There is evidence of Maya settlement since at least 1000 BC at Copán in western Honduras, but like other Maya city-states this was abandoned around 900 AD. Columbus arrived on the American mainland for the first time at Trujillo in northern Honduras in 1502 and named the country after the deep water off the Caribbean coast (Honduras means depths). The Spanish settled in Trujillo in 1525 and colonized the more temperate highlands. They established a capital at Comayagua in central Honduras, which remained the political and spiritual center for 350 years, until Tegucigalpa replaced it as the capital in 1880.
Gold and silver were discovered near Tegucigalpa in 1570, attracting both British and Dutch pirates to the Trujillo area. The city was sacked in 1643 by Dutch pirates and not resettled by the Spanish until 1787. While Spain concentrated on the interior of the country, the British brought Black slaves from Jamaica and other West Indian islands to harvest the stands of mahogany along the coast.
Independence from Spain was granted in 1821. Honduras briefly became part of independent Mexico, but then joined the Central American Federation. Conflicts between conservatives and liberals led to a break from the union, and Honduras declared independence as a separate nation in 1838. Since then, power has alternated between two political factions and a succession of military regimes. |
History
