermination 

 of the fever-carrying mosquitoes. 



History. Interest in Central America lies in 

 the far-distant past and the immediate present, 

 for the remote past of much of this territory 

 was noteworthy. An intermediate period is 

 colorless. Here, long before the first white 

 man visited the country, there grew up a civil- 

 ization unmatched elsewhere in the western 

 hemisphere. The Maya Indians had built for 

 themselves great cities and monuments which 

 are fit to rank with the Pyramids of Egypt; 

 they had worked out a calendar, and had 

 invented a method of writing. All this, schol- 

 ars believe, happened as long ago as the fifth 

 or sixth century A. D., and by the time Euro- 

 peans reached the coasts the civilization as 

 well as the cities had fallen into decay and 

 the Indians had forgotten the meaning of 



TYPICAL VILLAGE STREET 

 progress. Of recent years much interest has 

 been shown in the remains of this old culture. 

 The modern history of Central America be- 

 gins in 1502, when Columbus first sighted its 

 shores. A dozen years later a Spanish adven- 

 turer conquered a part of the present Costa 

 Rica, and in 1524 Pedro de Alvarado succeeded 

 in gaining control over most of Guatemala 

 and Salvador. The great Spanish conqueror, 

 Cortez, entered the country n 1525, and over- 



