n.[7] Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market. Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Pre-colonial period 2.2 Conquest period 2.3 Colonial period 2.4 Independence and the nineteenth century 2.5 International influence in the 20th century 2.6 21st century 3 Presidents of Honduras 4 Contemporary politics 4.1 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis 4.1.1 Referendum 4.1.2 The 2009 election 5 Departments and municipalities 6 Geography 6.1 Ecology 7 Economy 8 Social conditions 9 Demographics 9.1 Religion 9.2 Health 10 Culture 10.1 Celebrations 11 Education 12 Infrastructure 12.1 Energy 12.2 Water supply and sanitation 12.3 Transport 13 National symbols 14 Folklore 15 Sports 16 See also 17 Notes 18 References 19 External links Etymology 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.[8] However, William Davidson notes that there is no form of this quotation in the primary documents of Columbus's voyage, and that it in fact comes from accounts over a century later.[9][10] Honduras from fondura, a Leonese language word meaning anchorage which is one of the first words for the region to appear on a map in the second decade of the 16th century applied to the bay of Trujillo. It was not until the end of the 16th century that Honduras was used for the whole province. Prior to 1580, Honduras referred to the eastern part of the province, and Higueras referred to the western part.[10] Another early name is Guaymuras, revived as the name for the political dialogue in 2009 that took place in Honduras as opposed to Costa Rica. History Main article: History of Honduras Mayan Stelae, an emblematic symbol of the Honduran Mayan civilization at Copan. Pre-colonial period In pre-Columbian times, modern Honduras was part of the Mesoamerican cultural area. In the west, the Maya civilization flourished for hundreds of years. The dominant state within Honduras's borders was that based in Copán. Copán fell with the other Lowland centres during the conflagrations of the Terminal Classic, the early 9th century. The Maya of this civilization survive in western Honduras as the Ch'orti', isolated from their Choltian linguistic peers to the west. Remains of other Pre-Columbian cultures are found throughout the country. Archaeologists have studied sites such as Naco and La Sierra in the Naco Valley, Los Naranjos on Lake Yojoa, Yarumela in the Comayagua Valley, La Ceiba and Salitron Viejo (both now under the Cajon Dam reservoir), Selin Farm and Cuyamel in the Aguan valley, Cerro Palenque, Travesia, Curruste, Ticamaya, Despoloncal in the lower Ulua river valley, and many others. Conquest period On his fourth and the final voyage to the New World in 1502, Christopher Columbus became the first European to visit the Bay Islands on the coast of Honduras.[11] Columbus landed near the modern town of Trujillo, in the vicinity of the Guaimoreto Lagoon. In 1524 the Spanish arrived on Honduras led by Hernan Cortes, bringing forces down from Mexico. Much of the conquest was done in the following two decades, first by groups loyal to Cristóbal de Olid, and then by those loyal of Francisco Montejo but most particularly by those following Alvarado. In addition to Spanish resources, the conquerors relied heavily armed forces from Mexico—Tlaxcalans and Mexica armies of thousands who lived on in the region as garrisons. Resistance to conquest was led in particularly by Lempira,and many regions in the north never fell to the Spanish, notably the Miskito Kingdom. After the Spanish conquest, 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 the region for approximately three centuries. Colonial period Honduras was organized as a province of the "Kingdom of Guatemala" and the capital was fixed, first at Trujillo on the Atlantic coast, and later at Comayagua, and finally at Tegucigalpa in the central part of the country. Silver mining was a key factor in the Spanish conquest and settlement of Honduras.[12] Initially the mines were worked by local people through the encomienda system, but as disease and resistance made this less available, slaves from other parts of Central America were brought in, and following the end of the local slave trading period at the end of the sixteenth century, African slaves, mostly from Angola were obtained.[13] After about 1650, very few slaves or other outside workers arrived in Honduras. Although the Spanish conquered the southern or Pacific portion of Honduras fairly quickly they were less successful in the northern or Atlantic side. They managed to found a few towns along the coast, at Puerto Caballos and Trujillo in particular, but failed to conquer the eastern portion of the region and many pockets of independent indigenous people as well. The Miskito Kingdom, located in the northeast was particularly effective in resisting conquest. The Miskitos, in turn found support from northern European privateers, pirates and especially the English colony of Jamaica, which placed much of it under their protection after 1740. Fortaleza de San Fernando de Omoa was built by the Spanish to protect the coast of Honduras from English pirates. Independence and the nineteenth century Honduras became independent from Spain in 1821 and was for a time under the Mexican Empire. After 1838 it was an independent republic and held regular elections. Comayagua was the capital of Honduras until 1880, when it was transferred to Tegucigalpa. In the decades of 1840 and 1850 Honduras participated in several failed attempts to restore Central American unity, such as the Confederation of Central America (1842–1845), the covenant of Guatemala (1842), the Diet of Sonsonate ( 1846), the Diet of Nacaome (1847) and National Representation in Central