African people :
99-663: Afro-Hondurans or Black Hondurans are Hondurans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Research by Henry Louis Gates and other sources regards their population to be around 1-2%. They descended from: enslaved Africans by the Spanish, as well as those who were enslaved from the West Indies and identify as Creole peoples , and the Garifuna who descend from exiled zambo Maroons from Saint Vincent . The Creole people were originally from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, while
198-522: A Human Development Index of 0.625, classifying it as a nation with medium development. When adjusted for income inequality, its Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index is 0.443. Honduran society is predominantly Mestizo ; however, there are also significant Indigenous, black, and white communities in Honduras. The nation had a relatively high political stability until a 2009 military coup and controversy arising from claims of electoral fraud in
297-549: A 1954 general strike paralyzed the northern part of the country for more than two months, but led to reforms. In 1963 a military coup unseated democratically elected President Ramón Villeda Morales . In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice . In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought what became known as
396-559: A campaign of extrajudicial killings by government units, most notably the CIA-trained Battalion 316 . Honduras was found internationally liable for a series of enforced disappearances during this time period, culminating in Velásquez-Rodríguez v. Honduras . In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused massive and widespread destruction. Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores said that fifty years of progress in
495-510: 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. Hurricane Fifi caused severe damage when it skimmed the northern coast of Honduras on 18 and 19 September 1974. Melgar Castro (1975–78) and Paz Garcia (1978–82) largely built
594-745: A continuing military presence in Honduras to support El Salvador, the Contra guerrillas fighting the Nicaraguan government, and also develop an airstrip and modern port in Honduras. Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged campaigns against Marxist–Leninist militias such as the Cinchoneros Popular Liberation Movement, notorious for kidnappings and bombings, and against many non-militants as well. The operation included
693-476: A distinct ethnic group from the rest of the Honduran population, however, naturally feel today Hondurans and, in fact, a major instances by which have been "integrating" the Honduran has been through sport. Indeed, many black British have been in recent decades some major national athletes, especially in football clubs and the national team of Honduras, but also have excelled in other sports such as athletics, baseball, and basketball. Finally, many black British, before
792-553: A half-dozen entities, groups who were distinct by their language dialects, who were situated in the river basins. Miskito hut in Nicaragua The Spanish were unable to conquer this region during the sixteenth century. Much of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and northeastern Honduras was outside any Spanish authority. The region became a haven for northern Europeans, especially Dutch, English, and Welsh privateers during
891-571: A mainly non-Maya area, or on the frontier between Maya and non-Maya areas. Copán declined with other Lowland centres during the conflagrations of the Terminal Classic 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. However, Copán represents only a fraction of Honduran pre-Columbian history. Remnants of other civilizations are found throughout
990-427: A military coup removed the democratically elected president, Ramón Villeda Morales . A string of authoritarian military governments held power uninterrupted until 1981, when Roberto Suazo Córdova was elected president. The party system was dominated by the conservative National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras: PNH) and the liberal Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras: PLH) until
1089-522: A series of raids attacking Spanish-held territories and the still independent indigenous groups in the area. Miskito raiders reached as far north as the Yucatán, and as far south as Costa Rica. Many of their captives were sold into slavery to European slave traders, and many of them ended up working on Jamaican sugar plantations. In addition, from 1720 onwards, the Jamaican colonial authorities commissioned
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#17327915814091188-479: Is Honduras's largest source of fresh water, is polluted by heavy metals produced from mining activities. Some rivers and streams are also polluted by mining. Honduras is governed within a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic . The President of Honduras is both head of state and head of government . Executive power is exercised by the Honduran government . Legislative power
1287-648: Is bordered to the west by Guatemala , to the southwest by El Salvador , to the southeast by Nicaragua , to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca , and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras , a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea . Its capital and largest city is Tegucigalpa . Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya , before Spanish colonization in
