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<\/a>Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican<\/a> cultures, most notably the Maya<\/a>, before the Spanish Colonization in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability, and remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast<\/a> was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.<\/a><\/p>\n The nation’s economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch<\/a> in 1998. The lower class is primarily agriculturally based while wealth is concentrated in the country’s urban centers.<\/p>\n Honduran society is predominantly Mestizo<\/a>; however, American Indian, black and white individuals also live in Honduras (2017). The nation had a relatively high political stability until its 2009 coup<\/a> and again with the 2017 presidential election.<\/p>\n Honduras spans about 112,492 km2 (43,433 sq mi) and has a population exceeding 9 million. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone<\/a>, as reflected in the area’s demographics and culture. Honduras is known for its rich natural resources, including minerals, coffee, tropical fruit, and sugar cane, as well as for its growing textiles industry, which serves the international market.<\/p>\n In pre-Columbian times, almost all of modern Honduras was part of the Mesoamerican cultural area, with the exception of La Mosquitia in the extreme east, which seems to have been more connected to the Isthmo-Colombian area<\/a> although also in contact with and influenced by Mesoamerican societies. In the extreme west, Mayan civilization flourished for hundreds of years. The dominant and most well-known and well-studied state within Honduras’ borders was in Cop\u00e1n<\/a>, which was located in a mainly non-Maya area, or on the frontier between Maya and non-Maya areas. Cop\u00e1n declined with other Lowland centres during the conflagrations of the Terminal Classic<\/a> in the 9th century. The Maya of this civilization survive in western Honduras as the Ch’orti’, isolated from their Choltian linguistic peers to the west.<\/p>\n However, Cop\u00e1n represents only a fraction of Honduran pre-Columbian history. Remnants of other civilizations are found throughout the country. Archaeologists have studied sites such as Naco and La Sierra in the Naco Valley, Los Naranjos<\/a> on Lake Yojoa<\/a>, Yarumela<\/a> in the Comayagua Valley, La Ceiba<\/a> and Salitron Viejo (both now under the Caj\u00f3n Dam<\/a> reservoir), Selin Farm and Cuyamel in the Aguan valley, Cerro Palenque<\/a>, Travesia, Curruste, Ticamaya, Despoloncal, and Playa de los Muertos<\/a> in the lower Ul\u00faa River<\/a> valley, and many others.<\/p>\n In 2012, LiDAR scanning revealed that several previously unknown high density settlements existed in La Mosquitia, corresponding to the legend of “La Ciudad Blanca<\/a>“. Excavation and study has since improved knowledge of the region’s history. It is estimated that these settlements reached their zenith from 500 to 1000 AD.<\/p>\n On his fourth and the final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus<\/a> landed near the modern town of Trujillo<\/a>, near Guaimoreto Lagoon, becoming the first European to visit the Bay Islands on the coast of Honduras. On 30 July 1502, Columbus sent his brother Bartholomew<\/a> to explore the islands and Bartholomew encountered a Mayan trading vessel from Yucat\u00e1n, carrying well-dressed Maya and a rich cargo. Bartholomew’s men stole the cargo they wanted and kidnapped the ship’s elderly captain to serve as an interpreter in the first recorded encounter between the Spanish and the Maya.<\/p>\n In March 1524, Gil Gonz\u00e1lez D\u00e1vila<\/a> became the first Spaniard to enter Honduras as a conquistador followed by Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s<\/a>, who had brought forces down from Mexico. Much of the conquest took place in the following two decades, first by groups loyal to Crist\u00f3bal de Olid<\/a>, and then by those loyal to Francisco de Montejo<\/a> but most particularly by those following Alvarado. In addition to Spanish resources, the conquerors relied heavily on armed forces from Mexico\u2014Tlaxcalans<\/a> and Mexica<\/a> armies of thousands who remained garrisoned in the region.<\/p>\n Resistance to conquest was led in particular by Lempira<\/a>. Many regions in the north of Honduras never fell to the Spanish, notably the Miskito Kingdo<\/a>m. After the Spanish conquest, Honduras became part of Spain’s vast empire in the New World within the Kingdom of Guatemala. Trujillo and Gracias were the first city-capitals. The Spanish ruled the region for approximately three centuries.<\/p>\n Honduras was organized as a province of the Kingdom of Guatemala and the capital was fixed, first at Trujillo on the Atlantic coast, and later at Comayagua<\/a>, and finally at Tegucigalpa<\/a> in the central part of the country.<\/p>\n Silver mining was a key factor in the Spanish conquest and settlement of Honduras. Initially the mines were worked by local people through the encomienda system, but as disease and resistance made this option less available, slaves from other parts of Central America were brought in. When local slave trading stopped at the end of the sixteenth century, African slaves, mostly from Angola, were imported. After about 1650, very few slaves or other outside workers arrived in Honduras.