America (1849–1852). Although Honduras eventually adopted the name Republic of Honduras, the unionist ideal never waned, and Honduras was one of the Central American countries that pushed hardest for the policy of regional unity. Since independence, nearly 300 small internal rebellions and civil wars have occurred in the country, including some changes of government. Liberal policies favoring international trade and investment began in the 1870s, and soon foreign interests became involved first in shipping, especially tropical fruit (most notably bananas) from the north coast, and then in railway building. In 1888, a projected railroad line from the Caribbean coast to the capital, Tegucigalpa, ran out of money when it reached San Pedro Sula, resulting in its growth into the nation's main industrial center and second largest city. International influence in the 20th century In the late nineteenth century United States-based infrastructure and fruit growing companies were granted substantial land and exemptions to develop the northern regions. As a result, thousands of workers came to the north coast to work in the banana plantations and the other industries that grew up around the export industry. The banana exporting companies, dominated by Cuyamel Fruit Company (until 1930), United Fruit Company, and Standard Fruit Company, built an enclave economy in northern Honduras, controlling infrastructure and creating self-sufficient, tax exempt sectors that contributed relatively little to economic growth. In addition to drawing many Central American workers to the north, the fruit companies also encouraged immigration of workers from the English-speaking Caribbean, notably Jamaica and Belize, who introduced an African descended, English speaking and largely Protestant population into the country, though many left after changes in the immigration law in 1939.[14] Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Honduras joined the Allied Nations on 8 December 1941. Along with twenty-five other governments, Honduras signed the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942. Constitutional crises in the 1940s led to reforms in the 1950s, and as a result of one such reform, workers were given permission to organize, which led to a general strike in 1954 that paralyzed the northern part of the country for more than two months, but which led to more general reforms. In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought what would become known as the Football War.[15] 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 14 March 1969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack on the Honduras army. The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire, which took effect on 20 July and brought about a withdrawal of Salvadoran troops in early August.[15] Contributing factors to the conflict were a boundary dispute and the presence of thousands of Salvadorans living in Honduras illegally. After the week-long football war, as many as 130,000 Salvadoran immigrants were expelled.[16] El Salvador had agreed on a truce to settle the boundary issue, but Honduras later paid war damage costs for expelled refugees.[15] Hurricane Fifi caused severe damage while skimming the northern coast of Honduras on 18 and 19 September 1974. Melgar Castro (1975–78) and Paz Garcia (1978–82) largely built the current physical infrastructure and telecommunications system of Honduras.[17] In 1979, the country returned to civilian rule. A constituent assembly was popularly elected in April 1980 and general elections were held in November 1981. A new constitution was approved in 1982 and the PLH government of Roberto Suazo assumed power. Roberto Suazo won the elections with a promise to carry out an ambitious program of economic and social development in Honduras in order to tackle the country's recession. President Roberto Suazo Cordoba launched ambitious social and economic development projects, sponsored by American development aid. Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps mission in the world, and nongovernmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated.[17] During the early 1980s, the United States established a continuing military presence in Honduras with the purpose of supporting the Contra guerillas fighting the Nicaraguan government and also developed an air strip and a modern port in Honduras. Though spared the bloody civil wars wracking its neighbors, the Honduran army quietly waged a campaign against Marxist-Leninist militias such as Cinchoneros Popular Liberation Movement, notorious for kidnappings and bombings,[18] and many non-militants. The operation included a CIA-backed campaign of extrajudicial killings by government-backed units, most notably Battalion 316.[19] Beach at Roatán. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused such massive and widespread destruction 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 – for a total loss estimated at $3 billion USD.[20] 21st century The 2008 Honduran floods were severe and around half the country's roads were damaged or destroyed as a result.[21] In 2009, a constitutional crisis[22][23] culminated in a transfer of power from the president to the head of Congress.[24] Countries all over the world, the OAS, and the UN formally and unanimously condemned the action as a coup d'état[22] and refused to recognize the de facto[25] government, though a document submitted to the United States Congress declared the ouster to be legal according to the opinion of the lawyers consulted by the Library of Congress.