1386-504: Is vested in the National Congress of Honduras . The judiciary is independent of both the executive branch and the legislature. The National Congress of Honduras ( Congreso Nacional ) has 128 members ( diputados ), elected for a four-year term by proportional representation . Congressional seats are assigned the parties' candidates on a departmental basis in proportion to the number of votes each party receives. In 1963,
1485-530: The 2009 Honduran coup d'état removed Manuel Zelaya from office and put Roberto Micheletti in his place. In late 2012, 1540 persons were interviewed by ERIC in collaboration with the Jesuit university , as reported by Associated Press . This survey found that 60.3% believed the police were involved in crime, 44.9% had "no confidence" in the Supreme Court, and 72% thought there was electoral fraud in
1584-440: The 2017 presidential election . Honduras spans about 112,492 km (43,433 sq mi) and has a population exceeding 10 million. Its northern portions are part of the western Caribbean zone , 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
1683-623: The Bay Islands there are bottlenose dolphins , manta rays , parrot fish , schools of blue tang and whale shark . Deforestation resulting from logging is rampant in Olancho Department . The clearing of land for agriculture is prevalent in the largely undeveloped La Mosquitia region, causing land degradation and soil erosion . Honduras had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.48/10, ranking it 126th globally out of 172 countries. Lake Yojoa , which
1782-654: The Bay Islands , especially the Roatan Island and Guanaja and some Caribbean coastal Honduran cities like Puerto Cortes , Tela and La Ceiba . In the 2000s, some Creoles migrated to the major cities of Tegucigalpa , San Pedro Sula , and other urban centers in the interior. Like the Garifuna, many work as sailors and emigrated to the United States or Grand Cayman Island with which there are strong trade and cultural relations. Over time, blacks brought by
1881-546: The Cuyamel Fruit Company , as well as the United Fruit Company , and Standard Fruit Company , built an enclave economy in northern Honduras, controlling infrastructure and creating self-sufficient, tax-exempt sectors that contributed relatively little to economic growth. American troops landed in Honduras in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924 and 1925. In 1904, the writer O. Henry coined
1980-661: The Football War . Border tensions led to acrimony between the two countries after Oswaldo López Arellano , 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 . Tensions escalated and on 14 July 1969, the Salvadoran army invaded Honduras. The Organization of American States (OAS) negotiated
2079-734: The Gambia River in Senegambia. By the mid-sixteenth century, between 1,000 and 1,500 enslaved blacks worked in the gold washings of Olancho ; these slaves likely hailed from Africa. In Honduras, 300 Africans arrived in Olancho and at Rio Guayape in 1590; they were sent to both areas for mining woo. A crew of Angolas worked in the mines and businesses in San Miguel. Although many mulattoes and browns also worked in Tegucigalpa on
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#17327915814092178-668: The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve , a lowland rainforest which is home to a great diversity of life. The reserve was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1982. Honduras has rain forests, cloud forests (which can rise up to nearly 3,000 metres or 9,800 feet above sea level ), mangroves , savannas and mountain ranges with pine and oak trees, and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System . In
2277-491: 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, Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación , which after more than a year of research and debate concluded that the ousting had been a coup d'état , and illegal in
2376-732: The Afro-Hondurans that descended from slaves imported by the Spanish, there are other Afro communities in Honduras, also present in Nicaragua y Guatemala: Miskito, Creoles, and Garifuna. The Miskito are an indigenous ethnic group in Central America, of whom many are mixed race. In the northern end of their territory, the people are primarily of African-Native American ancestry; others are of mixed African-Native American and English descent. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande de Matagalpa, Nicaragua, along
2475-544: The American War of Independence by attacking Spanish colonies to draw off their forces. It gained several victories alongside the British. But, at the conclusion of the peace in 1783, Britain had to cede control over the coast to Spain. The British withdrawal was completed at the end of June 1787. To compensate their Miskito supporters, the British re-settled 537 Miskitos, together with their 1,677 slaves, from Mosquitia to
2574-520: The Americas at the time were mestizos and Afro-descendants), including possibilities such as "black ladino," "mulatto Ladin", etc. According to Barahona, Ladinos were the majority of the population in 1800 (60% of the population). Because these days, most African - Hondurans were mulatto, sambo, and browns. Although the seventeenth century had five categories in the census of Spanish America, "white", "Indians", "mestizos", "black" and "mulatto", already in
2673-583: The Bay settlement in British Honduras, present-day Belize. Despite their official withdrawal, Britain maintained an unofficial protectorate over the kingdom. They often intervened to protect Miskito's interests against Spanish encroachments. In addition to the area's geographic isolation, the Miskito military capacity and British support allowed the people to retain their independence when Spain controlled
