Glossary · Central America
Every Central American and Caribbean territory on the map
The Maya, Teotihuacan, the Aztecs, the Caribbean.
- Entries
- 49
- Span
- AD 1 – today
- Eras
- 5
What this region covers
Mesoamerica, the isthmus and the Caribbean — the Classic Maya city-states, Teotihuacan and the Zapotecs, the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish conquest, the short-lived federations of the independence century, and the island republics on the map today.
Nothing matches that.
Mesoamerican civilizations
AD 1 – 1500 10 entries- c. 250–900 Maya city-states Constellation of independent Classic Maya city-states across the Yucatán and Petén, dominated by rival powers Tikal and Calakmul.
- c. 100 BC – AD 750 Teotihuacan Vast city-state in the Basin of Mexico, pre-Columbian America's largest city, anchored by its towering Pyramid of the Sun.
- AD 1–895 Zapotec civilization Civilization of the Valley of Oaxaca centered on the mountaintop capital Monte Albán, noted for an early Mesoamerican script.
- c. 100–1000 Classic Veracruz culture Gulf Coast culture centered on El Tajín, known for scrollwork art and the ballgame, distinct from the Maya or Teotihuacan.
- c. 900–1500s Later Maya city-states Postclassic Maya city-states of the northern Yucatán and Guatemalan highlands, led in turn by Chichén Itzá and Mayapán.
- c. 900–1150 Toltec Central Mexican civilization centered on Tula, revered by the Aztecs as the archetype of civilized craftsmanship and kingship.
- independent Acolhua state to 1428 Texcoco Acolhua capital on a great lake and Aztec Triple Alliance partner, whose ruler Nezahualcoyotl became famed as a poet-king.
- c. 1300–1530 Tarascan State Purépecha empire centered at Tzintzuntzan on Lake Pátzcuaro, the Aztecs' foremost rival and Mesoamerica's leading metalworkers.
- 1325/1326–1428 as tributary *altepetl* Tenochtitlan Mexica capital founded on a lake island, later core of the Aztec Empire, built on engineered chinampas and lake causeways.
- 1428/1429–1521 Aztec Triple Alliance Tribute-extracting military confederation of three allied cities formed after the Tepanec War, hegemon of central Mexico.
Conquest and the Spanish colonial era
1500 – 1820 9 entries- from 1492 Spanish Empire Colonial empire launched by Columbus's voyage under the Crown of Castile, ruling the Americas through viceroyalties and silver.
- c. 1194/1525–1697 Itza Mayans Last independent Maya kingdom, centered on the island city of Nojpetén in a remote Guatemalan lake, ruled by kings titled Kan Ek.
- 1614/1622–1674 New Netherland Dutch colony centered on New Amsterdam whose lasting legacy endured through Caribbean islands like Curaçao and Sint Eustatius.
- 1791–1804 Haiti French sugar colony of Saint-Domingue whose massive enslaved uprising under Toussaint Louverture ignited the Haitian Revolution.
- 1804/1805–1806 Empire of Haiti Short-lived monarchy proclaimed by Dessalines after Haitian independence, the first Black-led sovereign state of the modern era.
- 1810/1811–1821 Mexicans Independence insurgency begun with the priest Hidalgo's Grito de Dolores, later led by the priest José María Morelos.
- 1810/1811–1821 New Granada Independence-era polities centered on present-day Colombia, riven by federalist-centralist rivalry before Bolívar's campaign.
- 1811 – 1814 Republic of Venezuela Early Venezuelan republic proclaimed under the precursor Francisco de Miranda, twice collapsing before Bolívar's later campaigns.
- 1815–2010 Netherlands Antilles Autonomous Dutch Caribbean territory uniting the ABC and SSS island groups, built on oil refining before its eventual dissolution.
Independence and the federations
1820 – 1870 14 entries- 1823–1839/1841 United Provinces of Central America Federal union of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica formed after separation from Spain and Mexico.
- 1830–present Venezuela Republic that broke from Gran Colombia under José Antonio Páez, later transformed by oil wealth and Chávez's socialist revolution.
- 1836–1846 Centralist Mexico Conservative Mexican republic that abolished federalism under Santa Anna, provoking Texan secession and war with the US.
- 1821/1838–present Costa Rica Central American republic that became fully sovereign after the federation's collapse, later abolishing its army under Figueres.
