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72-606: Tela is a town, with a population of 39,920 (2023 calculation), and a municipality in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast. It is located in the department of Atlantida . Tela was founded by the Spanish conquistador Cristóbal de Olid on 3 May 1524 ; 500 years ago  ( 1524-05-03 ) , near an indigenous town, Tehuacán, ruled by a cacique named Cucumba, which had a very good source of clean water, food and medicinal plants. Olid named his town Triunfo de la Cruz (Triumph of

144-521: A 2009 military coup and controversy arising from claims of electoral fraud in 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

216-533: 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

288-541: 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

360-561: 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

432-715: 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

504-445: A hotel complex. Local mestizo and Spanish speaking workers in the town resented the presence of West Indians, who often held the best jobs, and because they spoke English were more able to get even service jobs in the US controlled company. In time the government of Honduras took up an anti-West Indian line, which was accompanied in many cases, by racist literature and cartoons that contrasted

576-534: A larger electoral base. In April 1954, banana workers employed by United Fruit began a wildcat strike in the northern town of Tela , primarily over pay issues. In May, dockworkers in Puerto Cortés demanded double pay for holiday work, in accordance with the law. They went out on strike when their leader was dismissed by United Fruit, and subsequently all the United Fruit workers, some 25,000, and also workers for

648-560: 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

720-427: 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

792-535: Is Tegucigalpa . Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya , before Spanish colonization in 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

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864-698: Is " Af " (Tropical Rainforest Climate). Honduras Honduras , officially the Republic of Honduras , is a country in Central America . It 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

936-474: 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

1008-474: Is a block-square market—half open and half enclosed—selling fresh vegetables, fruit and meat, brought in daily from farms in the surrounding countryside; fisherman bring in fresh fish daily to the market as well to many restaurants. In addition to the downtown grocery store and the town market, in the barrios, nearly every street corner has its own "pulpería"—a small shop in the front of a family house, which sells milk, eggs, juice, beans and other everyday needs to

1080-404: Is a busy business district. There is a well stocked grocery store, several small department stores, a number of hardware stores, many restaurants, internet cafes, bars, banks, pool halls and hotels, a laundry, a bakery, and a coffin maker's workshop. The town is well served by doctors, dentists, lawyers and veterinarians. The town also has its own small lumberyard. Two blocks off the town park, there

1152-496: 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,

1224-519: 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

1296-609: 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

1368-528: 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

1440-644: 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

1512-630: 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

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1584-481: 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

1656-503: The African descended Caribbean workers with the mestizo Hondurans. In 1929 and again in 1934 immigration laws were hardened, making it difficult for English speakers or non-Hondurans to enter the country or remain there, and between 1930 and 1939, hundreds of Caribbean people were deported, greatly decreasing the English speaking and African descended population of the town. In 1930 floods ruined

1728-580: The Cross), as it was founded on this Catholic holy day. The name Triunfo de la Cruz still refers to a small promontory in the bay. There are historians who say that the origin of the name is a contraction of Tetela , which in the Nahuat language means "land of hills and craggy mountains." Tela, like other towns on the northern Honduras (Atlantic) coast, was part of the Western Caribbean Zone and although there

1800-603: 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

1872-553: The English exiled the Garifuna , a group of Afro-Carib origin from St Vincent to the island of Roatan . Later they were moved to Trujillo and from there they are migrated along the coast. In 1808, they settled in Tela where they founded their own community. One of these communities was east of the El Triunfo hills, which they named Triunfo de la Cruz and another west of town named San Juan. In

1944-674: The Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, a LDS Church and a large Evangelical church just off the beach downtown, colloquially known in Tela as the "Jumping Church". Tela has paved roads throughout the downtown area. Many of the outlying areas have paved main thoroughfares; smaller side streets are generally dirt roads in the town outsides. Virtually all buildings in and around the aldea of Tela have running water, flush toilets and electricity. Many farther aldeas and caserios have no running water or electricity; some are made up entirely of bamboo or thatch huts. Downtown Tela's main street

2016-588: 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

2088-558: 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

2160-537: The aldea of Triunfo de la Cruz; to the west along the beach, are San Juan aldea, which bleeds into Tela's western edge, then Tornabé aldea, and 10 miles (16 km) or so beyond Tornabé, the tiny caserio of Miami. Tela's patron saint is San Antonio. Every June, the town holds its festival in honour of San Antonio , with parades and parties throughout the week. Tela is one of the most popular beach destinations for Honduran beachgoers. It draws especially well in Holy Week ,

2232-407: The banana industry, broke bridges and closed railroads, causing whole plantations to cease operations. Tela declined somewhat after this disaster, but gradually recovered. Tela was the epicentre of the 1954 General Strike , which began as a wildcat action among the poorer workers, and soon spread through the north of Honduras, but the English speaking Caribbean workers, occupying higher positions in

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2304-461: The center-right Liberal party , were supportive of the strike. Local businessmen, while reluctant to support the strike publicly, did provide undercover financial backing. The United Fruit Company and the government moved to satisfy the strikers in large measure because the United States was concerned with what they thought were Communist leanings by Jacobo Arbenz in neighboring Guatemala , and as