2772-491: The British exported between 2,000 and 4,000 Black Caribs - mixture of Carib Indians and African Blacks - to the island o Roatán in Honduras, because they rebelled against them on the island St. Vincent . After this, these Garifuna, as called themselves, migrated to Trujillo and from there, scattered along the coasts of all the Central American mainland until Costa Rica (without reaching this place), especially by
2871-567: The British were learning the customs and the English language, which managed to keep up today. Like white citizens, long blacks were not considered Hondurans. Although the Bay Islands were eventually recognized as Honduran territory by the British in 1861, by the Treaty "Wike-Cross", in 1904, people still continued to believe that these lands were English possessions. Even in the 1930s, during
2970-490: The Diet of Nacaome (1847) and National Representation in Central America (1849–1852). 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. Policies favoring international trade and investment began in the 1870s. Soon, foreign interests became involved, first in shipping from
3069-460: The Garifuna in Honduras struggling not to be deprived of their lands on the coast for tourism enterprises and try to keep their customs and culture at all costs. Garifuna music, Punta (tip), is a very rhythmic music, accompanied by a fast-paced sensual dance with a lot of hip movement. This music has been released recently by bands mostly Hondurans, including the most famous: Kazabe, Garifuna Kids, Banda Blanca , Silver Star, and Los Roland. Especially
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3168-698: The Garifuna people were originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . Garifunas arrived in the late seventeen hundreds and the Creole peoples arrived during the eighteen hundreds. About 600,000 Hondurans are of Garífuna descent that are a mix of African and indigenous as of Afro Latin Americans . Honduras has one of the largest African community in Latin America. One of the first African slaves who arrived in Honduras, Juan Bardales, participated in
3267-556: The Garifuna people were regarded as skillful for crops, so they went to work and prospered enough in Trujillo, some of these were recruited by the Spanish army where they served with distinction. Many Garifunas of Trujillo, especially due to the persecutions to which they were subjected by the Spanish authorities, emigrated and scattered were them along the coasts of all the Central American mainland until Costa Rica (without reaching this place), Later, because of great resentment against
3366-407: The Honduran "in banana cultivation, and who had previously worked in their respective nations that sector. Other black anglophone contingents arrived in Honduras with the arrival of black workers from Jamaica and other English-speaking islands arrived to work for the banana transnationals. In 1931, the intellectual, Alfonso Guillen Zelaya Honduran, raised the huge black presence on the north coast and
3465-435: The Honduran coast between the late eighteenth and mid-century. Over time, the black English originally came with the illusion of wealth and then return to their countries, they fell in Honduras and evidently were acquiring some Honduran customs, but in essence, they brought many manifestations of their lands, such as religion, music, traditions and language in many cases, are still preserved and that makes, therefore, constitute
3564-679: The Miskito face human rights violations over land rights disputes, as recognized by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Before the 1700s arrival of Europeans in the region, the area was divided into numerous small, egalitarian indigenous groups, possibly speaking languages related to the Sumo languages. The Spanish listed 30 "nations" in Taguzgalpa and Tologalpa, as the Spanish understood their geography. Karl Offen's analysis of this historic data suggests there were about
3663-470: The Miskito reserve, supported Nicaragua's takeover of power in the area. The American companies preferred Nicaraguan authority to the Miskito, especially as the Miskito elite was more prepared to protect the rights of small landholders than the Nicaraguan government. British blacks or Creoles arrived originally with the introduction of enslaved Africans to Jamaica, Cayman, and Belize by the British during
3762-673: The Miskito to capture Maroons in the Blue Mountains, as they were effective trackers. The Miskito king and the British concluded a formal Treaty of Friendship and Alliance in 1740. The British appointed John Hodgson as Superintendent of the Shore. The British established a protectorate over the Miskito Nation, often called the Mosquito Coast (related to the original Spanish name). The Miskito kingdom aided Britain during
3861-499: The Miskito. After Nicaragua declared independence in 1821, combined Miskito-Zambo raiders began to attack Honduran settlements. They sometimes rescued enslaved Miskito before they could be transported beyond their reach. They also enslaved women from other tribes for use as sexual partners. Their society allowed polygamy. The Miskito population boomed as the men had more children with their slave women. These raids continued for many years after animosity between Britain and Spain ended at
3960-532: The Miskito. These English began to crown Miskito leaders as kings (or chiefs); their territory was called the Mosquito Kingdom (the English adopted the Spanish term for the indigenous people). A 1699 written account of the kingdom described it as spread out in various communities along the coast but not including all the territory. It probably did not include the settlements of English traders. The king did not have total power. The 1699 description noted that
