History of Honduras
Encyclopedia
Honduras
was already occupied by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Tol, the area east of Trujillo by the Pech(or Paya) and the Miskito and Sumo. These autonomous groups maintained commercial relationships with each other and with other populations as distant as Panama
and Mexico
.
n presence around the city of Copán
, in western Honduras which is near the Guatemalan border. Copan is a major Maya city that began flourishing around 150 A.D. bur reached its height in the Late Classic (700-850 A.D.). It has many carved inscriptions and stelae. The ancient kingdom, named Xukpi
, existed from the 5th century to the early 9th century, with antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century.
The Mayan civilization began a marked decline in their population during the 9th 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 surviving Ch’orti’
were isolated from their Choltian linguistic peers to the west. The non-Maya Lencas were then dominant in western Honduras.
landed on the mainland near modern Trujillo in 1502 and named the country Honduras ("Depths") for the deep waters off its coast.
In January 1524, Cortés directed captain Cristóbal de Olid
to establish a colony for him in Honduras. Olid sailed with a force of several ships and over 400 soldiers and colonists. He sailed first to Cuba, to pick up supplies Cortés had arranged for him, where Governor Velázquez convinced him to go and claim the colony he was to found as his own. Olid sailed from Cuba to the coast of Honduras, coming ashore east of Puerto Caballos
at Triunfo de la Cruz where he initially settled and declared himself governor.
Hernán Cortés, however, in 1524, got word of Olid's insurrection and sent his cousin, Francisco de las Casas
, along with several ships to Honduras to remove Olid and claim the area for Cortés. Las Casas, however, lost most of his fleet in a series of storms along the coast of Belize and Honduras. His ships limped into the bay at Triunfo, where Olid had established his headquarters.
When Las Casas arrived at Olid's headquarters, a large part of Olid's army was inland, dealing with another threat from a party of Spaniards under Gil González Dávila
. Nevertheless, Olid decided to launch an attack with two caravels. Las Casa returned fire and sent boarding parties which captured Olid's ships. Under the circumstances, Olid proposed a truce to which Las Casas agreed, and he did not land his forces. During the night, a fierce storm destroyed his fleet and about a third of his men were lost. The remainder were taken prisoner after two days of exposure and without food. After being forced to swear loyalty to Olid, they were released. However, Las Casas was kept a prisoner, soon to be joined by González, who had been captured by Olid's inland force.
The Spanish record two different stories about what happened next. Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas
writing in the 17th century, records that Olid's soldiers rose up and murdered him. Bernal Diaz del Castillo
, in his Verdadera Historia de la Conquista de Nueva España, recalls that Las Casas captured Olid and beheaded him at Naco.
In the meantime, Cortés had marched overland from Mexico to Honduras, arriving in 1525. Cortés ordered the founding of two cities, Nuestra Señora de la Navidad, near modern Puerto Cortés, and Trujillo, and named Francisco de las Casas Governor. However, both las Casas and Cortés sail back to Mexico before the end of 1525, where Francisco was arrested and sent back to Spain as a prisoner by Estrada and Alboronoz. Francisco returned to Mexico in 1527, and returned again to Spain with Cortés in 1528.
On April 25, 1526, before returning to Mexico Cortes appointed Hernando de Saavedra as governor of Honduras and left instructions to treat the indigenous people well. On October 26, 1526, Diego López de Salcedo, was appointed by the emperor as governor of Honduras
, replacing Saavedra. The next decade was marked by clashes between the personal ambitions of the rulers and conquerors, which hindered the installation of good government. The Spanish colonists rebelled against their leaders, and the indigenous people rebelled against their masters, and against the abuses their new masters imposed on them.
Salcedo, seeking to enrich himself, had serious clashes with Pedrarias, the Governor of Castilla del Oro, who for his part, wanted to Honduras as part of his domains. In 1528, Salcedo arrested Pedarias and forced him to cede part of his Honduran domain, but Emperor rejected the agreement. After the death of Salcedo in 1530, the settlers became arbiters of power. Governors hung and removed. In this situation, the settlers asked Pedro de Alvarado
to end the anarchy. With the arrival of Alvarado in 1536, chaos decreased, and the region was under authority.
In 1537, Francisco de Montejo
was appointed governor. He set aside the division of territory made by Alvarado upon arrival in Honduras. One of his principal captains, Alonso de Cáceres, was responsible for quelling the indigenous revolt, led by the cacique Lempira
in 1537 and 1538. In 1539 Alvarado and Montejo and had serious disagreements over who was governor, which caught the attention of the Council of India
. Montejo went to Chiapas
, and Alvarado became governor of Honduras
.
During the period leading up to the conquest of Honduras by Pedro de Alvarado
, many indigenous people along the north coast of Honduras were captured and taken as slaves to work on Spain's Caribbean plantations. It wasn't until Pedro de Alvarado defeated the indigenous resistance headed by Çocamba near Ticamaya, that the Spanish began to conquer the country in 1536. Alvarado divided the native towns and gave their labor to the Spanish conquistadors in repartimiento
. Further indigenous uprisings near Gracias a Dios, Comayagua, and Olancho occurred in 1537–38. The uprising near Gracias a Dios was led by Lempira, who is honored today by the name of the Honduran currency
.
as the regional capital of the Audiencia of Guatemala (1544). However, this decision created resentment in the populated areas of Guatemala
and El Salvador. In 1549, the capital was moved to Antigua, Guatemala, and Honduras and remained a province within the Captaincy General of Guatemala
until 1821.
as the center of colonial Honduras. The demand for labor also led to further revolts and accelerated the decimation of the native population. As a result, African slavery was introduced into Honduras, and by 1545 the province may have had as many as 2,000 slaves. Other gold deposits were found near San Pedro Sula
and the port of Trujillo.
Mining production began to decline in 1560, and thus the importance of Honduras. In early 1569, new silver discoveries briefly revived the economy, which led to the founding of Tegucigalpa
, which soon began to rival Comayagua as the most important city of the province. The silver boom peaked in 1584, and economic depression returned shortly thereafter. Honduras mining efforts were hampered by lack of capital, labor and the difficult terrain. Mercury, vital for the production of silver was scarce, besides the neglect of the officials.