2376-490: 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

2448-615: 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

2520-414: 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

2592-539: The company were lukewarm in their support or even openly hostile to the workers. In the aftermath of the strike, which led to major concessions to workers, the English speaking community was subject to retaliation and many left the region, often immigrating to the United States or Canada, or to the Caribbean countries from which they or their ancestors had originated. The town's long dock burned in 1994. A hasty replacement, opened in January 1995, collapsed due to high winds, and

2664-434: 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

2736-428: The country's urban centers. Honduras has 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

2808-509: 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

2880-446: 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

2952-894: 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

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3024-606: 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

3096-490: 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

3168-443: 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

3240-504: 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

3312-569: 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

3384-504: 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

3456-462: 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

3528-455: 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

3600-405: 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

3672-560: The mid-20th century, the economy was based on the cultivation and production of bananas and by 1912, the government started giving grants to nationals and foreigners who wanted to promote the local economy, thus beginning the golden age of banana production in Honduras . Tela became an important port in 1914 as headquarters of the Tela Railroad Company , a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company whose Honduran headquarters were there until 1970. The company brought in many labourers for

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3744-465: The neighbourhood. There is a public school in Tela, and at least six smaller private schools, three of which are bilingual, teaching English along with Spanish. Tela has a tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, is a tropical climate usually (but not always) found along the equator. Tropical rainforest climate is a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate

3816-521: 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

3888-450: The older town for its employees. The town, which was carefully planned was segregated by race, and the best housing (single family homes of varying size) was in the "White Zone" (later called the "American Zone") in which only Euro-American employees lived. The remaining workers lived in barracks type houses outside the zone. The town included an excellent hospital, good schools, and a golf course. Some of these units remain today as part of

3960-474: The political division of 1825, Tela was part of the department of Yoro , and in 1876 was classified as a municipality. With the creation of the department of Cortés , 4 June 1893, Tela became part of Cortés. Subsequently, on 17 July 1894, it was reassigned to the department of Yoro, but in 1902, it was incorporated in the department of Atlántida . The port of Tela was given city status in March 1927. Between 1880 and

4032-476: The poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere . In 1960, 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

4104-701: 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

4176-536: The primary elections of November 2012. Also, 56% expected the presidential, legislative and municipal elections of 2013 to be fraudulent. General strike of 1954 (Honduras) When former United Fruit Company lawyer Juan Manuel Gálvez became president in 1954, following the contested election of 1953 , he surprised everyone by adopting a pro-labor stance, introducing, among other things, an 8-hour work day , including extra pay for work on holidays. This has been widely interpreted as an attempt by Gálvez to build

4248-402: The railroad and then for the banana industry as it expanded its production in Honduras. Many of these workers were African-descended people from the English-speaking Caribbean , especially Jamaica and Belize , and introduced the English language and Protestant (especially Methodist and Anglican ) churches to the town. The United Fruit Company built a new town, called Tela Nueva, outside

4320-420: 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

4392-578: 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

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4464-557: The remnant is now used for fishing. The town had an extensive railyard in which trains were used to run all the way out to the dock. Passenger trains still run twice a week from Tela to Puerto Cortés , the only routes in the country still served by trains. Tela is one of various towns on the Caribbean Coast of Central America with many Garifuna communities nearby. Heading east along the beach from Tela, one first comes to Ensenada aldea, and then, beyond Punta del Triunfo de la Cruz, to

4536-438: The rival banana exporter Standard Fruit , another 15,000, also joined the strike . In addition to the fruit company workers, industrial workers at the manufacturing town of San Pedro Sula joined, making the strike a remarkable event in labor mobilization. The strike attracted attention from the role played by the still illegal but increasingly active Communist party , which is sometimes blamed for its influence, both now and at

4608-534: 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

4680-457: 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

4752-561: The time. U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles suggested that Communists from Guatemala had infiltrated Honduras and were ultimately behind the strike. In fact, modern scholars have presented evidence that the Communist party was as much born of the strike, out of dissident left-wing members of the Honduran Revolutionary Democratic Party as the cause of it, and that many left-leaning groups, including even

4824-472: The week between Palm Sunday and Easter, when many tens of thousands of Hondurans crowd into town to party, drink, lie on the beach and swim in the Caribbean. Most Teleños are Catholic ; the town's main Catholic church is Iglesia San Antonio, just across the river from downtown Tela. There are other smaller Catholic churches throughout town. There are many other denominations represented in town, however, including

4896-526: Was a light Spanish presence was connected powerfully to the world of that zone. Thus, English privateers and later pirates frequently operated in the area, and independent or nearly independent indigenous groups also frequented the area. At the end of the 16th century, Tela Bay was frequented by buccaneers who roamed the Caribbean Sea , looking for ways to attack the Spanish schooners that hauled fortunes in precious metals and stones, from Trujillo , Puerto Cortés , Havana , and other Atlantic ports. In 1797,

4968-597: 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),

5040-595: 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

5112-563: 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

5184-417: 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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