4059-709: The Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. Their population is estimated at 180,000 people as of 2016. The indigenous people speak a native Miskito language, but large groups also speak Miskito Coast Creole, Spanish, which is the language of education and government, and other languages. Miskito Coast Creole, an English-based Creole language, came about through frequent contact with the British for trading, as they predominated along this coast. Many are Christians. A 1987 peace agreement afforded them land rights over traditional lands. However, despite significant political struggles throughout their history, today
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4158-686: The Mosquito Coast. The treaty provided for a Miskitu reserve, a self-governing entity that enjoyed semi-sovereign rights. Nicaraguan forces occupied the area in 1894 and took over the state. The British restored the Miskito Reserve in July, but Nicaraguan forces reoccupied in August 1894 and ended its independence. Various major American fruit companies such as the United Fruit Company, which had begun large-scale production of bananas in
4257-567: The Pacific side of Central America. The Miskito Coast remained independent throughout much of the period of the Federal Republic of Central America, but Nicaragua finally absorbed the territory in 1894. Once the Central American republics became independent in the early to mid-nineteenth century, they had less power in relation to other nations than did Spain and struggled to protect their own territorial interests against filibusters and
4356-535: The Spanish conquest of the province, especially in Trujillo . Shortly thereafter, Berdales was awarded his freedom. In Honduras, slaves played an important role in the mining industry. Many of them came from Africa, from places like Angola or Senegambia , while others came from the Caribbean . In 1542, 165 slaves came via Portugal and 150 from Santo Domingo. In Honduras, were imported slaves Mandinka kangkurao of
4455-425: The Spanish, others many Garifuna fled to the coast of Belize where already lived other Garifunas. It is this migration that is celebrated annually on November 19 as Garifuna Settlement Day, and is the largest celebration of this community. Some of them were involved in the civil wars of the time. During the twentieth century, some Garifuna worked on American and British boats during World War II and traveled around
4554-628: The Spanish-origin population would have been a minority compared to the racially mixed populations ("Ladino"). The Spanish Crown considered Ladinos as those subjects of the Crown, originally non-Hispanics, and they learned the official languages of the empire or Vulgar Latin . In the Americas, the Ladinos were often identified as those groups of nonwhites who were Amerindian or Spanish - speaking (and most people who were not white or Amerindians in
4653-552: The Swan Islands, fall within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Honduras. Natural resources include timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc , iron ore, antimony , coal, fish, shrimp, and hydropower . The climate varies from tropical in the lowlands to temperate in the mountains. The Pacific coast is generally drier than the Caribbean. The region is considered a biodiversity hotspot because of
4752-620: The United States George W. Bush 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. Under Zelaya, Honduras joined ALBA in 2008, but withdrew in 2010 after the 2009 Honduran coup d'état . In 2009, a constitutional crisis resulted when power
4851-643: The United States government, which took an increasing strategic interest in the area. Great Britain took an interest in the affairs on the Mosquito Coast, as it had trade positions in Belize/British Honduras and Jamaica. In addition, US trading interests began to develop in the region. British governors in Belize began issuing commissions and appointments to Miskito kings and other officials, such as King Robert Charles Frederick, crowned in Belize in 1825. British officials regularly officially recognized
4950-494: The coast of Honduras. On 30 July 1502, Columbus sent his brother Bartholomew to explore the islands and Bartholomew encountered a Mayan trading vessel from Yucatán, 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. In March 1524, Gil González Dávila became
5049-631: The coasts. A large undeveloped lowland jungle, La Mosquitia lies in the northeast, and the heavily populated lowland Sula valley in the northwest. In La Mosquitia lies the UNESCO world-heritage site Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve , with the Coco River which divides Honduras from Nicaragua . The Islas de la Bahía and the Swan Islands are off the north coast. Misteriosa Bank and Rosario Bank , 130 to 150 kilometres (81 to 93 miles) north of
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#17327915814095148-414: The commission's opinion. On 28 November 2021, the former first lady Xiomara Castro , leftist presidential candidate of opposition Liberty and Refoundation Party, won 53% of the votes in the presidential election to become the first female president of Honduras, bringing an end to the 12-year reign of the right-wing National Party. She was sworn in on 27 January 2022. Her husband, Manuel Zelaya, held
5247-601: The country as much as members of other races. They claim such a term is being used to end the ethnic identity of the 46 communities which live along the Atlantic north coast. Racism against Afro-Hondurans has been a well-documented issue, even receiving international attention in several high-profile cases. Honduras Honduras , officially the Republic of Honduras , is a country in Central America . It
