INTERNSHIPS
History of Honduras
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Honduras, like the rest of Central America, grew out of the Spanish conquest of the indigenous people. A division into five major periods makes understanding the history a little easier.
Pre-Columbian: Mayan civilization, one of the Western Hemisphere's greatest and most advanced civilizations, reached the region that is now western Honduras around the fifth century AD. The Mayas remained in control for the next 300 years after which several different ethnic groups, including the Lencas, the Cholutecas, the Paya, the Jicaques, the Miskitos (or Mosquitos), and the Sumos, moved into the area from Mexico and Colombia. Near Copan and throughout the northwest section of Honduras you can still find ruins of the great Mayan civilization, which fell centuries before the arrival of the Spanish in 1502. The descendants of the Maya have survived in great numbers to this day.
Spanish Conquest: The arrival of Columbus brought much contact with Europeans, and Honduras became the destination of many conquistador expeditions. The country became the object of much dispute between the Spanish of Panama and the Spanish of Mexico, due to the natural wealth of gold and silver in Honduras. The conquistadors brutalized and enslaved the Indians, as well as imported large numbers of slaves from Africa, forcing them to till the soil or work in the mines. The last resistance against the Spanish Conquistadors came from an Indian chief named Lempira, who was killed while attending a peace conference with the Spaniards. Chief Lempira is honored to this day as the national currency of Honduras.
Colonial Period: In 1539, Honduras came under the rule of the Spanish in Guatemala. The territory was divided into the provinces of Tegucigalpa and Comayagua. Many Indians died from exhaustion as forced laborers in the mines around Tegucigalpa. The Spanish brought in slaves from Africa to increase the labor supply. Because of the interest in the gold and silver deposits, colonial development was minimal and by the end of the 16th century, deposits were exhausted. Pirates, who specialized in plundering the merchant ships bound for Spain with the riches of Honduras on board, often sunk the ships and destroyed the small Spanish settlements. Eager to get their share, Great Britain gained control over what is now Belize and the Bay Islands. Through the intervention of the United States, Honduras has only recently been able to reclaim the Bay Islands of Roatan, Guanaja, and Utila.
Independence: As Spanish power disintegrated in the wake of the Napoleonic wars, the Central American territories were in disagreement as to whether to join Mexico or establish their own federation of states. The countries declared their independence together. Honduras was totally unprepared for self-government and for the next 70 years, political conflict prevailed, which eased the process whereby the USA came to dominate the whole central American region. Because of ongoing political conflict, as well as war against El Salvador and Guatemala, the economic development of Honduras suffered greatly. However, in the 1870's, the first institute of higher learning, the National Autonomous University of Honduras, was founded, the railroad from Puerto Cortes to San Pedro Sula was built, and the capital was moved to Tegucigalpa, ending a long rivalry with Comayagua.
Twentieth Century: Honduras entered the 20th century as the poorest and least developed country in Central America. It retains this position today. Something which Honduran leaders were not prepared to tackle was the question of land reform, an issue that was the basis of much Honduran politics. From the late 1950s onwards, weak civilian governments prompted the army to assume a greater role, launching several coups in the process. Leaders such as Ramon Villeda Morales began the task of modernizing the country. When he took office as president in 1958, two-thirds of Honduran adults were illiterate, fewer than half the children enrolled in first grade made it to the second, and fewer than one in three wore shoes. Under Villeda the first main highway was built, the Social Security Institute was founded, and the National Agrarian Institute was set up to redistribute the land. Such reforms made Villeda unpopular and he was succeeded by military rulers for the next 18 years.During the 1980s, Honduras was the main base for the U.S.-backed ëContraí rebels fighting the Sandanista government in Nicaragua. Honduras remained the headquarters of American CIA activity while surrounding countries were at war. When the wars resolved, the U.S. government dumped millions of dollars for reconstruction into Central America, but Honduras, which was not at war, received no U.S. money. For this reason, the infrastructure of Honduras has remained inferior to its neighboring countries.
The devastation of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 is another major reason that Honduras continues to struggle economically. Hurricane Mitch grew to become the Atlantic basin's fourth strongest hurricane ever with sustained winds of 180 mph. On October 26, Mitch stalled off the coast of Honduras until the evening of Oct. 29 before moving slowly inland. As the storm's winds weakened it continued dumping heavy rain on Central America, causing floods and mudslides that resulted in 5,273 Hondurans dead; 11,085 missing; 1,932,482 injured; and 427,138 in shelters. Thirty-three bridges were destroyed; 75 were damaged, along with countless roads and most of the countryís crops, which consist of large plantations of banana, coffee, rice, fruits and cereals. Many towns were completely swept away.
President Carlos Flores declared a state of emergency over the entire territory on October 30th and later announced that at least 70% of the country's crops had been destroyed. The government estimated that it would need $2 billion to meet total reconstruction costs.
"Honduras is mortally wounded, but not about to expire. We will get back on our feet...May the Lord illuminate us and give us all strength. We are making an urgent and anguished appeal to the international community, to all countries, to international financial organizations and to aid organizations so that they heed this SOS. Our capacity for suffering and pain was never before put to such a hard test."
President Carlos Flores, Appeal for International Aid