[26] In any event the Honduran Supreme Court also ruled the proceedings to be legal. Presidents of Honduras Main article: List of Presidents of Honduras Honduras has had many leaders from several parties since gaining its independence from Spain and from Mexico; nineteen have served as president during the period when Honduras was a part of the Federal Republic of Central America. Sixty-seven men have served as president of the Republic of Honduras. The current Honduras president is President Porfirio Lobo. In addition there have been several joint governments. Contemporary politics This section requires expansion with: information on 2010 election of new president and 2011 government situation. Main article: Politics of Honduras Honduras has five registered political parties: National Party (Partido Nacional de Honduras: PNH); Liberal Party (Partido Liberal de Honduras: PLH); Social Democrats (Partido Innovación y Unidad-Social Demócrata: PINU-SD), Social Christians (Partido Demócrata-Cristiano de Honduras: DCH); and Democratic Unification (Partido Unificación Democrática: UD). PNH and PLH have ruled the country for decades. In the last years, Honduras has had six Liberal presidents: Roberto Suazo Córdova, José Azcona del Hoyo, Carlos Roberto Reina, Carlos Roberto Flores, Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, and three Nationalists: Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero, Ricardo Maduro and Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The elections have been full of controversies, including questions about whether Azcona was born in 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 Ramón Villeda Morales. This event started a string of Military Governments which held power almost uninterrupted until 1981 when Suazo Córdova (LPH) was elected president and Honduras changed from a military authoritarian regime. 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.[citation needed] Once in office, Callejas Romero gained a reputation for illicit enrichment, and has been the subject of several scandals and accusations.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] Government ministries are often incapable of carrying out their mandate due to budgetary constraints.[citation needed] 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 and economic being the other two), published in Honduras This Week on 31 July 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. President Maduro's administration "de-nationalized" 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.[27] The country's main newspapers are La Prensa, El Heraldo, La Tribuna and Diario Tiempo. The official newspaper is La Gaceta. A Presidential and General Election was held on 27 November 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 7 December. 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 27 January 2006. Zelaya precipitated a national crisis by trying to hold a non-binding national referendum to ask the Honduran people: "Do you agree that, during the general elections of November 2009 there should be a fourth ballot to decide whether to hold a Constituent National Assembly that will approve a new political constitution?"[28] This possible Assembly then might not or more likely might have proposed constitutional changes to term-limits – as the military and the Supreme Court deemed possible – and other more likely, unrelated and legal constitutional changes.[29] 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis Main article: 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis Demonstrators supporting Micheletti Manuel Zelaya in 2009 Roberto Micheletti The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis[30] resulted in an event the international community almost universally refers to as a coup d'état. The coup lasted from 28 June 2009 to 27 January 2010. President Manuel Zelaya attempted to hold a "non-binding referendum" on 28 June asking voters if the upcoming November elections should include an additional ballot box. The ballot box would ask if the Honduran people wished to form a Constitutional Assembly in the term of the newly elected president.[31] The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found a prior referendum based on the same issue unconstitutional and prohibited it.[32][33] Referendum Zelaya ignored the Supreme Court and decided to proceed on the referendum, basing his decision on the Law of Citizen Participation, passed in 2006. Zelaya dismissed the head of the military command, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, for disobeying an order to hold the poll, but the Supreme Court ordered his reinstatement. The Supreme Court then ordered the military (who as a non-civilian force had no jurisdiction over the matter) to detain Zelaya. The vote on the referendum was scheduled for 28 June 2009. In the early morning on that day, the army[34] arrested Zelaya at his home. Zelaya was held in a U.S. airbase outside Tegucigalpa[35] before being forcibly sent to San José, Costa Rica.[36] Zelaya attempted reentry into the country on several occasions. According to the constitution, it is illegal to expatriate any Honduran citizen.[37] Roberto Micheletti, the former President of the Honduran Congress and a member of the same party as Zelaya, was sworn in as President by the National Congress on the afternoon of Sunday 28 June[38] for a term that ended on 27 January 2010.[39] No country recognised the de facto government as legitimate; all members of the UN condemned the removal of Zelaya as a coup d'état. Some Republican Party members of the U.S. Congress voiced support at the time for the new government.[40][41] On 21 September 2009, Zelaya returned to Honduras and entered the Brazilian embassy. From its roof, he attempted to incite his supporters in a rebellion. The government disrupted utility services to the embassy and