5346-434: The country had been reversed. Mitch destroyed about 70% of the country's crops and an estimated 70–80% 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. In 2007, President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya and President of
5445-522: The country, although many of these workers left following changes to immigration law in 1939. Honduras joined the Allied Nations after Pearl Harbor , on 8 December 1941, and signed the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, along with twenty-five other governments. Constitutional crises in the 1940s led to reforms in the 1950s. One reform gave workers permission to organize, and
5544-446: The country, including some changes of régime. 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
5643-580: The country. Archaeologists have studied sites such as Naco [ es ] and La Sierra in the Naco Valley, Los Naranjos on Lake Yojoa , Yarumela in the Comayagua Valley, La Ceiba and Salitron Viejo (both now under the Cajón Dam reservoir ), Selin Farm and Cuyamel in the Aguan valley, Cerro Palenque , Travesia, Curruste, Ticamaya, Despoloncal, and Playa de los Muertos in the lower Ulúa River valley, and many others. In 2012, LiDAR scanning revealed that several previously unknown high density settlements existed in La Mosquitia, corresponding to
5742-425: The current Francisco Morazán Department , and Choluteca and Comayagua departments. These departments attracted many mixed-race people ( mestizo , mulatto, pardo , Ladino, etc.), unlike the indigenous concentration departments West. In 1775, lived in San Fernando de Omoa between 300 and 400 Africans and about 75 white families. They remained there until the early nineteenth century. So, in the late eighteenth century,
5841-462: The current physical infrastructure and telecommunications system of Honduras. 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 government of Roberto Suazo won the election with a promise to carry out an ambitious program of economic and social development to tackle
5940-426: The day of Garifuna ethnic recalling his arrival in Honduras. In March 2014, members of the Garifuna community made a formal complaint to the public prosecutor's office concerning the use of the term Afro when relating to members of the Garifuna community by the state of Honduras, claiming the term “afrohondureño” (Afro-Honduran in English) is incorrect because black people in Honduras were born there and are citizens of
6039-425: The decline of the banana industry and the emergence of other productive sectors, were emigrating from the 1950s to the United States and enrolled in marine commercial fishing fleets throughout the Caribbean. Currently, it is estimated that the number of black English or Creole is around 32,000 people. In 1797, the British exported between 2,000 and 4,000 Black Caribs - a mixture of Indigenous Caribs and Africans - to
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#17327915814096138-405: The dictatorship of Gen. Tiburcio Carias (1933–1949), many islanders be Honduran nationals refused, and still clinging to their English traditions, practicing the Protestant religion and speaking only English. As shown, this process represents the first contingent of blacks settled in British Honduras, which was a result of the transfer of slaves from the British to the Bay Islands and some places on
6237-409: The early nineteenth century when slavery was abolished in Honduras. After 1820, Afro-Hondurans were simply considered citizens and obtained the rights of any citizen to be excluded from the category of "free blacks". This was perhaps because the General Francisco Ferrera , Honduran politician who was part of the government of Honduras at the time, had ancestors who were mulattoes. Nonetheless, he decreed
6336-456: The early seventeenth century, for example, Henry Morgan, Daniel Montbars and William Dampier. A number of Africans reached the coast from shipwrecked slave ships, notably one in the mid-seventeenth century. The survivors of shipwrecks and escaped slaves from the Providence Island colony, settled around Cape Gracias a Dios. They intermarried with the indigenous people. The Spanish referred to their mixed-race descendants as "Mosquito Zambo" (Mosquito
6435-440: 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. Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821 and
6534-402: The eighteenth century, the last three categories alone in a bind: "Ladino". During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Spanish authorities considered Honduran even entire regions populated mostly as mulatto, sambo, or brown. Such is the case of places like Olancho, Yoro , Colon and Atlántida , regions that eventually could have remixed with whites, Amerindians, and mestizos. It was in
6633-443: 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. 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 and Trujillo in particular, but failed to conquer
6732-441: The expulsion of the country's Garifuna (but ultimately this is not carried out). The Honduran historian Antonio Canelas Diaz says that by the year 1870, was organized in the city of La Ceiba - the point where, emerged on a large scale banana production in Honduras - a company called "New Orleans and Bay Island Company" whose executives, imported the first black Creoles hired by fruit, since they were labor" [...] more qualified than