. In the northeast side, the "province" of Taguzgalpa
resisted all attempts to conquer it, physically in the sixteenth century, and spiritually, by missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Among the groups found along northern coast and in neighboring Nicaragua
were the Miskito, who although organized in democratic and egalitarian way, had an institution of king, and hence were known as the Mosquito Kingdom
.
One of the major problems for the Spanish rulers of Honduras, was the activity of the British in northern Honduras, a region over which they had only tenuous control. These activities began in the sixteenth century and continued until the nineteenth century. In the early years, European pirates frequently attacked the villages on the Honduran Caribbean. The Providence Island Company, which occupied Providence Island not far from the coast, raided it occasionally and probably also had some settlements on the shore, possible around Cape Gracias a Dios. Around 1638, the king of the Miskito visited England and made an alliance with the English crown. In 1643 an English expedition destroyed the city of Trujillo, Honduras's main port.
, a mixed race group that by 1715 had become the leaders of the kingdom.
Meanwhile the English captured Jamaica in 1655 and soon were seeking allies on the coast, and hit upon the Miskito, whose king Jeremy visited Jamaica in 1687.
A variety of other Europeans made settlements in the area during this time. An account of 1699 reveals a patchwork of private individuals, large Miskito family groups, Spanish settlements and pirate hideouts along the coast. Britain declared much of the area a Protectorate in 1740, though they exercised little authority as a result of this decision. British colonization was particularly strong in the Bay Islands, and alliances between the British and Miskito as well as more local supporters made this an area the Spanish could not easily control and a haven for pirates.
. The new dynasty began a series of reforms throughout the empire (the Bourbon Reforms
), designed to make administration more efficient and profitable, and to facilitate the defense of the colonies. Among these reforms was a reduction in tax on precious metals and the cost of mercury
, which was a royal monopoly. In Honduras, these reforms contributed to the resurgence of the mining industry in the 1730s.
Under the Bourbons, the Spanish government made several efforts to regain control of the Caribbean coast. In 1752, the Spaniards built the fort of San Fernando de Omoa. In 1780, the Spanish returned to Trujillo, who started out as base of operations against British settlements to the east. During the decade of 1780, the Spanish regained control of the Bay Islands and took most of the British and their allies in the Black River area. They were not, however, able to exapand their control beyond Puerto Caballos and Trujillo, thanks to determined Miskito resistance. The Anglo-Spanish Convention of 1786, issued the final recognition of Spanish sovereignty over the Caribbean coast.
, a fact which lasted until the formation of the Federal Republic of Central America
in 1823.
Among the most important figures of the federal era include the first democratically elected president in Honduras, Dionisio de Herrera
, a lawyer, whose government, begun in 1824 established the first constitution.
Gen. Francisco Morazán
, Federal President 1830-1834 and 1835–1839, whose figure embodies the ideal American Unionist, Honduran José Cecilio del Valle, editor of the Declaration of Independence signed in Guatemala on September 15, 1821 and Foreign Minister of Mexico in 1823.
Soon, social and economic differences between Honduras and its regional neighbors exacerbated harsh partisan strife among Central American leaders and brought the collapse of the Federation from 1838 to 1839. General Francisco Morazán
, a Honduran national hero, led unsuccessful efforts to maintain the federation. Restoring Central American unity remained the officially stated chief aim of Honduran foreign policy until after World War I
.
Honduras broke away from the Central American Federation in October 1838 and became independent and sovereign state.
.
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.
In 1850, Honduras attempted to build, with foreign assistance, an Inter-Oceanic Railroad from Trujillo to Tegucigalpa and then on to the Pacific Coast. The project stalled due to difficulties in the work, corruption and other issues, and in 1888, 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. Since independence, nearly 300 small internal rebellions and civil wars have occurred in the country, including some changes of government.
to General Terencio Sierra
would mark the first time in decades that such a constitutional transition had taken place. By 1902, railroads had been constructed along the country's Caribbean coast to accommodate the growing banana industry. However, Sierra made efforts to perpetuate himself in office after refusing to step down after a new president was elected in 1902 and would be overthrown by Manuel Bonilla
in 1903. After toppling Sierra, Bonilla, a conservative, imprisoned ex-president Policarpo Bonilla, a liberal rival, for two years and made other attempts to suppress liberals throughout the country, as they were the only group in the country with an organized political party. The conservatives were divided into a host of personalist factions and lacked coherent leadership, but Bonilla made some efforts to reorganize the conservatives into a "national party." The present-day National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras—PNH) traces its origins to his administration.
Bonilla proved to be an even greater friend of the banana companies than Sierra had been. Under Bonilla's rule, companies gained exemptions from taxes and permission to construct wharves and roads, as well as permission to improve interior waterways and to obtain charters for new railroad construction. He would also successfully establish the border with Nicaragua
and resist an invasion from Guatemala
in 1906. After fending off Guatemalan military forces, Bonilla sought peace with the country and signed a friendship pact with both Guatemala and El Salvador.
Nicaragua's powerful President José Santos Zelaya
saw this friendship pact as an alliance to counter Nicaragua and began to undermine Bonilla. Zelaya now supported liberal Honduran exiles in Nicaragua in their efforts to topple Bonilla, who had established himself as a dictator. Supported by elements of the Nicaraguan army, the exiles invaded Honduras in February 1907. With the assistance of Salvadoran troops, Manuel Bonilla tried to resist, but in March his forces were decisively beaten in a battle notable for the introduction of machine guns into Central American civil strife. After toppling Bonilla, the exiles established a provisional junta, but this junta would not last.
The United States noticed: it was in US interests to contain Zelaya, protect the region of the new Panama Canal
, and defend the increasingly important banana trade. This Nicaragua-assisted invasion by Honduran exiles strongly displeased the United States government, which concluded that Zelaya wanted to dominate the entire Central American region, and the government dispatched marines to Puerto Cortes
to protect the banana trade; US naval units were also sent to Honduras and were able to successfully defend Bonilla's last defense position at Amapala
in the Gulfo de Fonseca. Through a peace settlement arranged by the US charge' d' affaires in Tegucigalpa
, Bonilla stepped down and the war with Nicaragua came to an end.
The settlement also provided for the installation of a compromise regime headed by General Miguel R. Davila
in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya, however, was not pleased by the settlement, as he strongly distrusted Davila. Zelaya afterwards made a secret arrangement with El Salvador to oust Davila from office. The plan failed to reach fruition, but alarmed the United States. Mexico and the U.S. then called the five Central American countries into diplomatic
talks at the Central American Peace Conference to increase stability in the area. At the conference, the five countries signed the General Treaty of Peace and Amity of 1907, which established the Central American Court of Justice to resolve future disputes among the five nations. Honduras also agreed to become permanently neutral in any future conflicts among the other nations.
