Close Neighbors, Distant Friends: United States-Central American Relations (review)

Abstract

John E. Findling is clear about his purpose in writing this book: "To tell, in as straightforward a manner as possible, the story of the United States' relations with Central America from the independence period to the present day." He accomplishes this goal by chronologically describing major events and by focusing on the U.S. personalities who conducted relations with Central America as well as on the Central American interlocutors from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Two hundred years of history are compacted into eight short chapters. The author refers to most of the pertinent literature on the subject, yet seldom does he present thorough argumentation that would lend credence to his interesting conclusions. In his historical overview the author says that the United States' initial interest in Central America sprang from the region's potential as the site of an isthmian route that would join the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea — an idea that was not pursued until after the Mexican War. By the mid-nineteenth century this route was expected to bring tremendous trade benefits and facilitate the transit of gold seekers to the recently annexed territories in the West. The author goes on to relate that, following a bilateral treaty with Nicaragua in 1849, the United States acquired the right to build and fortify a canal in exchange for protecting Nicaragua against foreign aggression. However, the treaty was superseded the following year by the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, whereby the United States and Great Britain agreed on the limits of each other's competition for regional influence. Both pledged neither to seek exclusive control over a canal in the area nor to exercise any dominion over any part of Central America.