Francisco Morazán Quesada

Francisco Morazán Quesada (October 16, 1792 - September 15, 1842) was President of Central America, who enacted idealistic liberal reforms, then unsuccessfully fought to maintain the unity of that nation as it fell apart into separate states in civil war. Francisco Morazan, engraving from 19th century book This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Francisco Morazan, engraving from 19th century book This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. ...

Francisco Morazán was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, then part of the Spanish colony of New Spain. When New Spain became independent in 1821 he was among those objecting to Central America's annexation to Agustín de Iturbide's Mexican Empire, two years later he was a Honduran representative forming the new nation of the United States of Central America. On September 25, 1824 he was elected General Secretary of the Government of the State of Honduras. Presidential Palace Replica of Pre-Columbian Temple Pyramid in Park Tegucigalpa, population 897,000 (1997), is the capital of Honduras and the republics largest city. ... Flag of New Spain New Spain (in the Spanish language Nueva España) was the name given to the Spanish colonial territory in North America from c. ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu ( September 27, 1783 – July 19, 1824) was Emperor of Mexico from 1822 to 1823. ... The Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century when it was ruled by an Emperor. ... The United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) was a country that existed in Central America from July 1823 to approximately 1840. ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1827 José Justo Milla led a conservative coup taking over the Honduran state government; Morazán proved himself a skillful military leader, defeating Milla's forces at the Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827, south of Tegucigalpa. Answering the request of the government of El Salvador, Morazán also succeeded in quashing a revolt there, and he became famous throughout Central America. 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ...

In 1830 Morazán was elected President of Central America in a general election which brought the Liberal party to power in the republic. Morazán enacted many reforms, including freedom of speech, the press, and religion, equality of people of all classes before the law, and trial by jury. All of this was objected to by the Conservatives. The separation of Church and State, including allowing secular marriage and divorce and an end to government enforced tithing, made much of the clergy an enemy of Morazán and the Liberals. 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ...

In 1834 Morazán oversaw the moving of the Central American Federal Capital from Guatemala City to San Salvador. Morazán was re-elected President in 1835. 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... National Palace National Post Office Building Guatemala City (in full, La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción; locally known as Guatemala or, informally, Guate) is the capital and largest city of Guatemala. ... This article is about the Salvadoran capital city. ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In Guatemala Rafael Carrera, an illiterate but shrewd and charismatic swineherd turned highwayman, pledged a vendetta against Morazán and the Federal government after undisciplined Federal soldiers killed some of his relatives. Local conservative factions at first tried to use Carrera for their own ends, but by 1838 Carrera became de facto ruler of much of Guatemala. Morazán repeatedly chased Carrera's forces out of cities and towns, but Carrera's followers would retake places as soon as Morazán's army left. José Rafael Carrera Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the ruler of Guatemala from about 1839 until his death. ... 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The Carrera revolt inspired other Conservatives to revolt, and soon Central America was at civil war.

In 1839 Morazán's second term as President of Central America ended and the civil war in several regions prevented a general national election. However Morazán was elected president of El Salvador, and continued as acting interim Head of State of Central America -- which by then consisted only of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Los Altos (a state in what is now western Guatemala and eastern Chiapas) and a few scattered communities elsewhere. 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Other Mexican States Capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez Other major cities San Cristóbal Tapachula list of municipalities Area 74,211 km² Ranked 8th Population (2000 census) 3,920,500 Ranked 8th Governor (2000-06) Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía (alliance of PRD, PAN, & others) Federal Deputies (12) PRI = 11 PAN = 1...

In 1840 Carrera's forces routed Morazán's forces, and Morazán went into exile in Colombia. 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1842 he disembarked in Costa Rica and joined forces with those opposed to local leader Braulio Carrillo, who had recently declared himself ruler for life. Morazán succeeded in ousting Carrillo and became ruler of Costa Rica, which he intended to use as a base to reunite Central America. After he decreed that able-bodied male Costa Ricans would be subject to compulsory service in the new Central American armed forces, Costa Ricans quickly turned against Morazán. He was deposed and then executed in San José on the anniversary of Central American independence. His last words were "Posterity shall do us justice!" 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to ensure that their authority, legitimacy, and term is never questioned or disputed. ... San José is the capital and largest city of the nation of Costa Rica. ...

Central American liberals still honor the memory of Francisco Morazán, who is also regarded as a national hero in Honduras. Sir Galahad, a hero of Arthurian legend In many myths and folk tales, a hero is a man or woman (the latter often called a heroine), traditionally the protagonist of a story, legend or saga, commonly possessed of abilities or character far greater than that of a typical person, which...

Honduras' Francisco Morazán Department is named after him. Francisco Morazán is one of the departments of Honduras. ...

See also: History of Central America Before European Contact In pre-Columbian times, most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican civilization. ...