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IPA: [hɑnˈduːrəs], in Spanish: República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize).^[1] The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.

Etymology

The Spanish used at least three different terms to refer to the area that became the Central American country of Honduras.

• Guaymuras - a name Columbus provided for a town near modern Trujillo. Las Casas subsequently generalized it to apply to the whole colony.
• Higueras - a reference to the gourds that come from the Jicaro tree, many of which were found floating in the waters off the northwest coast of Honduras.
• Honduras - literally "depths" in Spanish. Columbus is traditionally quoted as having written Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas Honduras (English: "Thank God we have come out of those depths") while along the northeastern coast of Honduras.

History

Archaeologists have demonstrated that Honduras had a rich, multi-ethnic prehistory. An important part of that prehistory was the Mayan presence around the city of Copán in western Honduras, near the Guatemalan border. Here a major Mayan city flourished during the classic period (150-900). It has many beautiful carved inscriptions and stelae. The ancient kingdom, named Xukpi, existed from the fifth century to the early ninth century, with antecedents going back to at least the second century. The Mayan civilization began a marked decline in the ninth century, but there is evidence of people still living in and around the city until at least 1200. By the time the Spanish came to Honduras, the once great city-state of Copán was overrun by the jungle, and the Lencas, not the Mayans, were the main Amerindian people living in western Honduras.

On his fourth and final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus reached the Bay Islands on the coast of Honduras.^[2] Landing near the modern town of Trujillo, in the vicinity of the Guaimoreto Lagoon. After the Spanish discovery, Honduras became part of Spain's vast empire in the New World within the Kingdom of Guatemala. Trujillo and Gracias were the first city-capitals. The Spanish ruled what would become Honduras for approximately three centuries. During this period a clock which had been built by the Moors in the twelfth Century was transferred to the Cathedral of Comayagua in 1636: it is now the oldest functioning clock in the Americas.

Honduras declared independence from Spain on September 151821, with the rest of the Central American provinces. In 1822 the Central American State was annexed to the newly declared Mexican Empire of Iturbide. The Iturbide Empire was overthrown in 1823 and Central America separated from it, forming the Federal Republic of Central America, which disintegrated in 1838. As a result the states of the republic became independent nations.

Silver mining was a key factor in the Spanish conquest and settlement of Honduras, but has been only a minor part of the national economy in recent years. The American-owned Rosario Mining Company was a major gold and silver producer, but shut down its large mine at San Juancito in 1954.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Honduras joined the Allied Nations on December 8, 1941. Less than a month later, on the first day of 1942, Honduras, along with twenty-five other governments, signed the Declaration by United Nations.

In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought what would become known as The Soccer War.^[3] There had been border tensions between the two countries after Oswaldo López Arellano, a former president of Honduras, blamed the deteriorating economy on the large number of immigrants from El Salvador. From that point on, the relationship between the two countries grew acrimonious and reached a low when El Salvador met Honduras for a three-round football elimination match as a preliminary to the World Cup. Tensions escalated, and on July 141969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire which took effect on July 20, and brought about a withdrawal of Salvadoran troops in early August.^[3]

Contributing factors in the conflict were a boundary dispute and the presence of thousands of Salvadorans living in Honduras illegally. After the week-long war football war in July 1969, many Salvadoran families and workers were expelled. El Salvador had agreed on a truce to settle the boundary issue, but Honduras later paid war damage costs for expelled refugees.^[3]

During the 1980s, the United States established a very large military presence in Honduras with the purpose of supporting the Iran-Contra Affair, anti-Sandinista Contras fighting the Nicaraguan government, and to support the El Salvador military fighting against the FMLN guerrillas. The U.S. built the airbase known as Palmerola, near Comayagua, with a 10,000 foot (0 m) runway so that C5-A cargo planes could land there, rather than at the public airport in San Pedro Sula. The U.S. also built a training base near Trujillo which primarily trained Contras and the Salvadoran military, and in conjunction with this, developed Puerto Castilla into a modern port. The United States built many airstrips near the Nicaraguan border to help move supplies to the Contra forces fighting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged a campaign against leftists which included extra judicial killings and forced disappearances of political opponents by government-backed death squads, most notably Battalion 316.^[4]