In 1908, opponents of Davila made an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow him. Despite the failure of this coup, the United States became concerned over Honduran instability. The Taft Administration saw the huge Honduran debt, over $120 miilion, as a contributing factor to this instability and began efforts to refinance the largely British debt with provisions for a United States customs receivership or some similar arrangement. Negotiations were arranged between Honduran representatives and New York bankers, headed by J.P. Morgan. By the end of 1909, an agreement had been reached providing for a reduction in the debt and the issuance of new 5 percent bonds: the bankers would control the Honduran railroad, and the United States government would guarantee continued Honduran independence and would take control of customer revenue.
The terms proposed by the bankers met with considerable opposition in Honduras, further weakening the Dávila government. A treaty incorporating the key provisions of this agreement with J.P. Morgan was finally signed in January 1911 and submitted to the Honduran legislature by Dávila. However, that body, in a rare display of independence, rejected it by a vote of thirty-three to five.
An uprising in 1911 against Dávila interrupted efforts to deal with the debt problem. The United States stepped in to mediate the conflict, bringing both sides to a conference on one of its warships. The revolutionaries, headed by former president Manuel Bonilla, and the government agreed to a cease-fire and the installation of a provisional president who would be selected by the United States mediator, Thomas Dawson. Dawson selected Francisco Bertrand
, who promised to hold early, free elections, and Dávila resigned.
The 1912 elections were won by Manuel Bonilla, but he died after just over a year in office. Bertrand, who had been his vice president, returned to the presidency and in 1916 won election for a term that lasted until 1920. Between the years 1911 and 1920, Honduras saw relative stability. During this time, railroads expanded throughout Honduras and the banana trade grew rapidly. This stability, however, would prove to be difficult to maintain in the years following 1920. Revolutionary intrigues also continued throughout the period, accompanied by constant rumors that one faction or another was being supported by one of the banana companies.
The development of the banana industry contributed to the beginnings of organized labor movements in Honduras and to the first major strikes in the nation's history. The first of these occurred in 1917 against the Cuyamel Fruit Company. The strike was suppressed by the Honduran military, but the following year additional labor disturbances occurred at the Standard Fruit Company's holding in La Ceiba. In 1920, a general strike hit the Caribbean coast. In response, a United States warship was dispatched to the area, and the Honduran government began arresting leaders. When Standard Fruit offered a new wage equivalent to US$1.75 per day, the strike ultimately collapsed. Labor troubles in the banana area, however, were far from ended.
worked by labor that flooded into the region from the densely settled Pacific side, other Central American countries, and thanks to the company's policies favoring English speaking people, from the English-speaking Caribbean. The result was the creation of an enclave economy
centered on the settlements and activities of the three major companies, Cuyamel Fruit Company
, Standard Fruit
and particularly United Fruit
after it absorbed Cuyamel in 1930.
In 1899, Vaccaro Brothers and Company (later known as Standard Fruit
,a New Orleans-based fruit corporation, which came to Honduras in 1899 to purchase coconuts, oranges and bananas on Roatan Island. After successufully selling these fruits in New Orleans, the company decided to move to the mainland of Honduras. In 1901, Vaccaro Brothers and Company established offices in La Ceiba
and Salado
and eventually controlled the banana industry between Boca Cerrada and Balfate
(an area of about 80 kilometers of coastline). In 1900, American businessman Samuel Zemurray and United Fruit
came to Honduras to purchase some banana plantations. In 1905, Zemurray had started buying his own plantations and in 1910, after purchasing 5000 acres (20.2 km²) of plantation land in Honduras, formed his own company, the Cuyamel Fruit Company
. The two companies' wealth and powerful connections allowed them to gain extraordinary influence in government.
Rivalries between the companies, however, escalated in 1910, when the United Fruit
came to Honduras to set up company operations; the company had already been a local producer of bananas in Honduras. By 1912, United Fruit had two concessions which it had purchased with government approval. One was to build a railroad from Tela to Progreso which is in the Sula Valley, and the other was to build a railroad from Trujillo, to the city of Juticalpa in Olancho. In 1913, United Fruit established the Tela Railroad Company and shortly thereafter a similar subsidiary, the Trujillo Railroad Company; these two railroads managed the concessions which the Honduran government granted them. Through these two railroad companies, United Fruit dominated the banana trade in Honduras.
A census of 1899 revealed that northern Honduras had been exporting bananas for several years and that over 1,000 people in the region between Puerto Cortes and La Ceiba (and inland as far as San Pedro Sula) were tending bananas, most of them small holders. The fruit companies received very large concessions of land on which to grow bananas, often forcing small holders who had been growing and exporting bananas off their land or out of business. In addition, the brought in many workers from the British West Indies
, especially Jamaica
and Belize
, both to work on the plantations, but also as lower managers and skilled workers. The companies often favored the West Indian workers because they spoke English and were sometimes better educated than their Honduran counterparts. This perception of foreign occupation, coupled with a growing race-prejudice against the African-descended West Indians led to considerable tension, as the arrival of the West Indians drove demographic change in the region.
The connection between the wealth of the banana trade and the influence of outsiders, particularly North Americans, led O. Henry
, the American writer who took temporary refuge in Honduras in 1896-97, to coin the term "Banana Republic
" to describe Honduras. By 1912, three companies dominated the banana trade in Honduras: Samuel Zemurray's Cuyamel Fruit Company
, Vaccaro Brothers and Company and the United Fruit Company
; all of which tended to be vertically integrated, owning their own lands and railroad companies and ship lines such as United's "Great White Fleet". Through land subsidies granted to the railroads, they soon came to control vast tracts of the best land along the Caribbean coast. Coastal cities such as La Ceiba
, Tela
, and Trujillo
and towns further inland such as El Progreso
and La Lima became virtual company towns.
For the next twenty years, the U.S. government was involved in quelling Central American disputes, insurrections, and revolutions, whether supported by neighboring governments or by United States companies. As part of the so-called Banana Wars all around the Caribbean, Honduras saw the insertion of American troops in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924 and 1925. For instance, in 1917 the Cuyamel Fruit Company extended its rail lines into disputed Guatemalan territory.