<\/p>\n Although the Spanish conquered the southern or Pacific portion of Honduras fairly quickly, they were less successful on the northern, or Atlantic side. They managed to found a few towns along the coast, at Puerto Caballos<\/a> and Trujillo in particular, but failed to conquer the eastern portion of the region and many pockets of independent indigenous people as well. The Miskito Kingdom in the northeast was particularly effective at resisting conquest. The Miskito Kingdom found support from northern European privateers, pirates and especially the British formerly English colony of Jamaica, which placed much of the area under its protection after 1740.<\/p>\n Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821 and was a part of the First Mexican Empire<\/a> until 1823, when it became part of the United Provinces of Central America<\/a>. It has been an independent republic and has held regular elections since 1838. In the 1840s and 1850s Honduras participated in several failed attempts at Central American unity, such as the Confederation of Central America (1842\u20131845), the covenant of Guatemala (1842), the Diet of Sonsonate (1846), the Diet of Nacaome (1847) and National Representation in Central America (1849\u20131852). Although Honduras eventually adopted the name Republic of Honduras, the unionist ideal never waned, and Honduras was one of the Central American countries that pushed the hardest for a policy of regional unity.<\/p>\n Policies favoring international trade and investment began in the 1870s, and soon foreign interests became involved, first in shipping from the north coast, especially tropical fruit and most notably bananas, and then in building railroads. In 1888, a projected railroad line from the Caribbean coast to the capital, Tegucigalpa, ran out of money when it reached San Pedro Sula<\/a>. As a result, San Pedro grew into the nation’s primary industrial center and second-largest city. Comayagua was the capital of Honduras until 1880, when the capital moved to Tegucigalpa.<\/p>\n Since independence, nearly 300 small internal rebellions and civil wars have occurred in the country, including some changes of r\u00e9gime.<\/p>\n In the late nineteenth century, Honduras granted land and substantial exemptions to several US-based fruit and infrastructure companies in return for developing the country’s northern regions. Thousands of workers came to the north coast as a result to work in banana plantations and other businesses that grew up around the export industry. Banana-exporting companies, dominated until 1930 by the Cuyamel Fruit Compan<\/a>y, as well as the United Fruit Company<\/a>, and Standard Fruit Company<\/a>, built an enclave economy<\/a> in northern Honduras, controlling infrastructure and creating self-sufficient, tax-exempt sectors that contributed relatively little to economic growth.<\/p>\n American troops landed in Honduras in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924 and 1925.<\/p>\n In 1904, the writer O. Henry<\/a> coined the term “banana republic” to describe Honduras, publishing a book called Cabbages and Kings<\/a>, about a fictional country, Anchuria, inspired by his experiences in Honduras, where he had lived for six months. In The Admiral, O.Henry refers to the nation as a “small maritime banana republic”; naturally, the fruit was the entire basis of its economy. According to a literary analyst writing for The Economist<\/a>, “his phrase neatly conjures up the image of a tropical, agrarian country. But its real meaning is sharper: it refers to the fruit companies from the United States that came to exert extraordinary influence over the politics of Honduras and its neighbors.” In addition to drawing Central American workers north, the fruit companies encouraged immigration of workers from the English-speaking Caribbean<\/a>, notably Jamaica<\/a> and Belize<\/a>, which introduced an African-descended, English-speaking and largely Protestant population into the country, although many of these workers left following changes to immigration law in 1939. Honduras joined the Allied Nations after Pearl Harbor<\/a>, on 8 December 1941, and signed the Declaration by United Nations<\/a> on 1 January 1942, along with twenty-five other governments.<\/p>\n Constitutional crises in the 1940s led to reforms in the 1950s. One reform gave workers permission to organize, and a 1954 general strike<\/a> paralyzed the northern part of the country for more than two months, but led to reforms. In 1963 a military coup<\/a> unseated democratically elected President Ram\u00f3n Villeda Morales<\/a>. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought what became known as the Football War<\/a>. Border tensions led to acrimony between the two countries after Oswaldo L\u00f3pez Arellano<\/a>, the president of Honduras, blamed the deteriorating Honduran economy on immigrants from El Salvador. The relationship reached a low when El Salvador met Honduras for a three-round football elimination match preliminary to the World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tensions escalated and on 14 July 1969, the Salvadoran army invaded Honduras. The Organization of American States (OAS)<\/a> negotiated a cease-fire which took effect on 20 July and brought about a withdrawal of Salvadoran troops in early August. Contributing factors to the conflict were a boundary dispute and the presence of thousands of Salvadorans living in Honduras illegally. After the week-long war, as many as 130,000 Salvadoran immigrants were expelled.