Antonio José Cañas

Who was Antonio José Cañas?

Antonio José Cañas Quintanilla was a Salvadoran military officer, diplomat, and politician. For two brief periods he was head of state of the State of El Salvador, within the Federal Republic of Central America.

The Central American provinces declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. Cañas was one of the commissioners named by the legislature of El Salvador to oppose annexation to the Mexican Empire in 1822. Central America as a whole nevertheless supported annexation, and the region became part of the Mexican Empire in 1822. In 1823 Emperor Agustín de Iturbide was overthrown and the Empire came to an end. Central America withdrew from Mexico and formed a federal republic.

In May 1824, President James Monroe granted United States recognition to this new Republic of Central America. The United States became the first nation to do so, and shortly thereafter Monroe received the Central American ambassador, Antonio José Cañas. Cañas's objectives were to gain protection from Mexico, and perhaps also from Spain, and to negotiate a commercial treaty. He was also interested in securing aid for a proposed interoceanic canal across Central America.