, took the lead in organizing PLH opposition to Bertrand. López Gutiérrez also solicited support from the liberal government of Guatemala and even from the conservative regime in Nicaragua. Bertrand, in turn, sought support from El Salvador. Determined to avoid an international conflict, the United States, after some hesitation, offered to meditate the dispute, hinting to the Honduran president that if he refused the offer, open intervention might follow. Bertrand promptly resigned and left the country. The United States ambassador helped arrange the installation of an interim government headed by Francisco Bográn, who promised to hold free elections. However, General López Gutiérrez, who now effectively controlled the military situation, made it clear that he was determined to be the next president. After considerable negotiation and some confusion, a formula was worked out under which elections were held. López Gutiérrez won easily in a manipulated election, and in October 1920 he assumed the presidency.
During Borgrán's brief time in office, he had agreed to a United States proposal to invite a United States financial adviser to Honduras. Arthur N. Young of the Department of State was selected for this task and began work in Honduras in August 1920, continuing to August 1921. While there, Young compiled extensive data and made numerous recommendations, even persuading the Hondurans to hire a New York police lieutenant to reorganize their police forces. Young's investigations clearly demonstrated the desperate need for major financial reforms in Honduras, whose always precarious budgetary situation was considerably worsened by the renewal of revolutionary activities. In 1919, for example, the military had spent more than double the amount budgeted for them, accounting for over 57 percent of all federal expenditures. Young's recommendations for reducing the military budget, however, found little favor with the new López Gutiérrez administration, and the government's financial condition remained a major problem. If anything, continued uprisings against the government and the threat of a renewed Central America conflict made the situation even worse. From 1919 to 1924, the Honduran government expended US$7.2 million beyond the amount covered by the regular budgets for military operations.
From 1920 through 1923, seventeen uprisings or attempted coups in Honduras contributed to growing United States concern over political instability in Central America. In August 1922, the presidents of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador met on the U.S.S. Tacoma in the Golfo de Fonseca. Under the watchful eye of the United States ambassadors to their nations, the presidents pledged to prevent their territories from being used to promote revolutions against their neighbors and issued a call for a general meeting of Central American states in Washington at the end of the year.
The Washington conference concluded in February with the adoption of the General Treaty of Peace and Amity of 1923, which had eleven supplemental conventions. The treaty in many ways followed the provisions of the 1907 treaty. The Central American court was reorganized, reducing the influence of the various governments over its membership. The clause providing for withholding recognition of revolutionary governments was expanded to preclude recognition of any revolutionary leader, his relatives, or anyone who had been in power six months before or after such an uprising unless the individual's claim to power had been ratified by free elections. The governments renewed their pledges to refrain from aiding revolutionary movements against their neighbors and to seek peaceful resolutions for all outstanding disputes.
The supplemental conventions covered everything from the promotion of agriculture to the limitation of armaments. One, which remained unratified, provided for free trade among all of the states except Costa Rica. The arms limitation agreement set a ceiling on the size of each nation's military forces (2,500 men for Honduras) and included a United States-sponsored pledge to seek foreign assistance in establishing more professional armed forces.
The October 1923 Honduran presidential elections and the subsequent political and military conflicts provided the first real tests of these new treaty arrangements. Under heavy pressure from Washington, López Gutiérrez allowed an unusually open campaign and election. The long-fragmented conservatives had reunited in the form of the National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras—PNH), which ran as its candidate General Tiburcio Carías Andino
, the governor of the department of Cortés. However, the liberal PLH was unable to unite around a single candidate and split into two dissident groups, one supporting former president Policarpo Bonilla, the other advancing the candidacy of Juan Angel Arias
. As a result, each candidate failed to secure a majority. Carías received the greatest number of votes, with Bonilla second, and Arias a distant third. By the terms of the Honduran constitution, this stalemate left the final choice of president up to the legislature, but that body was unable to obtain a quorum and reach a decision.
In January 1924, López Gutiérrez announced his intention to remain in office until new elections could be held, but he repeatedly refused to specify a date for the elections. Carías, reportedly with the support of United Fruit, declared himself president, and an armed conflict broke out. In February the United States, warning that recognition would be withheld from anyone coming to power by revolutionary means, suspended relations with the López Gutiérrez government for its failure to hold elections.
Conditions rapidly deteriorated in the early months of 1924. On February 28, a pitched battle took place in La Ceiba between government troops and rebels. Even the presence of the U.S.S. Denver and the landing of a force of United States Marines were unable to prevent widespread looting and arson resulting in over US$2 million in property damage. Fifty people, including a United States citizen, were killed in the fighting. In the weeks that followed, additional vessels from the United States Navy Special Service Squadron were concentrated in Honduran waters, and landing parties were put ashore at various points to protect United States interests. One force of marines and sailors was even dispatched inland to Tegucigalpa to provide additional protection for the United States legation. Shortly before the arrival of the force, López Gutiérrez died, and what authority remained with the central government was being exercised by his cabinet. General Carías and a variety of other rebel leaders controlled most of the countryside but failed to coordinate their activities effectively enough to seize the capital.
In an effort to end the fighting, the United States government dispatched Sumner Welles to the port of Amapala; he had instructions to try to produce a settlement that would bring to power a government eligible for recognition under the terms of the 1923 treaty. Negotiations, which were once again held on board a United States cruiser, lasted from April 23 to April 28. An agreement was worked out that provided for an interim presidency headed by General Vicente Tosta
, who agreed to appoint a cabinet representing all political factions and to convene a Constituent Assembly within ninety days to restore constitutional order. Presidential elections were to be held as soon as possible, and Tosta promised to refrain from being a candidate. Once in office, the new president showed signs of reneging on some of his pledges, especially those related to the appointment of a bipartisan cabinet. Under heavy pressure from the United States delegation, however, he ultimately complied with the provisions of the peace agreement.
Keeping the 1924 elections on track proved to be a difficult task. To put pressure on Tosta to conduct a fair election, the United States continued an embargo on arms to Honduras and barred the government from access to loans—including a requested US$75,000 from the Banco Atlántida. Furthermore, the United States persuaded El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua to join in declaring that, under the 1923 treaty provision, no leader of the recent revolution would be recognized as president for the coming term. These pressures ultimately helped persuade Carías to withdraw his candidacy and also helped ensure the defeat of an uprising led by General Gregorio Ferrera of the PNH. The PNH nominated Miguel Paz Barahona
(1925–29), a civilian, for president. The PLH, after some debate, refused to nominate a candidate, and on December 28 Paz Barahona won virtual unanimous election.