6831-439: The fear that it increased what he called the "black import" Honduras ended up being a country of mulatto people, however, as the country was mostly mestizo and the indigenous population had been growing over the years. The African Cultural legacy is evident in some places of Honduras. Trujillo held certain dance parties, whose dancers carry specific masks. Both the dance and the masks are of Mandinka kangkurao origin. In addition to
6930-504: The first Spaniard to enter Honduras as a conquistador . followed by Hernán Cortés , who had brought forces down from Mexico. Much of the conquest took place in the following two decades, first by groups loyal to Cristóbal de Olid , and then by those loyal to Francisco de Montejo but most particularly by those following Alvarado. In addition to Spanish resources, the conquerors relied heavily on armed forces from Mexico— Tlaxcalans and Mexica armies of thousands who remained garrisoned in
7029-501: 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 , notably Jamaica and Belize , which introduced an African-descended, English-speaking and largely Protestant population into
7128-480: The indigenous population, the Spanish immigration scanty, and the meager arrival of African slaves. The recovery of the hegemony of silver and indigo, the prohibition of non-indigenous groups living in Indian villages, and the population growth recorded in the same century, miscegenation, primarily among Amerindian and Spanish, not only increased significantly at this time but concentrated in certain regions, especially in
7227-515: The interior highlands are also generally considered to be culturally Mesoamerican, though the extent of linkage with other areas varied over time (for example, expanding during the zenith of the Toltec Empire ). In the extreme west, Maya civilization flourished for hundreds of years. The dominant, best known, and best studied state within Honduras's borders was in Copán , which was located in
7326-411: The international level. For a long time, the Miskito considered themselves superior to other indigenous tribes of the area, whom they referred to as "wild". The Miskito commonly adopted European dress and English names. From the middle of the nineteenth century, British interest in the region began to wane. At the Treaty of Managua in 1860, Great Britain allowed Nicaragua to have an uncontested claim over
7425-467: The international market. The literal meaning of the term "Honduras" is "depths" in Spanish. The name could refer either to the bay of Trujillo as an anchorage, fondura in the Leonese dialect of Spain, or to Columbus 's alleged quote that " Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas honduras " ("Thank God we have departed from those depths"). It was not until the end of the 16th century that Honduras
7524-490: The island of Roatán in Honduras, because they rebelled against them on the island St. Vincent . While the British ships that carried to Black Caribes to the island addressed her, the Spanish captured one of the British ships, bringing it to Trujillo, Honduras where the Garifunas were released. In addition, the Spanish captured 1,700 Garifunas on the island of Roatan and they took them to Trujillo where they lacked manpower,
7623-472: The kings and governors had no power except in wartime, even in matters of justice. Otherwise, the people were all equal. Their superior leaders were named by the English as the king, a governor, a general, and, by the 1750s, an admiral. Historical information on kings is often obscure as many of the kings were semi-mythical. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the Miskito Zambo began
7722-416: The late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century who later arrived in Honduras. Creoles also arrived with the immigration of black workers from Jamaica, Cayman Island, Trinidad and Tobago and other English-speaking islands, who arrived in the early twentieth century to work in transnational banana companies, workers in the construction of railways, dockworkers and in some cases "scabs", are concentrated mainly in
7821-460: The legend of " La Ciudad Blanca ". 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. On his fourth and the final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus landed near the modern town of Trujillo , near Guaimoreto Lagoon, becoming the first European to visit the Bay Islands on
7920-405: The many plant and animal species found there. Like other countries in the region, it contains vast biological resources. Honduras hosts more than 6,000 species of vascular plants , of which 630 (described so far) are orchids ; around 250 reptiles and amphibians , more than 700 bird species, and 110 mammalian species, of which half are bats . In the northeastern region of La Mosquitia lies
8019-521: 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 . 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. Since independence, nearly 300 small internal rebellions and civil wars have occurred in
8118-399: The northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice . The nation's economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The lower class is primarily agriculturally based while wealth is concentrated in the country's urban centers. Honduras has
8217-595: The persecutions to which they were subjected by the Spanish authorities. Some of them were involved in the civil wars of the time. In the late eighteenth century records tell of significant percentages of blacks and mulattoes in Tegucigalpa. But at the end of the colonial period, slaves were already mainly mulattoes. Between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century, the British introduced black slaves from Jamaica , Cayman Island and Belize in Honduras. According to Luis Pedro Taracena, in these years, Tegucigalpa
