History
San Pedro Sula – originally named San Pedro de Puerto Caballos – was founded by Pedro de Alvarado in June 1536. Located near the Río Chamelecón, the town was an important commercial center, where goods from the interior – cocoa, indigo, leather, sarsaparilla – were collected before being sent to Spain.
Unfortunately, San Pedro’s wealth attracted pirates who repeatedly sailed up the Río Chamelecón to attack and loot the town; it was finally sacked and burned in the 17th century. The town’s survivors moved south to Azula, an indigenous village, to restart. The new site – renamed San Pedro Sula – is where the city stands today.
During the 20th century, San Pedro Sula experienced a rapid boom. The population, 5000 in 1900 and 21, 000 in 1950, increased to 150, 000 by 1975. By 2006 the city had over 500, 000 inhabitants. This growth is due to the more than 200 factories that are headquartered in San Pedro Sula; they have attracted Hondurans with little to no job prospects in the rest of the country. The city’s population continues to grow at a rate of 5% to 7% each year.
The growth of the city has also brought crime, air pollution and AIDS. San Pedro Sula bears the unfortunate distinction of being the AIDS capital of Central America; whereas Honduras has only 20% of Central America’s population, it has 32% of its AIDS cases. A third of these are in San Pedro Sula. Suffice to say that practicing safe sex is extremely important, and nowhere more than here.
San Pedro Sula
Things to do
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