Hurricane Fifi caused severe damage while skimming the northern coast of Honduras on September 18 and 19, 1974.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused such massive and widespread loss that former Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores claimed that fifty years of progress in the country were reversed. Mitch obliterated about 70% of the crops and an estimated 70-80% of the transportation infrastructure, including nearly all bridges and secondary roads. Across the country, 33,000 houses were destroyed, an additional 50,000 damaged, some 5,000 people killed, 12,000 injured, and total loss estimated at $3 billion USD.^[5]

Politics

Main article: Politics of Honduras

A Presidential and General Election was held on November 27, 2005. Manuel Zelaya of the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras: PLH) won, with Porfirio Pepe Lobo of the National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras: PNH) coming in second. The PNH challenged the election results, and Lobo Sosa did not concede until December 7. Towards the end of December, the government finally released the total ballot count, giving Zelaya the official victory. Zelaya was inaugurated as Honduras' new president on January 27, 2006. His government has generally been considered fragile and he does not hold a majority in the National Congress. His first year in office has been dominated by trying to lessen the cost of procuring oil for the country. Honduras has five registered political parties: PNH, PLH, Social Democrats (Partido Innovación Nacional y Social Demócrata: PINU-SD), Social Christians (Partido Demócrata-Cristiano: DC), and Democrat Unification (Partido Unificación Democrática: UD). The PNH and PLH have ruled the country for decades. In the last years, Honduras has had five Liberal presidents: Roberto Suazo Córdova, José Azcona del Hoyo, Carlos Roberto Reina, Carlos Roberto Flores and Manuel Zelaya, and two Nationalists: Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero and Ricardo Maduro. The elections have been full of controversies, including questions about whether Azcona was born in Honduras or Spain, and whether Maduro should have been able to stand given he was born in Panama.

In 1963, a military coup was mounted against the democratically-elected president Villeda Morales and a military junta established which held power until 1981. In this year Suazo Córdova (LPH) was elected president and Honduras changed from a military authoritarian regime to an electoral democracy.

In 1986, there were five Liberal candidates and four Nationalists running for president. Because no one candidate obtained a clear majority, the so-called "Formula B" was invoked and Azcona del Hoyo became president. In 1990, Callejas won the election under the slogan "Llegó el momento del Cambio," (English "The time for change has arrived"), which was heavily criticized for resembling El Salvador's "ARENAs" political campaign. Once in office, Callejas Romero gained a reputation for illicit enrichment, and has been the subject of several scandals and accusations. It was during Flores Facusse's mandate that Hurricane Mitch hit the country and decades of economic growth were eradicated in less than a week.

Beginning in 2004, separate ballots were used for mayors, congress, and presidents; 2005 witnessed an increase in the number of registered candidates.

Although the Nationalist and Liberal parties are distinct entities with their own dedicated band of supporters, some have pointed out that their interests and policy measures throughout the twenty-five years of uninterrupted democracy have been very similar. They are often characterized as primarily serving the interests of their own members, who receive jobs when their party gains power and lose them again when the other party is elected. A common struggle for presidents is the imposition of candidates in key ministries by the unelected political leaders of their party. Both are seen as supportive of the elite that owns most of the wealth in the country, while neither extensively promotes socialist ideals. In many ways Honduras resembles a democratic version of an old socialist state, with price controls and nationalized electric and land-line telephone services.

The effect of the patronage appointments is tremendously felt in the incapacity of government departments to carry out their mandate. In an interview with Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle, Minister of Sports & Culture and one of three 'super ministers' responsible for coordinating the ministries related to public services (security & economic being the other 2), published in Honduras This Week on July 31, 2006, it was related that 94% of the department budget was spent on bureaucracy and only 6% went to support activities and organizations covered by the mandate. Wages within that ministry were identified as the largest budget consumer. Unfortunately, many hard working and intelligent government employees end up tarnished by the broad brush strokes of this form of corruption.