Fears of disturbances increased again in 1928 as the scheduled presidential elections approached. The ruling PNH nominated General Carías while the PLH, united again following the death of Policarpo Bonilla in 1926, nominated Vicente Mejía Colindres
. To the surprise of most observers, both the campaign and the election were conducted with a minimum of violence and intimidation. Mejía Colindres won a decisive victory—obtaining 62,000 votes to 47,000 for Carías. Even more surprising was Carías's public acceptance of defeat and his urging of his supporters to accept the new government.
Mejía Colindres took office in 1929 with high hopes for his administration and his nation. Honduras seemed on the road to political and economic progress. Banana exports, then accounting for 80 percent of all exports, continued to expand. By 1930 Honduras had become the world's leading producer of the fruit, accounting for one-third of the world's supply of bananas. United Fruit had come increasingly to dominate the trade, and in 1929 it bought out the Cuyamel Fruit Company, one of its two principal remaining rivals. Because conflicts between these companies had frequently led to support for rival groups in Honduran politics, had produced a border controversy with Guatemala, and may have even contributed to revolutionary disturbances, this merger seemed to promise greater domestic tranquility. The prospect for tranquility was further advanced in 1931 when Ferrera and his insurgents were killed, while leading one last unsuccessful effort to overthrow the government, after government troops discovered their hiding place in Chamelecon.
Many of Mejía Colindres's hopes, however, were dashed with the onset of the Great Depression. Banana exports peaked in 1930, then declined rapidly. Thousands of workers were laid off, and the wages of those remaining on the job were reduced, as were the prices paid to independent banana producers by the giant fruit companies. Strikes and other labor disturbances began to break out in response to these conditions, but most were quickly suppressed with the aid of government troops. As the depression deepened, the government's financial situation deteriorated; in 1931 Mejía Colindres was forced to borrow US$250,000 from the fruit companies to ensure that the army would continue to be paid.
Lacking, however, was any immediate indication that the Carías administration was destined to survive any longer than most of its predecessors. Shortly before Carías's inauguration, dissident liberals, despite the opposition of Mejía Colindres, had risen in revolt. Carías had taken command of the government forces, obtained arms from El Salvador, and crushed the uprising in short order. Most of Carías's first term in office was devoted to efforts to avoid financial collapse, improve the military, engage in a limited program of road building, and lay the foundations for prolonging his own hold on power.
The economic situation remained extremely bad throughout the 1930s. In addition to the dramatic drop in banana exports caused by the depression, the fruit industry was further threatened by the outbreak in 1935 of epidemics of Panama disease (a debilitating fungus) and sigatoka (leaf blight) in the banana-producing areas. Within a year, most of the country's production was threatened. Large areas, including most of those around Trujillo, were abandoned, and thousands of Hondurans were thrown out of work. By 1937 a means of controlling the disease had been found, but many of the affected areas remained out of production because a significant share of the market formerly held by Honduras had shifted to other nations.
Carías had made efforts to improve the military even before he became president. Once in office, both his capacity and his motivation to continue and to expand such improvements increased. He gave special attention to the fledgling air force, founding the Military Aviation School in 1934 and arranging for a United States colonel to serve as its commandant.
As months passed, Carías moved slowly but steadily to strengthen his hold on power. He gained the support of the banana companies through opposition to strikes and other labor disturbances. He strengthened his position with domestic and foreign financial circles through conservative economic policies. Even in the height of the depression, he continued to make regular payments on the Honduran debt, adhering strictly to the terms of the arrangement with the British bondholders and also satisfying other creditors. Two small loans were paid off completely in 1935.
Political controls were instituted slowly under Carías. The Communist Party of Honduras (Partido Comunista de Honduras—PCH) was outlawed, but the PLH continued to function, and even the leaders of a small uprising in 1935 were later offered free air transportation should they wish to return to Honduras from their exile abroad. At the end of 1935, however, stressing the need for peace and internal order, Carías began to crack down on the opposition press and political activities. Meanwhile, the PNH, at the president's direction, began a propaganda campaign stressing that only the continuance of Carías in office could give the nation continued peace and order. The constitution, however, prohibited immediate reelection of presidents.
The method chosen by Carías to extend his term of office was to call a constituent assembly that would write a new constitution and select the individual to serve for the first presidential term under that document. Except for the president's desire to perpetuate himself in office, there seemed little reason to alter the nation's basic charter. Earlier constituent assemblies had written thirteen constitutions (only ten of which had entered into force), and the latest had been adopted in 1924. The handpicked Constituent Assembly of 1936 incorporated thirty of the articles of the 1924 document into the 1936 constitution. The major changes were the elimination of the prohibition on immediate reelection of a president and vice president and the extension of the presidential term from four to six years. Other changes included restoration of the death penalty, reductions in the powers of the legislature, and denial of citizenship and therefore the right to vote to women. Finally, the new constitution included an article specifying that the incumbent president and vice president would remain in office until 1943. But Carías, by then a virtual dictator, wanted even more, so in 1939 the legislature, now completely controlled by the PNH, obediently extended his term in office by another six years (to 1949).
The PLH and other opponents of the government reacted to these changes by attempting to overthrow Carías. Numerous efforts were made in 1936 and 1937, but all were successful only in further weakening the PNH's opponents. By the end of the 1930s, the PNH was the only organized functioning political party in the nation. Numerous opposition leaders had been imprisoned, and some had reportedly been chained and put to work in the streets of Tegucigalpa. Others, including the leader of the PLH, Zúñiga Huete, had fled into exile.
