Ep.25: The Seven Central American Countries
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
Today's episode will be on the seven Central American countries, and this one was a little bit of a challenge. I kept trying to go from north to south but just couldn’t get a mnemonic that was memorable. So, I went from south to north and I think it worked out ok.
With that being said, the Central American countries are what they suggest, being in the middle of America, however they do form part of the continent of North America. They are relatively small countries situated on the neck between North and South America and surrounded on both sides by lots of ocean.
So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
Central America[b] is a subregion of the Americas.[2] Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America usually consists of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.
In the pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east. Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Spain began to colonize the Americas. From 1609 to 1821, the majority of Central American territories (except for what would become Belize and Panama, and including the modern Mexican state of Chiapas) were governed by the viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which established New Spain's independence from Spain.[3] On 15 September 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire and provide for the establishment of a new Central American state. Some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region (i.e. what would become Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) were annexed to the First Mexican Empire; however in 1823 they seceded from Mexico to form the Federal Republic of Central America until 1838.[4]
In 1838, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua became the first of Central America's seven states to become independent countries, followed by El Salvador in 1841, Panama in 1903, and Belize in 1981.[5] Despite the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America, countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua continue to maintain a Central American identity.[6] The Belizeans are usually identified as culturally Caribbean rather than Central American, while the Panamanians identify themselves more broadly with their South American neighbours.[citation needed]
The Spanish-speaking countries officially include both North America and South America as a single continent, América, which is split into four subregions: North America (Northern America and Mexico), Central America, South America, and Insular America (the West Indies).[7]
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America]
Mnemonic
The Seven Central American Countries Mnemonic – PC Needs Extra Horsepower to Get Booted
(From south to north and west to east)
(Picture a giant PC sitting in the middle of Central America which gets its power source from horses turning a giant turbine)
1. Panama
2. Costa Rica
3. Nicaragua
4. El Salvador
5. Honduras
6. Guatemala
7. Belize
Five Fun Facts
1. Costa Rica is the longest-serving democracy in Central America.
2. Nicaragua had the first elected female president, from 1991 to 1997.
3. Panama is the only country in the world where you can see the sunrise on the Pacific Ocean and the sunset on the Atlantic Ocean.
4. El Salvador went to war with Honduras after a soccer match.
Speaking of sport, I was visiting a few golf courses last time I was in the United States and I was speaking to a group of migrants from Central America who were doing some seasonal work on the golf courses.
And I asked them, how they felt about a wall being built between Mexico and the United States?
And they all just shrugged their shoulders and said “Eh; we’ll get over it”
5. The largest lake of Central America is Lake Nicaragua, and it is home to sweet water sharks.
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. Central America consists of approximately 75% of the world’s biodiversity. True or False?
Q.2. Christopher Columbus first foot-steps on American mainland were in what Central American Country? Options are Guatemala, Honduras or Panama
Q.3. Six Central American countries have the official language of Spanish. Which Central American country does not, and what language do they have?
Mnemonic Recap
The Seven Central American Countries Mnemonic – PC Needs Extra Horsepower to Get Booted
(From south to north and west to east)
(Picture a giant PC sitting in the middle of Central America which gets its power source from horses turning a giant turbine)
1. Panama
2. Costa Rica
3. Nicaragua
4. El Salvador
5. Honduras
6. Guatemala
7. Belize
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. Central America consists of approximately 75% of the world’s biodiversity. True or False?
A. True
Q.2. Christopher Columbus first foot-steps on American mainland were in what Central American Country? Options are Guatemala, Honduras or Panama
A. Honduras
Q.3. Six Central American countries have the official language of Spanish. Which Central American country does not, and what language do they have?
A. Belize - English
Word of the Week
nugatory
[ noo-guh-tawr-ee ]
adjective
of no force or effect; ineffective; futile; vain.
Example
The Spanish conquered Central America with native resistance nugatory.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
Website: https://www.themnemonictreepodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mnemonic-tree-podcast/id1591795132
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3T0LdIJ9PBQMXM3cdKd42Q?si=WQ1SnHo5QgOawX-mxS6yUA
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America
https://travellingcontessa.com/40-facts-about-central-america/