Honduras is a country in Central America bordering Guatemala to the north, El Salvador to the southwest, Nicaragua to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Honduran Gulf and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
According to Areacodesexplorer, Honduras is the second largest country, after Nicaragua, and the second poorest country in Central America. The country is divided into 18 departments and the capital is Tegucigalpa.
Most people in Honduras live in the highlands and are Roman Catholic. Family life is considered very important. Many people in the country are poor and almost half are unable to read or write.
One third of Honduras’ economy comes from agriculture, with coffee being the largest export. Bananas also contribute a significant percentage of the money brought into the country.
The Maya civilization reached present-day Honduras around the year 500 and dominated the area for the next 300 years, after which the various local ethnic groups found their places.
In Honduras, crime is extremely widespread. The murder rate is one of the highest in the world. In 2013, the murder rate was 84 per. 100,000, for comparison, Denmark’s murder rate was less than 1 per. 100,000. This is partly due to the war between different gangs. 30% of all murders in the country are due to gang crime.
TIMELINE:
1502 – On Columbus ‘ fourth voyage, he reaches the coast of Honduras, and travels further south toward Panama.
1525 – Spain began the conquest of Honduras. The conquest takes place in 1539, after bitter battles with the indigenous people and rivals representing Spanish centers of power in Mexico, Panama and Hispaniola.
18th century – The northern coast of Honduras fell to British pirates.
1806 – The Spanish king establishes the border between Honduras and Nicaragua.
1821 – As part of Spain’s great empire in the New World, Honduras becomes a state in the United States of Central America.
1840 – The leader of the MFP, Francisco Morazan, is defeated in an attack led by Rafael Carrera during the Civil War; The country became a fully independent republic upon the dissolution of the Union. Morazan was executed on September 15, 1842 in San José, Costa Rica.
1860 – Free Trade William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, is convicted and executed by the Honduran government on September 12 in Trujillo. His grave is a local tourist attraction at the old cemetery in the city.
1907 – Due to political violence, US Marines are sent to Honduras to protect American lives. Miguel Devila became the country’s next president.
1911 – US helps overthrow President Miguel Devila. He died on October 11, 1927.
1919 – US Marines again invade Honduras. They left the country again in 1922.
1924 – US troops sent to Honduras to protect US interests during election conflict; the capital, Tegucigalpa, taken by rebel forces.
1932-1949 – Honduras is under the dictatorship of the right-wing National Party, led by General Tiburcio Carias Andino. He died on December 23, 1969.
1957 – The Honduran military ousts the generally unpopular self-proclaimed president, Julio Lozano Diaz, who is in poor health. Diaz died on August 20, 1957.
1963-1971 – Colonel Osvaldo Lopez Arellano takes power for the first time after a coup. The second time was from 1972-1975. Both times with military aid.
1969 – A short but costly war breaks out with El Salvador over massive immigration and border conflict.
1974 – Hurricane ” Fifi ” (later “Orlene”) hits Honduras, killing between 3,000 and 10,000 people on 17-23. September. In just 24 hours, 182 towns and villages were completely destroyed. According to the Red Cross, between 800 and 1,200 people died within 12 hours of Fifi landing in Honduras.
1975 – Lopez resigns after receiving a $ 1.25 million bribe from a United Brands Company. This scandal in the country is called “ Bananagate ”
Colonel Juan Alberto Melgar Castro took power. He was removed during a military junta coup by General Policarpo Paz Garcia on August 7, 1978.
1980 – General Paz signs peace agreement with El Salvador.
1981 – Roberto Suazo Cordova becomes president. He led the first civilian government in more than a century ago.
1982 – Honduras turns out to be a haven for US-backed anti- Sandinista counter-fighters fighting the Nicaraguan government, as well as allies with El Salvador’s government forces fighting left-wing guerrillas.
Guatemalan President Rios Montt met on December 4 with US President Ronald Reagan in San Pedro Sula. Reagan rejected reports of human rights abuses in the area, lifting the arms embargo to resume sales to military rulers. Read Reagan’s comment on the meeting here.
1982-1983 – General Alvarez responds to growing political unrest by ordering the detention of trade union activists and left-wing sympathizers. Death patrols are reportedly used to remove subversive elements.
1984 – General Alvarez is ousted amid anti-American demonstrations in Tegucigalpa.
U.S. training camps for Salvadoran counter-revolutionaries are closing down, but cooperation with the U.S. government continues in return for extensive financial support.
1986 – President Ronald Reagan orders emergency aid to the Honduran army.
1988 – Amnesty International reports an alleged increase in human rights violations by armed forces and right-wing death squads. The United States sent 3,000 troops to Honduras ; The Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Honduran government guilty of the disappearances of Honduran citizens between 1981-1984.
1989 – General Alvarez is assassinated on January 25 by left-wing guerrillas.