<\/p>\n Hurricane Fifi<\/a> caused severe damage when it skimmed the northern coast of Honduras on 18 and 19 September 1974. Melgar Castro<\/a> (1975\u201378) and Paz Garcia (1978\u201382) largely built the current physical infrastructure and telecommunications system of Honduras.<\/p>\n In 1979, the country returned to civilian rule. A constituent assembly was popularly elected in April 1980 to write a new constitution, and general elections were held in November 1981. The constitution was approved in 1982 and the PLH<\/a> government of Roberto Suazo<\/a> won the election with a promise to carry out an ambitious program of economic and social development to tackle the recession in which Honduras found itself. He launched ambitious social and economic development projects sponsored by American development aid. Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps<\/a> mission in the world, and nongovernmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated. The Peace Corps withdrew its volunteers in 2012, citing safety concerns.<\/p>\n During the early 1980s, the United States established a continuing military presence in Honduras to support El Salvador, the Contra<\/a> guerrillas fighting the Nicaraguan government, and also develop an airstrip and modern port in Honduras.<\/p>\n Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged campaigns against Marxist\u2013Leninist militias such as the Cinchoneros Popular Liberation Movemen<\/a>t, notorious for kidnappings and bombings, and against many non-militants as well. The operation included a CIA-backed campaign of extrajudicial killings by government-backed units, most notably Battalion 316.<\/a><\/p>\n In 1998, Hurricane Mitch<\/a> caused massive and widespread destruction. Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores<\/a> said that fifty years of progress in the country had been reversed. Mitch destroyed about 70% of the country’s crops and an estimated 70\u201380% of the transportation infrastructure, including nearly all bridges and secondary roads. Across Honduras 33,000 houses were destroyed, and an additional 50,000 damaged. Some 5,000 people killed, and 12,000 more injured. Total losses were estimated at US$3 billion.<\/p>\n In 2007, President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya<\/a> and President of the United States George W. Bush<\/a> began talks on US assistance to Honduras to tackle the latter’s growing drug cartels in Mosquito, Eastern Honduras using US Special Forces. This marked the beginning of a new foothold for the US Military’s continued presence in Central America.<\/p>\n Under Zelaya, Honduras joined ALBA<\/a> in 2008, but withdrew in 2010 after the 2009 Honduran coup d’\u00e9tat<\/a>. In 2009, a constitutional crisis resulted when power transferred in a coup from the president to the head of Congress. The OAS suspended Honduras because it did not regard its government as legitimate.<\/p>\n Countries around the world, the OAS, and the United Nations formally and unanimously condemned the action as a coup d’\u00e9tat, refusing to recognize the de facto government, even though the lawyers consulted by the Library of Congress submitted to the United States Congress an opinion that declared the coup legal. The Honduran Supreme Court also ruled that the proceedings had been legal. The government that followed the de facto government established a truth and reconciliation commission, Comisi\u00f3n de la Verdad y Reconciliaci\u00f3n, which after more than a year of research and debate concluded that the ousting had been a coup d’\u00e9tat, and illegal in the commission’s opinion.<\/p>\n The north coast of Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea<\/a> and the Pacific Ocean lies south through the Gulf of Fonseca<\/a>. Honduras consists mainly of mountains, with narrow plains along the coasts. A large undeveloped lowland jungle, La Mosquitia<\/a> lies in the northeast, and the heavily populated lowland Sula valley in the northwest. In La Mosquitia lies the UNESCO<\/a> world-heritage site R\u00edo Pl\u00e1tano Biosphere Reserve<\/a>, with the Coco River<\/a> which divides Honduras from Nicaragua.<\/p>\n The Islas de la Bah\u00eda<\/a> and the Swan Islands<\/a> are off the north coast. Misteriosa Bank<\/a> and Rosario Bank<\/a>, 130 to 150 kilometres (81 to 93 miles) north of the Swan Islands, fall within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)<\/a> of Honduras.<\/p>\n The World Bank<\/a> categorizes Honduras as a low middle-income nation. The nation’s per capita income sits at around 600 US dollars making it one of the lowest in North America.<\/p>\n In 2010, 50% of the population were living below the poverty line. By 2016 more than 66% were living below the poverty line.<\/p>\n Economic growth in the last few years has averaged 7% a year, one of the highest rates in Latin America (2010). Despite this, Honduras has seen the least development among all Central American countries. Honduras is ranked 130 of 188 countries with a Human Development Index<\/a> of .625 that classifies the nation as having medium development (2015).