1830 Americas

Occasionally Latter-day Saints reference modern nations in Book of Mormon discussions. It is instructive to understand what the Americas looked like in 1830 when the text first went on  sale to the public.

Sovereign Nations in the Americas in 1830

The white area represents the 24 states of the United States of America. The blue area represents Mexico. The red area represents the Federal Republic of Central America. The green area represents Great Colombia. All of modern-day Canada was a British colony as was Belize, then called British Honduras. The territory in modern-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho was contested between Great Britain and the US, as was northern Maine.

How the countries ranked in approximate area:

1. Mexico 4.4 million square kilometers

2. Great Colombia 2.8 million square kilometers

3. United States 2.2 million square kilometers

4. Federal Republic of Central America 429,000 square kilometers

How the countries ranked in estimated population:

1. United States 13 million

2. Mexico 6 million

3. Great Colombia 2 million

4. Federal Republic of Central America 1 million

Year the countries declared independence:

1. United States 1776

2. Great Colombia 1810

3. Mexico 1810

4. Federal Republic of Central America 1821

Wars of Independence:

1. United States 1776 - 1781

2. Mexico 1810 - 1821

3. Great Colombia 1810 - 1822

Year slavery was abolished:

1. Federal Republic of Central America 1824

2. Mexico 1824

3. Colombia 1851

4. United States 1865

Many of the Book of Mormon passages that some associate exclusively with the United States of America apply equally well to Latin America.