中美洲(Central America)

北美洲的南部一个区域。北从墨西哥南部边界，南到哥伦比亚西北界，西从太平洋，东到加勒比海。包括瓜地马拉、贝里斯、宏都拉斯、萨尔瓦多、尼加拉瓜和哥斯大黎加和巴拿马等国。一些地理学家也把墨西哥的五个州也纳入中美洲范围内，即金塔纳罗奥、犹加敦、坎佩切、塔瓦斯科和恰帕斯。面积523,865平方公里，2/3的人口是美洲印第安人和西班牙人的混血种。语言：西班牙语（官方语），只有贝里斯（以英语为官方语）除外，也通行美洲印第安语。宗教：主要是天主教。此区多丘陵或山脉，沿海则散布着潮湿的沼泽地和低地。瓜地马拉西部的塔胡穆尔科火山是中美洲最高峰。此区约有四十多座火山，其中很多现在仍活跃，也常发生地震。火山带有肥沃的土壤和富饶的农业区。长久以来，印第安原住民世代居於此区，包括马雅人，直至16世纪西班牙人到来并征服他们，统治期长达三百年。哥伦布曾在1502年从宏都拉斯绕着大西洋海岸到达连湾，1510年在此湾建立第一个欧洲人殖民地。1560年左右西班牙人把此区纳入瓜地马拉总督的管辖范围（恰帕斯和巴拿马除外）。英国人在17世纪时抵此，建立後来的英属宏都拉斯（今贝里斯）。1821年脱离西班牙独立後，他们在1823年组成中美洲联合省（瓜地马拉、宏都拉斯、萨尔瓦多、尼加拉瓜和哥斯大黎加）。英属宏都拉斯仍是英国殖民地，未加入联邦。1824年联邦采用一部宪法，但在1838年宏都拉斯、尼加拉瓜和哥斯大黎加纷纷退出，结束了联邦。1923年中美洲各国举行了华盛顿会议，起草了敦亲睦邻条约。1960年建立中美洲共同市场，创造了一个关税同盟，并促进经济合作关系。

English version：

Central America

Southern portion of North America (pop., 1993 est.: 30,610,000). It extends from the southern border of Mexico to the northwestern border of Colombia and from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. It includes Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Some geographers also include five states of Mexico: Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas. Area: 202,000 sq mi (523,000 sq km). Two-thirds of the population is of mixed American Indian and Spanish ancestry. Language: Spanish (official), except Belize (English, official); also American Indian languages. Religion: chiefly Roman Catholicism. The region is largely hilly or mountainous, with humid swamps and lowlands extending along both coasts. Tajumulco Volcano, western Guatemala, is the highest point. The region has some 40 volcanoes, many of them active, and it has frequent earthquakes. The volcanic zones have fertile soil and are productive agricultural areas. The area was long inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Maya, before the Spanish arrived and conquered the region in the early 16th century; they continued to rule for about 300 years. Christopher Columbus skirted the Atlantic coast from Honduras to the Gulf of Darien in 1502; the first European settlement (1510) was on the gulf. Spain organized the region (except Chiapas and Panama) into the captaincy general of Guatemala c. 1560. The English arrived in the 17th century, settling what became British Honduras (Belize). Independence from Spanish rule came in 1821, and in 1823 the United Provinces of Central America was formed (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica). British Honduras, still a colony, did not join the federation, and Panama remained part of Colombia. In 1824 the federation adopted a constitution, but in 1838 Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua seceded, thus effectively terminating the federation. Treaties of amity were drawn up by a Washington conference of Central American states in 1923. The Central American Common Market was established in 1960 to create a customs union and promote economic cooperation. For further information, see individual countries.