Honduras: History

Pre-20th-Century History

There is evidence of Mayan settlement since at least 1000 BC at Copán in western Honduras but, like other Mayan city-states, it was abandoned mysteriously around AD 900. Columbus set foot on the American mainland for the first time at Trujillo in northern Honduras in 1502. He named the country after the deep water off the Caribbean coast (Honduras means 'depths'). The Spanish settled Trujillo in 1525, but soon sought to colonize the cooler highlands. They established a capital at Comayagua in central Honduras in 1537. This remained the political and religious center of the country for 350 years, until Tegucigalpa became the capital in 1880.

Native Hondurans resisted Spanish colonialism, and, by some accounts, almost managed to drive the colonizers from the mainland. An indigenous Lenca chieftain named Lempira led 30,000 indigena against the Spanish, but was treacherously murdered at peace talks in 1538. By the following year resistance was crushed. Gold and silver were discovered near Tegucigalpa in 1570, attracting British and Dutch pirates who terrorized commercial ships on nearby shipping routes. Around 1600, the Spanish estimated that Roatán was home to 5000 British buccaneers. Trujillo was sacked in 1643 by Dutch pirates and was not resettled by the Spanish until 1787.

While Spain concentrated its energies on the interior, the British were attracted to the Caribbean coast by stands of mahogany - black settlers were brought in from Jamaica and other West Indian islands to harvest the timber. Following an appeal by chiefs of the Miskito, a British protectorate was declared over the entire coastal region extending from Honduras into Nicaragua. This lasted until 1859, when the area was relinquished to the newly-formed Republic of Honduras.

Independence from Spain was granted in 1821. Honduras briefly became part of independent Mexico, but then joined the Central American Federation. Conflict between conservatives and liberals led to a break from the union, and Honduras declared independence as a separate nation in 1838. Since then, power has alternated between two political factions and a succession of military regimes. There have been hundreds of coups, rebellions, electoral 'irregularities' and Machiavellian manipulations since independence. The most infamous was the incursion by North American filibuster William Walker in the 1850s. His ill-fated attempt to take over Central America ended in defeat - and his execution - in Trujillo.

Modern History

Around the end of the 19th century, land on Honduras' fertile north coast was purchased by US fruit companies to ship bananas back home. Three US companies (Standard Fruit, Cuyamel Fruit and United Fruit) eventually owned 75% of all Honduran banana groves. Bananas accounted for 66% of all Honduran exports in 1913, making the companies extremely powerful players in Honduran politics. Each allied themself with a domestic political faction - the ensuing rivalries shaped Honduran politics in the first half of the 20th century.

In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador had a brief war. The now-famous Soccer War, which started during a World Cup qualifying soccer match between the two countries, was sparked by the alleged mistreatment of Salvadoran immigrants in Honduras. It lasted only 100 hours but soured relations between the neighbors for decades.

During the 1980s, Honduras was surrounded by turmoil in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. When the Sandinistas overthrew the Nicaraguan dictator, the country became a haven for the Contras. Strong US influence, aid and military assistance maintained stability in Honduras throughout this period, as the US tried to destabilize Nicaragua. The US also trained El Salvadoran military at El Salvadoran refugee camps inside Honduras. When all this became public, the people were outraged. The government refused to sign a new military agreement with the US and told the Contras to leave Honduras.

In November 1998, Honduras was devastated by Hurricane Mitch. The three days of rain that followed caused landslides and floods that killed thousands and destroyed virtually every bridge in the country. When the Río Choluteca flooded, it devastated Tegucigalpa, sweeping whole shantytowns downriver and leaving behind an ocean of mud. By 2000, much of Mitch's mess was cleaned up, but the environmental practices that exacerbated the flooding, such as clearcutting, monoculture farming and rapid urban expansion, continued.

Recent History

In 2001, conservative Ricardo Maduro was elected president with promises to reduce crime - especially gang violence - and promote tourism. His anti-gang measures, known as Mano Dura (Hard Hand) succeeded in reducing gang killings, but were widely criticized by human rights organizations for going too far: they extended police powers to enter homes, and overlooked police and prison abuse.

In 2005, Manuel 'Mel' Zelaya of the opposition Liberal Party was elected president; he has promised to continue many of Maduro's anti-gang measures (which remain popular) and to create more jobs. Zelaya is overseeing Honduras' implementation of the Central America and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which is designed to loosen trade barriers between the US and participating countries. Critics say the program will hurt small business and farmers, but the promise of more maquilas (apparel manufacturing plants) like those north of San Pedro Sula - which employ more than 100,000 Hondurans - overshadow such concerns.

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