During his presidency, Carías cultivated close relations with his fellow Central American dictators, generals Jorge Ubico in Guatemala, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez in El Salvador, and Anastasio Somoza García in Nicaragua. Relations were particularly close with Ubico, who helped Carías reorganize his secret police and also captured and shot the leader of a Honduran uprising who had made the mistake of crossing into Guatemalan territory. Relations with Nicaragua were somewhat more strained as a result of the continuing border dispute, but Carías and Somoza managed to keep this dispute under control throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
The value of these ties became somewhat questionable in 1944 when popular revolts in Guatemala and El Salvador deposed Ubico and Hernández Martínez. For a time, it seemed as if revolutionary contagion might spread to Honduras as well. A plot, involving some military officers as well as opposition civilians, had already been discovered and crushed in late 1943. In May 1944, a group of women began demonstrating outside of the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa, demanding the release of political prisoners. Despite strong government measures, tension continued to grow, and Carías was ultimately forced to release some prisoners. This gesture failed to satisfy the opposition, and antigovernment demonstrations continued to spread. In July several demonstrators were killed by troops in San Pedro Sula. In October a group of exiles invaded Honduras from El Salvador but were unsuccessful in their efforts to topple the government. The military remained loyal, and Carías continued in office.
Anxious to curb further disorders in the region, the United States began to urge Carías to step aside and allow free elections when his current term in office expired. Carías, who by then was in his early seventies, ultimately yielded to these pressures and announced October 1948 elections, in which he would refrain from being a candidate. He continued, however, to find ways to use his power. The PNH nominated Carías's choice for president—Juan Manuel Gálvez, who had been minister of war since 1933. Exiled opposition figures were allowed to return to Honduras, and the PLH, trying to overcome years of inactivity and division, nominated Zúñiga Huete, the same individual whom Carías had defeated in 1932. The PLH rapidly became convinced that it had no chance to win and, charging the government with manipulation of the electoral process, boycotted the elections. This act gave Gálvez a virtually unopposed victory, and in January 1949, he assumed the presidency.
Evaluating the Carías presidency is a difficult task. His tenure in office provided the nation with a badly needed period of relative peace and order. The country's fiscal situation improved steadily, education improved slightly, the road network expanded, and the armed forces were modernized. At the same time, nascent democratic institutions withered, opposition and labor activities were suppressed, and national interests at times were sacrificed to benefit supporters and relatives of Carías or major foreign interests.
Galvez, however, instituted some notable alterations from the preceding fifteen years. Education received increased attention and began to receive a larger share of the national budget. Congress actually passed an income tax law, although enforcement was sporadic at best. The most obvious change was in the political arena. A considerable degree of press freedom was restored, the PLH and other groups were allowed to organize, and even some labor organization was permitted. Labor also benefited from legislation during this period. Congress passed, and the president signed, legislation establishing the eight-hour workday, paid holidays for workers, limited employer responsibility for work-related injuries, and regulations for the employment of women and children.
was abolished in 1956, though the last person to be executed was in 1940 (The current president Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo has tried to bring it back). There were constituent assembly elections in 1957 which appointed Ramón Villeda
as President
, and itself becoming a national Congress with a 6-year term. The PLH
ruled during 1957–63. The military began to become a professional institution independent of politics, with the newly created military academy graduating its first class in 1960. In October 1963, conservative military officers preempted constitutional elections and deposed Villeda
in a bloody coup. These officers exiled PLH
members and governed under General Oswaldo López
until 1970.
In July 1969, Honduras was invaded by El Salvador
in the short Soccer War. Tensions in the aftermath of the conflict remain.
A civilian president for the PNH, Ramón Ernesto Cruz
, took power briefly in 1970 until, in December 1972, Oswaldo López
staged another coup. This time round, he adopted more progressive policies, including land reform.
López
's successors continued armed forces modernization programs, building army and security forces, and concentrating on Honduran air force superiority over its neighbors. During the governments of General Juan Alberto Melgar
(1975–78) and General Policarpo Paz
(1978–82), Honduras built most of its physical infrastructure and electricity and terrestrial telecommunications systems, both of which are state monopolies. The country experienced economic growth during this period, with greater international demand for its products and the increased availability of foreign commercial capital.
government of Roberto Suazo
assumed power.
President 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.
Between 1979 and 1985, under John Negroponte
's appointment as U.S. diplomat from 1981 to 1985, U.S. military and economic aid to Honduras jumped from $31 million to $282 million. Between 1979 and 1985, U.S. development aid
fell from 80% of the total to 6%.
The United States established a continuing military presence in Honduras with the purpose of supporting the Contra guerillas fighting the Nicaragua
n 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, and many non-militants. The operation included a CIA-backed campaign of extrajudicial killings by government-backed units, most notably Battalion 316.
Suazo
, relying on U.S. support, created ambitious social and economic development projects to help with a severe economic recession and with the perceived threats of regional instability. Honduras
became host to the largest Peace Corps
mission in the world and non-governmental organization
s and international voluntary agencies proliferated.
As the November 1985 election approached, the PLH
could not settle on a presidential candidate and interpreted election law as permitting multiple candidates from any one party. The PLH claimed victory when its presidential candidates collectively outpolled the PNH
candidate, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, who received 42% of the total vote. José Azcona
, the candidate receiving the most votes (27%) among the PLH
, assumed the presidency in January 1986. With strong endorsement and support from the Honduran military, the Suazo
Administration ushered in the first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents in more than 30 years. In 1989 he oversaw the dismantling of Contras which were based in Honduras.
In 1988, as a result of threatening actions by the forces of the Nicaragua
ns, US forces were deployed to Honduras
.
and laid the groundwork for the creation of the public prosecution service.
In 1993, PLH
candidate Carlos Roberto Reina
was elected with 56% of the vote against PNH
contender Oswaldo Ramos. He won on a platform calling for a "Moral Revolution," making active efforts to prosecute corruption and pursued those responsible for alleged human rights abuses in the 1980s.
The Reina
administration successfully increased civilian control over the armed forces, transferring the national police from military to civilian authority. In 1996, Reina
named his own defense minister, breaking the precedent of accepting the nominee of the armed forces leadership.
His administration substantially increased Central Bank net international reserves, reduced inflation to 12.8% a year, restored a better pace of economic growth (about 5% in 1997), and held down spending to achieve a 1.1% non-financial public sector deficit in 1997.
PLH
's Carlos Roberto Flores
took office on 27 January 1998, as Honduras
' fifth democratically elected President since free elections were restored in 1981, with a 10% margin over his main opponent PNH
nominee Nora Gúnera de Melgar
(the widow of former leader Juan Alberto Melgar
). Flores inaugurated International Monetary Fund
(IMF) programs of reform and modernization of the Honduran Government and economy, with emphasis on maintaining the country's fiscal health and improving international competitiveness.
