Overview
The Republic of Honduras is located in Central America bordering Guatemala to the west, El Salvador to the southwest, and Nicaragua to the southeast. Honduras has two coastlines. Though the southern Pacific coastline is only 64 km, the northern coast on the Caribbean Sea is ten times longer and is home to many beautiful beaches including those of Tela (that gorgeous beach I wrote about in my earlier post). The coastal Mosquito region also contains the largest tract of natural forest in Honduras, the Rio Plátano Biosphere Reserve, designated a World Heritage Site in 1982. The popular tourist hot-spot, the island of Roatán just off the north coast, also belongs to Honduras.
Spanish is the official language for the nearly eight million Hondurans, though other indigenous languages exist as well. The capital, Tegucigalpa (Teguz for short), was founded in 1578 and alternated with Comayagua for various reasons as the capital city until 1880. Honduras is predominantly Roman Catholic (97%), with the remainder professing Protestant (3%), 90% are mestizo (Amerindian & European mix), 7% Amerindian, 2% black, and 1% white [The World Factbook, CIA]. There happens to be quite a bit of racial tension between mestizos (sometimes called ladinos) and the Amerindians (Mayans).
The flag of Honduras contains 3 solid horizontal bars and 5 stars. The two blue outer bands represent Honduras' borders with the Pacific and Atlantic oceans surrounding the country, represented by white for peace and prosperity. The 5 stars signify the five countries that previously made up the Federal Republic of Central America, which disbanded in 1838 into Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
History
Present-day Honduras was inhabited by the Mayan civilization for centuries, with few ruins remaining like those at Copán. In 1502, Christopher Columbus "discovered" the area and named it Honduras ("Depths"). Led by Hernán Cortés, the Spanish moved in to set up colonies in the area in 1524, claiming it as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (present-day Belize). Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821, then joined the Federal Republic of Central America for a decade before disbanding and once again becoming an independent nation - the Republic of Honduras.
The turn of the 20th century marked the beginning of a new era for Honduras as the original banana republic. The formation of the United Fruit Company (Chiquita), the Standard Fruit Company (Dole), and the Cuyamel Fruit Company created a drastic shift and turned Honduras from a democratic republic into a privatized business state (read: Banana Republic) that took every opportunity to bribe, corrupt, and coerce political officials to act in their favor, primarily to construct government-funded railroads along company supply chains to coastal port towns, and to give favorable tax breaks on exports. These companies laid a tragic economic fate to much of Central America, resulting in uprisings, invasions, political assassinations, CIA overthrows, and the like.
Note: Wal-Mart (WMT), the largest retailer in the world, sells more bananas than any other single item, and more than anyone else for that matter.
More recently, Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales held the Honduran Presidency from 2006 until 2009, having narrowly won the Presidential election in 2005. Through a controversy regarding Zelaya's proposed referendum to change the constitution, the situation evolved into a scandalous overthrow resulting in Zelaya's overthrow by the military and forced exile to nearby Costa Rica. The vice president had recently resigned from his position in order to run for the upcoming Presidential election. As a result the head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, assumed the interim role as President, though many countries refused to recognize his role deeming it an unconstitutional overthrow of the rightful president. The 2009 democratic election resulted in Porfirio 'Pepe' Lobo winning the Presidency. Lobo has been serving as President since his inauguration in January 2010.
Update: In May of 2011, Congress nullified the charges against Mel Zelaya clearing the way for his legal return to Honduras. President Pepe Lobo met with Mel in Cartagena, Colombia to sign an agreement for his return. On May 28th, Mel Zelaya legally returned to Honduras for the first time since June 28, 2009. His return has now allowed the OAS (Organization of American States) to reconsider Honduras' reentry and again become eligible for foreign aid money - something desperately needed.
Update: In May of 2011, Congress nullified the charges against Mel Zelaya clearing the way for his legal return to Honduras. President Pepe Lobo met with Mel in Cartagena, Colombia to sign an agreement for his return. On May 28th, Mel Zelaya legally returned to Honduras for the first time since June 28, 2009. His return has now allowed the OAS (Organization of American States) to reconsider Honduras' reentry and again become eligible for foreign aid money - something desperately needed.
Read more on the scandal and subsequent Embassy cable leaks regarding Honduras.
For lots of more interesting information on Honduras, see the Moon Travel Guides website.
For lots of more interesting information on Honduras, see the Moon Travel Guides website.