<\/p>\n The 2009 Honduran coup d’\u00e9tat led to a variety of economic trends in the nation. Overall growth has slowed, averaging 5.7 percent from 2006\u20132008 but slowing to 3.5 percent annually between 2010 and 2013. Following the coup trends of decreasing poverty and extreme poverty were reversed. The nation saw a poverty increase of 13.2 percent and in extreme poverty of 26.3 percent in just 3 years. Furthermore, unemployment grew between 2008 and 2012 from 6.8 percent to 14.1 percent.<\/p>\n Because much of the Honduran economy is based on small scale agriculture of only a few exports, natural disasters have a particularly devastating impact. Natural disasters, such as 1998 Hurricane Mitch<\/a>, have contributed to this inequality as they particularly affect poor rural areas. Additionally, they are a large contributor to food insecurity in the country as farmers are left unable to provide for their families. A study done by Honduras NGO, World Neighbors, determined the terms “increased workload, decreased basic grains, expensive food, and fear” were most associated with Hurricane Mitch.<\/p>\n Levels of income inequality in Honduras are higher than in any other Latin American country. Unlike other Latin American countries, inequality steadily increased in Honduras between 1991 and 2005. Between 2006 and 2010 inequality saw a decrease but increased again in 2010. Poverty is concentrated in southern, eastern, and western regions where rural and indigenous peoples live. North and central Honduras are home to the country’s industries and infrastructure, resulting in low levels of poverty. Poverty is concentrated in rural Honduras, a pattern that is reflected throughout Latin America. The effects of poverty on rural communities are vast. Poor communities typically live in adobe homes, lack material resources, have limited access to medical resources, and live off of basics such as rice, maize and beans.<\/p>\n Honduras has 699km of railway which includes limited passenger service but there are no international connections.<\/p>\n There are 3,367 km of paved roadway and 11357 km of unpaved.<\/p>\n There are 12 airports with paved runways in Honduras 7 of which have commercial services. The main international airports are: San Pedro Sula<\/a> and Tegucigalpa<\/a>. Other international airports include Roatan<\/a> and La Ceiba<\/a>.<\/p>\n The national flag of Honduras was adopted on March 7, 1866, based on the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America<\/a>. In 1823 Honduras joined the United Provinces of Central America and adopted their flag. In 1866 it was amended; five cerulean stars were placed in the center to represent the five original Central American provinces. The colors and pattern are the same as the flag of the United Provinces of Central America.<\/p>\n The flag consists of three horizontal bands of equal width with an overall length:width ratio of 1:2. The two outer Cerulean Blue bands represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and also represent the blue sky and brotherhood. The inner white band represents the land between the ocean and the sea, the peace and prosperity of its people, and purity of thoughts. The five cerulean five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band represent the five nations of the former Federal Republic of Central America (El Salvador<\/a>, Costa Rica<\/a>, Nicaragua<\/a>, Honduras<\/a>, and Guatemala<\/a>) and the hope that the nations may form a union again.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Political-and-Transportation-Map-of-Honduras-300x223.jpg\" "\\"\\""){kind=spacer}
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Pre-Colonial Period:<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Spanish Conquest (1524\u20131539):<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Spanish Honduras (1524\u20131821):<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/The-Fortaleza-de-San-Fernando-de-Omoa-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence (1821):<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>20th Century and the Role of American Companies:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Chiquita-Bananas-300x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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<\/a>1969\u20131999 (Wars and Corruption):<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Football-War-Fighters-300x228.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Nicaraguan-Contra-Rebels-300x208.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>21st Century:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Jos\u00e9-Manuel-Zelaya-224x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Topographic-Map-of-Honduras-300x201.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Honduras-Export-Map-300x234.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Damage-from-Hurricane-Mitch-in-Tegucigalpa-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Roatan-International-Airport-300x203.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Honduras:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/09\/Flag-of-Honduras-300x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>