In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch
devastated Honduras, leaving more than 5,000 people dead and 1.5 million displaced. Damages totaled nearly $3 billion. International donors came forward to assist in rebuilding infrastructure, donating US$1400 million in 2000.
gained 61 seats in Congress and the PLH
won 55. The PLH
candidate Rafael Pineda was defeated by the PNH
candidate Ricardo Maduro
, who took office in January 2002. Maduro administration emphasized on stopping mara growth, especially Mara 18
and Mara Salvatrucha
.
On 27 November 2005 the PLH
candidate Manuel Zelaya
beat the PNH
candidate and current Head of Congress Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, and became the new President on 27 January 2006.
Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the Liberal Party of Honduras
won the 27 November 2005 presidential elections with less than a 4% margin of victory, the smallest margin ever in Honduran electoral history. Zelaya's campaign theme was "citizen power," and he vowed to increase transparency and combat narcotrafficking, while maintaining macroeconomic stability. The Liberal Party won 62 of the 128 congressional seats, just short of an absolute majority.
In 2009 Zelaya caused controversy with his call to have a constitutional referendum in June to decide about convening a Constitutional National Assembly to formulate a new constitution. The constitution explicitly bars changes to some of its clauses, including the term limit, and the move precipitated a Constitutional Crisis
.
An injunction against holding the referendum was issued by the Honduran Supreme Court. Zelaya rejected the ruling and sacked Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
, the head of Honduras's armed forces
. Vásquez had refused to help with the referendum because he did not want to violate the law. The sacking was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court as well as by the Congress and Vásquez was reinstated. The President then further defied the Supreme Court by pressing ahead with the vote, which the Court had deemed "illegal". The military had confiscated the ballots and polls in a military base in Tegucigalpa. On June 27, a day before the election, Zelaya followed by a big group of supporters entered the base and ordered, as Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces, for the ballots and polls to be returned to him. The congress saw this as abuse of power and ordered his capture.
On June 28, 2009, the military removed Zelaya from office and deported him to Costa Rica, a neutral country. Elvin Santos, the vice-president during the start of Zelaya's term, had resigned in order to run for president in the coming elections, and by presidential line of succession the head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti
, was appointed president. However, due to the stance taken by the United Nations and the Organization of American States on use of military force to depose a president, most countries in the region and in the world continued to recognize Zelaya as the President of Honduras and denounced the actions as an assault on democracy .
Honduras continued to be ruled Micheletti's administration under strong foreign pressure. On November 29, democratic general elections
were held, with former Congressional president and 2005 nominee, Pepe Lobo as victor.
.
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...
was already occupied by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Tol, the area east of Trujillo by the Pech(or Paya) and the Miskito and Sumo. These autonomous groups maintained commercial relationships with each other and with other populations as distant as Panama
History of Panama
The History of Panama is about the Isthmus of Panama region's long history that occurred in southern Central America, from Pre-Columbian cultures, during the Spanish colonial era, through independence and the current country of Panama.-Indigenous period:...
and Mexico
History of Mexico
The history of Mexico, a country located in the southern portion of North America, covers a period of more than two millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, the country produced complex indigenous civilizations before being conquered by the Spanish in the 16th Century.Since the...
.
Pre-Columbian era
Archaeologists have demonstrated that Honduras has a multi-ethnic prehistory. An important part of that prehistory was the MayaMaya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
n presence around the city of Copán
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
, in western Honduras which is near the Guatemalan border. Copan is a major Maya city that began flourishing around 150 A.D. bur reached its height in the Late Classic (700-850 A.D.). It has many carved inscriptions and stelae. The ancient kingdom, named Xukpi
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
, existed from the 5th century to the early 9th century, with antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century.
The Mayan civilization began a marked decline in their population during the 9th 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 surviving Ch’orti’
Ch'orti' people
The Ch'orti' people are one of the indigenous Maya peoples, who primarily reside in communities and towns of southeastern Guatemala, northwestern Honduras, and northern El Salvador. Their indigenous language, also known as Ch'orti', is a survival of Classic Choltian, the language of the...
were isolated from their Choltian linguistic peers to the west. The non-Maya Lencas were then dominant in western Honduras.
Conquest period
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
landed on the mainland near modern Trujillo in 1502 and named the country Honduras ("Depths") for the deep waters off its coast.
In January 1524, Cortés directed captain Cristóbal de Olid
Cristóbal de Olid
Cristóbal de Olid was a Spanish adventurer, conquistador and rebel who played a part in the conquest of Mexico and Honduras.Born in Zaragoza, Olid grew up in the household of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. In 1518 Velázquez sent Olid to relieve Juan de Grijalva, but en route a...
to establish a colony for him in Honduras. Olid sailed with a force of several ships and over 400 soldiers and colonists. He sailed first to Cuba, to pick up supplies Cortés had arranged for him, where Governor Velázquez convinced him to go and claim the colony he was to found as his own. Olid sailed from Cuba to the coast of Honduras, coming ashore east of Puerto Caballos
Puerto Cortés
-Geography:It is on the Caribbean Sea coast, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, at 15.85° N, 87.94° W. It has a natural bay.It is Honduras's main sea port and it is considered the most important seaport in Central America...
at Triunfo de la Cruz where he initially settled and declared himself governor.
Hernán Cortés, however, in 1524, got word of Olid's insurrection and sent his cousin, Francisco de las Casas
Francisco de las Casas
Francisco de las Casas y Saavedra was a Spanish Conquistador in Mexico and Honduras.Francisco de las Casas was born in Trujillo, Spain. By 1513 las Casas was already married to Maria de Aguilar, daughter of Geronimo de Aguilar, and they maintained a house in Trujillo, where she sold a block of...
, along with several ships to Honduras to remove Olid and claim the area for Cortés. Las Casas, however, lost most of his fleet in a series of storms along the coast of Belize and Honduras. His ships limped into the bay at Triunfo, where Olid had established his headquarters.
When Las Casas arrived at Olid's headquarters, a large part of Olid's army was inland, dealing with another threat from a party of Spaniards under Gil González Dávila
Gil González Dávila
Gil González Dávila was a Spanish Conquistador and the first European to arrive in present-day Nicaragua.González Dávila first appears in historical records in 1508, when he received a royal commission to examine accounts and tax records of estates. He probably traveled soon afterward to Santo...