8316-730: The pre-Columbian era, modern Honduras was split between two pan-cultural regions: Mesoamerica in the west and the Isthmo-Colombian area in the east. Each complex had a "core area" within Honduras (the Sula Valley for Mesoamerica, and La Mosquitia for the Isthmo-Colombian area), and the intervening area was one of gradual transition. However, these concepts had no meaning in the Pre-Columbian era itself and represent extremely diverse areas. The Lenca people of
8415-420: 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 mission in the world, and nongovernmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated. The Peace Corps withdrew its volunteers in 2012, citing safety concerns. During the early 1980s, the United States established
8514-595: The region. Resistance to conquest was led in particular by Lempira . Many regions in the north of Honduras never fell to the Spanish, notably the Miskito Kingdom . 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. Honduras
8613-478: The same dates. Between 1750 and 1779, a larger group of African slaves, Carabali and mondongos (a Kongo tribe) people, were taken to Honduras to build the military fort San Fernando de Omoa , the most important in the region. In 1796, approximately 300 "French black" from the French colony of Saint Domingue came to Trujillo, in the context of the conflict that gave rise to the independence of Haiti . In 1797,
8712-541: The same office from 2006 until 2009. In April 2022, former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández , who served two terms between 2014 and January 2022, was extradited to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. Hernandez denied the accusations. The north coast of Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean lies south through the Gulf of Fonseca . Honduras consists mainly of mountains, with narrow plains along
8811-475: The sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced 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,
8910-422: The song Sopa de Caracol , of Kazabe has popularized this music internationally. Is difficult to determine the exact number of English-speaking black Garifunas because, in the last decades, the ethnic category has not been considered in national population censuses. The Garifunas have formed 47 communities in the departments of Cortes , Atlantida, Bay Islands Colon and Gracias a Dios . On April 12 of each year marks
9009-457: The term " banana republic " to describe Honduras, publishing a book called Cabbages and Kings , 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 , "his phrase neatly conjures up
9108-646: The various Miskito offices; it worked to protect Miskito's interests against the Central American republics and against the United States. The latter contested British influence as per the Monroe Doctrine. The United States' involvement in the war with Mexico prevented it from enforcing the doctrine. As Britain gradually became less interested in its commissioning of Miskito nobility, the Miskito effectively began to operate as an independent state. Due to British economic interest in Central America (particularly British Honduras, now Belize), they regularly traded with
9207-510: The world. As a result of these trips, there are now Garifuna small communities in Los Angeles , New Orleans , and New York City who send monthly remittances to Honduras worth $ 360,000. The Garifuna culture is very strong, with great emphasis on music, dance, and history. They have their own religion, the Dugu, consisting of a mixture of Catholicism and African and Caribbean beliefs. Today
9306-621: Was a part of the First Mexican Empire until 1823, when it became part of the United Provinces of Central America . 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 (1842–1845), the covenant of Guatemala (1842), the Diet of Sonsonate (1846),
9405-544: 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 , and finally at Tegucigalpa in the central part of the country. 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
9504-461: Was populated by 80% mulattoes and this percentage was increasing over time, at least until 1815 (when they were 86% of the population). During the twentieth century, mulattoes and browns were progressively neutralized under the category of " Ladino ". According to historian Marbin Barahona, the racial mixture enters blacks with whites and Amerindians occurred since the 1520s, due to the decline of
9603-509: Was their transliteration of Miskito). Those Miskito living in the southern (Nicaraguan) region were less racially mixed. Modern scholars have classified them as Tawira Miskito. Rivalries between these two groups and competition for territory often led to wars, which were divisive in the eighteenth century. British-Miskito alliance. English privateers working through the Providence Island Company made informal alliances with
9702-578: Was 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. Countries around the world, the OAS, and the United Nations formally and unanimously condemned the action as a coup d'état , refusing to recognize the de facto government, even though the lawyers consulted by the Library of Congress submitted to
9801-417: Was used for the whole province. Prior to 1580, Honduras referred to only the eastern part of the province, and Higueras referred to the western part. Another early name is Guaymuras , revived as the name for the political dialogue in 2009 that took place in Honduras as opposed to Costa Rica. Hondurans are often referred to as either the masculine Catracho or the feminine Catracha in Spanish. In
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