Honduras - hŏndoorˈəs, –dyoorˈ–; Span., ōndooˈräs, officially Republic of Honduras, republic (1996 est. pop. 5,608,300), 43,277 sq mi (112,088 sq km), Central America. Second largest of the Central American countries, Honduras is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east and south by Nicaragua, on the southwest by El Salvador and the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by Guatemala.
Tegucigalpa is the capital and chief commercial center.
Land and People Over 80% of the land is mountainous; ranges extend from east to west at altitudes of 5,000 to 9,000 ft (1,520–2,740 m) and limit heavy rainfall to the north. In the east are the swamps and forests of the
Mosquito Coast. Two river systems, the Patuca and the Ulúa, drain most of the north. The country's short stretch of southern coast on the Gulf of Fonseca, with
San Lorenzo and the port of Henecán, is the sole Pacific outlet. Honduras has a tropical, rainy climate. The people, of whom about 90% are mestizo, are Spanish-speaking (indigenous dialects are also spoken) and nearly all Roman Catholic. Economy and Government Honduras is one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere and remains dependent on U.S. aid. The economy is based on agriculture; bananas and coffee are the most important exports. The vast banana plantations, established by U.S. companies, are mainly along the northern coast; the United Fruit Company and the Standard Fruit Company, fiercely resented by many as exploitive monopolies, have had much social and political influence in Honduras. Timber, minerals (silver, lead, zinc), beef, and seafood are also exported. Other important food crops include corn, beans, rice, and sugarcane. Honduras has rich forest resources and deposits of silver, lead, zinc, iron, gold, cadmium, antimony, and copper, but exploitation is hampered by inadequate road and rail systems, and the country remains underdeveloped. Its only railroads link the banana plantations in the north to
San Pedro Sula and the principal ports, La
Ceiba, Puerto Cortés, and Tela; they do not penetrate more than 75 mi (121 km) inland. Air transportation, however, has opened up remote areas. Industry, concentrated chiefly in San Pedro Sula, is small and consumer-oriented, including the production of processed food (mainly sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, lumber, and wood products. The country's economy was severely disrupted by a hurricane in 1998. Honduras is governed under the constitution of 1982. A president, popularly elected for a four-year term, heads the executive branch. The unicameral legislature has 128 members, also elected for four years. The country is divided into 18 administrative departments. History The restored Mayan ruins of
Copán in the west, first discovered by the Spaniards in 1576 and rediscovered in dense jungle in 1839, reflect the great Mayan culture that arose in the 4th cent. It had declined when Columbus sighted the region in 1502, naming it Honduras (meaning "depths") for the deep water off the coast. Hernán
Cortés arrived in 1524 and ordered Pedro de
Alvarado to found settlements along the coast. Comayagua and Tegucigalpa developed as early mining centers. In a war (1537–38) between Spain and the indigenous population, Spain crushed the resistance after the death of the native leader, Lempira. In 1821, Honduras gained independence from Spain and became part of Iturbide's Mexican Empire; from 1825 to 1838 it was a member of the
Central American Federation. Thereafter, conservative and liberal factions fought bloody wars to control the republic, and Honduras was subjected to frequent interference from its Central American neighbors. Great Britain long controlled the Mosquito Coast and the Islas de la Bahía; William
Walker attempted a "liberation" in 1860. Although Honduras often sought to reestablish Central American unity, the attempts were frustrated by political and personal animosities. Foreign capital, plantation life, and conservative politics constituted a trio of dominant forces that held sway in Honduras from the late 19th cent. to the end of the regime (1933–48) of Tiburcio
Carías Andino, when the liberal movement was reawakened. The rights of workers were not effectively defined and protected until a labor code was adopted in 1955 and a new constitution was promulgated in 1957. That year Ramón Villeda Morales became the first liberal president in 25 years. Shortly before the scheduled presidential election in 1963, Villeda was overthrown and replaced by a military junta under Osvaldo López Arellano. The illegal immigration of several hundred thousand Salvadorans across the ill-defined El Salvador–Honduras border and the expulsion of many of the immigrants by Honduras led to a war with El Salvador in July, 1969. Although the war lasted only five days, its effects were serious, including the country's withdrawal from and the subsequent collapse of the Central American Common Market as well as continued border incidents. In 1971 Ramón Ernesto Cruz was elected to succeed Lopez, only to be ousted by Lopez the following year. In late 1974 the Caribbean coast of Honduras was devastated by a hurricane. In 1975, Lopez was himself the victim of a coup after accepting $1.25 million in bribes from the United Brands company. His successor was in turn ousted in 1978 in a military coup led by Gen. Policarpo Paz Garcia. As political unrest in the surrounding areas increased in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the United States pressured the Honduran government to hold democratic elections, and in 1982 a new constitution that called for free elections was promulgated and Dr. Robert Suazu Córdova became president. During the 1980s Honduras served as a base for insurgent activity against the government of Nicaragua by rebels known as Contras. The country's economy became heavily dependent on aid from the United States, which supported the rebel bases. In 1985 Jose Siméon Azcona del Hoyo was elected president in a disputed election. By 1988 popular discontent with the Contra presence resulted in massive demonstrations and the declaration of a state of emergency. In 1989, Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero was elected to the presidency and in 1990 the Contra war ended. In the 1990s Honduras benefited from regional peace and cooperation as it worked to establish economic viability independent of the United States. In 1992 an agreement was signed with El Salvador, settling the border controversy between the two countries. Carlos Roberto Reina, of the Liberal party, was elected president in 1993; he was succeeded in 1997 by Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé, also a Liberal. Late in 1998 the country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch, which left 5,600 people dead and thousands missing; much of the country's crops and livestock were destroyed. In 2001, Ricardo Maduro Joest, of the National Party, won the presidency. Bibliography See D. Z. Stone, The Archaeology of Central and Southern Honduras (1957); R. S. Chamberlain, The Conquest and Colonization of Honduras, 1502–1550 (1966); T. E. Wright, Into the Maya World (1969); J. D. Rudolph, ed., Honduras, A Country Study (1984); R. Lapper and J. Painter, Honduras, State for Sale (1985); A. Acker, Honduras: The Making of a Banana Republic (1988). The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved. | 