President Maduro's administration did "de-nationalize" the telecommunications sector in a move to promote the rapid diffusion of these services to the Honduran population. As of November 2005, there were around 10 private-sector telecommunications companies in the Honduran market, including two mobile phone companies. As of mid 2007 the issue of tele-communications continues to be very damaging to the current government.^[6]

Departments and municipalities

Honduras is divided into 18 departments. The capital city is Tegucigalpa Central District of the department of Francisco Morazán.

República de Honduras Republic of Honduras
Flag of Honduras Flag Coat of arms
Motto "Libre, Soberana e Independiente"  (Spanish) "Free, Sovereign and Independent"
Anthem Himno Nacional de Honduras
Capital (and largest city)		Tegucigalpa
Official languages		Spanish
Demonym		Honduran
Government		Democratic constitutional republic
-	President	Manuel Zelaya
Independence
-	from Spain	15 September 1821
-	from the UPCA	1838
Population
-	September 2007  estimate	7,483,763² (96th)
-	2000 census	6,975,204
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$21.74 billion  (107th)
-	Per capita	$3,009 (124th)
Gini? (2003)		53.8 (high)
HDI (2004)		0.683 (medium) (117th)
Currency		Lempira (HNL)
Time zone		CST (UTC-6)
Internet TLD		.hn
Calling code		+504
1	Although Honduras has no official motto, "NO PASARÁN" or "They shall not pass" became popular during the 1969 war with El Salvador. This is an allusion to the El Salvador's stated goal to reach the Honduran Caribbean coast during their offensive.

Atlántida Choluteca Colón Comayagua Copán Cortés El Paraíso Francisco Morazán Gracias a Dios

Intibucá Islas de la Bahía La Paz Lempira Ocotepeque Olancho Santa Bárbara Valle Yoro

División departamental de Honduras

National symbols

The flag of Honduras is composed of 3 equal horizontal stripes, with the upper and lower ones being blue and representing the Pacific ocean and Caribbean sea. The central stripe is white. It contains five blue stars representing the five states of the Central American Union. The middle star represents Honduras, located in the center of the Central American Union. The legislation designating this design for the flag of Honduras passed into law on January 18,1949.

The Coat of arms was established in 1825. It is one an equilateral triangle, at the base a volcano finds its base between two castles, over which we find a rainbow and the sun shining. The triangle placed on an area that supposes bathed by both seas. Around all of this an oval that it contains in golden lettering: "Republic of Honduras, Free, Sovereign and Independent.".

The National Anthem of Honduras is a result of a contest carried out in 1904 during the presidency of Manuel Bonilla. In the end, it was the poet Augusto C. Coello that ended up writing the anthem, with the participation of the German composer Carlos Hartling writing the music. The anthem was officially adopted on November 15, 1915, during the presidency of Alberto Membreño. The anthem is composed of a choir and seven strophes, which report historical events of the country. The National Flower of the Honduran is the Orchid Brassavola Digbyana, which replaced the Rose in 1969. The change of the National Flower was carried out during the administration of general Oswaldo López Arellano, thinking that the Orchid Brassavola Digbiana "is an indigenous plant of Honduras; having this flower exceptional characteristics of beauty, vigor and distinction", as the decree dictates it.

The National Tree of Honduras is the Pine of scientific name: Pinus hondurensis, which was approved on February 4, 1927 during the presidency of Miguel Paz Barahona. Also the use of the tree was regulated, "to avoid the unnecessary destructions caused by choppings or fires of forest." The National Mammal is the 'White Tailed Deer', which was adopted on June 28, 1993 for the government of Honduras, as measurement to avoid excessive depredation. The scientific name of the animal is: Odocoileus virginianus, one of two species of deer that live in Honduras. Its feeding is based on grasses, sheets, etc. The three biggest natural enemies of the White Tail are the puma, the jaguar and man.

The National Bird of Honduras is the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao), under a decree established in 1993. This bird, was much valued by the precolumbian civilizations of Honduras. The Guacamaya as it is called by Hondurans and others, belongs to the family of the Psittacidaeand his feeding consists in: nectar, roots, fruits etc. The bird lives from Bolivia up to Mexico where the bird makes use of various zones as its natural habitat. In Honduras the scarlet macaw, can be found particularly in the Mosquito Coast.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Honduras

See also: Rivers of Honduras