Afro-Honduran are Hondurans of African descent. They are estimated to be a population of 150,000, or 2% of the country.
The percentage of the population might be higher. Some Afro-Honduran might be classed as mestizo.The National Assembly of Afro-Honduran Organizations and Communities put the population at 10%.

Afro-descendant in Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

 come in three flavors. Those brought during colonial times and mixed with Indians

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 and Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

, the Garifuna

Garifuna

The Garinagu are descendants of Carib, Arawak and West African people. The British colonial administration used the term Black Carib and Garinagu to distinguish them from Yellow and Red Carib, the Amerindian population that did not intermarry with Africans...

, and the Bay Islands Creole

Bay Islands Creole

Bay Islands Creole is a linguistic entity of Honduras. It mainly is spoken on the Islas de la Bahia .At ISO 639-2 it is counted among the linguistic entities bearing the code cpe....

s.

Colonial Origins

The first African slaves were brought into Honduras in 1540, to replace the dwindling indian labor population. They were mainly used in silver mines. By the 1600s most had run-away and cohabited with the native population, poor Spanish, and freed black population.

Garifuna

In 1797, 5,000 Garifuna from the island of St. Vincent

Saint Vincent (island)

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...

 were shipped by the British to the Honduran island of Roatan

Roatán

Roatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands. The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan...

. Garifuna eventually migrated to the mainland, where they allied themselves with Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. During the war of independence, Garifunas fought on the side of Spain. Come independence they were marginalized.

Bay Island Creoles

During the 1840s, English speaking Afro-Caribbeans moved on Bay Island. In 1860, the island was transferred to Honduras.They remained isolated from mainland Honduras, still speaking the English language. Their culture was more oriented to Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

and agriculture. Around the 1920s, the creoles started looking off island for work. Because they spoke English, they were able to secure good paying jobs on plantation and on ships. In the 1960s, attempt was made to Hispanize the Bay Creoles, by prohibiting the use of English in the Honduran society. This was met with limited success. By the 90s, large influx of mestizos entered Bay Island becoming 60% of the island population. This has spurred creoles to preserve their culture.

Modern Status

Garifunas have been able to secure their rights as a distinct ethnic group, but the Creoles have been lagging. Garifunas and Bay Island Creoles have often worked together to achieve rights for people of African descent. In the 1970s, they formed a coalition called La Organización Fraternal Negro Hondureño (OFRANEH) (Fraternal Black Honduran Organization), which is still and active organization.