- 1821/1841–present El Salvador Smallest Central American republic, its coffee economy controlled by a landed oligarchy and later scarred by a brutal civil war.
- 1821/1838–present Guatemala Central American republic long dominated by the caudillo Rafael Carrera, later convulsed by a CIA-backed coup and civil war.
- 1821/1838–present Honduras Central American republic dominated by American fruit companies, the original banana republic and later a US Contra base.
- 1838–1840 Los Altos Short-lived breakaway state in the Guatemalan highlands centered on Quetzaltenango, twice crushed by Rafael Carrera's forces.
- 1821/1838–present Nicaragua Central American republic defined by rivalry between León and Granada, briefly seized by the American filibuster William Walker.
- 1844/1865–present Dominican Republic Caribbean republic occupying eastern Hispaniola, won from Haitian rule and later marked by Trujillo's brutal dictatorship.
- 1844–1860 Mosquito Kingdom Miskito indigenous monarchy of the Caribbean coast long allied with Britain, later a flashpoint of Anglo-American canal rivalry.
- c. 1849–1867 Mexican Monarchists Conservative Mexican faction that courted foreign intervention and helped install Archduke Maximilian as emperor of Mexico.
- 1863/1864–1867 Second Mexican Empire French-backed monarchy installed in Mexico under Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, collapsing after French troops withdrew.
- 1821/1867–present Mexico Federal republic consolidated under Benito Juárez, later shaped by the Porfiriato dictatorship and the Mexican Revolution.
Interventions and the long 20th century
1870 – 1960 5 entries- 1895–1898 Cuban Nationalists Cuban independence movement of the final war against Spain, organized by José Martí and fought by Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo.
- 1903/1904–present Panama Isthmian republic that broke from Colombia to permit construction of an interoceanic canal, later under United States influence.
- 1902–1959 Republic of Cuba Early Cuban republic constrained by the Platt Amendment's US intervention rights, ending with Batista's overthrow by Fidel Castro.
- 1804/1934–present Haiti Independent Caribbean state whose modern trajectory was shaped by US occupation and later by the Duvalier family's dictatorship.
- formation 1959–1965 Cuban Communists Cuban revolutionary coalition of Castro's movement, the old Popular Socialist Party, and student militants forming one party.
The modern Caribbean and isthmus states
1960 – today 11 entries- 1959/1961–present Cuba One-party socialist republic proclaimed by Castro after Batista's overthrow, allied with the Soviet Union under a long US embargo.
- 1962–present Jamaica Former British sugar colony that gained independence under Alexander Bustamante, known for reggae and two-party rivalry.
- 1962–present Trinidad and Tobago Twin-island republic shaped by African slavery and Indian indenture, its economy resting on oil and gas rather than tourism.
- 1981–present Antigua and Barbuda Former British sugar colony in the Leeward Islands, long dominated by the Bird family and the Antigua Labour Party.
- 1966/2021–present Barbados Former British sugar colony nicknamed Little England, which became a parliamentary republic under president Sandra Mason.
- 1983–present Saint Kitts Federation in the Leeward Islands, site of the first successful English colony, and the Americas' smallest sovereign state.
- 1979–present Saint Vincent Windward Islands nation once home to the Garifuna Black Caribs, its politics repeatedly shaped by the La Soufrière volcano.
- 1974–present Grenada Spice-producing Windward island nation whose leftist revolution ended in an internal coup and a subsequent US-led invasion.
- 1978–present Commonwealth of Dominica Forested Windward island retaining the Caribbean's last major Indigenous Kalinago community, marketed as the Nature Isle.
- 1979–present Saint Lucia Windward island long contested between Britain and France, producing two Nobel laureates despite its very small size.
- 1981/1983–present Belize Former British Honduras on the Central American Caribbean coast, culturally Caribbean and long claimed in part by Guatemala.
Common questions
- How many Central American and Caribbean states are in this glossary?
- 49 — every Central American and Caribbean territory the atlas draws, from the Maya city-states (c. 250–900) to the states on the map today. Each entry lists its dates, its peak extent and the sources it was written from.
- Which is the oldest Central American and Caribbean state on the map?
- The Maya city-states, c. 250–900 — the first territory the atlas draws in Central America. The most recent to appear is Belize (1981/1983–present).
- Which Central American and Caribbean state covered the most ground?
- Of the territories mapped here, the Spanish Empire reached the largest area — about 12.1M km² at its peak, as drawn by the border data.