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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
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