. Nevertheless, Olid decided to launch an attack with two caravels. Las Casa returned fire and sent boarding parties which captured Olid's ships. Under the circumstances, Olid proposed a truce to which Las Casas agreed, and he did not land his forces. During the night, a fierce storm destroyed his fleet and about a third of his men were lost. The remainder were taken prisoner after two days of exposure and without food. After being forced to swear loyalty to Olid, they were released. However, Las Casas was kept a prisoner, soon to be joined by González, who had been captured by Olid's inland force.
The Spanish record two different stories about what happened next. Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas
Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas
Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas , Spanish historian, was born at Cuéllar, in the province of Segovia.-Biography:His father, Roderigo de Tordesillas, and his mother, Agnes de Herrera, were both of good family...
writing in the 17th century, records that Olid's soldiers rose up and murdered him. Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo was a conquistador, who wrote an eyewitness account of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards for Hernán Cortés, himself serving as a rodelero under Cortés.-Early life:...
, in his Verdadera Historia de la Conquista de Nueva España, recalls that Las Casas captured Olid and beheaded him at Naco.
In the meantime, Cortés had marched overland from Mexico to Honduras, arriving in 1525. Cortés ordered the founding of two cities, Nuestra Señora de la Navidad, near modern Puerto Cortés, and Trujillo, and named Francisco de las Casas Governor. However, both las Casas and Cortés sail back to Mexico before the end of 1525, where Francisco was arrested and sent back to Spain as a prisoner by Estrada and Alboronoz. Francisco returned to Mexico in 1527, and returned again to Spain with Cortés in 1528.
On April 25, 1526, before returning to Mexico Cortes appointed Hernando de Saavedra as governor of Honduras and left instructions to treat the indigenous people well. On October 26, 1526, Diego López de Salcedo, was appointed by the emperor as governor of 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...
, replacing Saavedra. The next decade was marked by clashes between the personal ambitions of the rulers and conquerors, which hindered the installation of good government. The Spanish colonists rebelled against their leaders, and the indigenous people rebelled against their masters, and against the abuses their new masters imposed on them.
Salcedo, seeking to enrich himself, had serious clashes with Pedrarias, the Governor of Castilla del Oro, who for his part, wanted to Honduras as part of his domains. In 1528, Salcedo arrested Pedarias and forced him to cede part of his Honduran domain, but Emperor rejected the agreement. After the death of Salcedo in 1530, the settlers became arbiters of power. Governors hung and removed. In this situation, the settlers asked Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...
to end the anarchy. With the arrival of Alvarado in 1536, chaos decreased, and the region was under authority.
In 1537, Francisco de Montejo
Francisco de Montejo
Francisco de Montejo y Alvarez was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America.Francisco de Montejo was born in Salamanca, Spain, in 1479 to Juan de Montejo and Catalina Alvarez de Tejeda. He left Spain in 1514, and arrived in Cuba in time to join Grijalva's expedition along the coast of...
was appointed governor. He set aside the division of territory made by Alvarado upon arrival in Honduras. One of his principal captains, Alonso de Cáceres, was responsible for quelling the indigenous revolt, led by the cacique Lempira
Lempira
Lempira may refer to:* Lempira , 16th century leader of the Lenca peoples of Central America, who led local resistance against the Spanish conquistadores* Honduran lempira, unit of currency...
in 1537 and 1538. In 1539 Alvarado and Montejo and had serious disagreements over who was governor, which caught the attention of the Council of India
Council of India
The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India.The original Council of India was established by the Regulating Act of 1773 as a council of four formal advisors to the Governor-General at Fort William...
. Montejo went to Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, and Alvarado became governor of 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...
.
During the period leading up to the conquest of Honduras by Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado
Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. He participated in the conquest of Cuba, in Juan de Grijalva's exploration of the coasts of Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the conquest of Mexico led by Hernan Cortes...
, many indigenous people along the north coast of Honduras were captured and taken as slaves to work on Spain's Caribbean plantations. It wasn't until Pedro de Alvarado defeated the indigenous resistance headed by Çocamba near Ticamaya, that the Spanish began to conquer the country in 1536. Alvarado divided the native towns and gave their labor to the Spanish conquistadors in repartimiento
Repartimiento
The Repartimiento was a colonial forced labor system imposed upon the indigenous population of Spanish America and the Philippines. In concept it was similar to other tribute-labor systems, such as the mita of the Inca Empire or the corvée of Ancien Régime France: the natives were forced to do...
. Further indigenous uprisings near Gracias a Dios, Comayagua, and Olancho occurred in 1537–38. The uprising near Gracias a Dios was led by Lempira, who is honored today by the name of the Honduran currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
.
Colonial Honduras
The defeat of Lempira's revolt, and the decline in fighting among rival Spanish factions all contributed to expanded settlement and increased economic activity in Honduras. In late 1540, Honduras looked to be heading towards development and prosperity, thanks to the establishment of GraciasGracias
Gracias is a small Honduran town/municipality that was founded in 1536, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people...
as the regional capital of the Audiencia of Guatemala (1544). However, this decision created resentment in the populated areas of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and El Salvador. In 1549, the capital was moved to Antigua, Guatemala, and Honduras and remained a province within the Captaincy General of Guatemala
Captaincy General of Guatemala
The Captaincy General of Guatemala , also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala , was an administrative division in Spanish America which covered much of Central America, including what are now the nations of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas...
until 1821.
Colonial mining operations
The initial mining centers were located near the Guatemalan border, around Gracias. In 1538 these mines produced significant quantities of gold. In the early 1540s, the center for mining shifted eastward to the Río Guayape Valley, and silver joined gold as a major product. This change contributed to the rapid decline of Gracias and the rise of ComayaguaComayagua
Comayagua is a city in Honduras, some 80 km northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula at an elevation of 594 meters above sea level. In 2003 the estimated population was 60,000 people. It is the capital of the Comayagua department of Honduras. The city is noted for its wealth...
as the center of colonial Honduras. The demand for labor also led to further revolts and accelerated the decimation of the native population. As a result, African slavery was introduced into Honduras, and by 1545 the province may have had as many as 2,000 slaves. Other gold deposits were found near San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
and the port of Trujillo.
Mining production began to decline in 1560, and thus the importance of Honduras. In early 1569, new silver discoveries briefly revived the economy, which led to the founding of Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, which soon began to rival Comayagua as the most important city of the province. The silver boom peaked in 1584, and economic depression returned shortly thereafter. Honduras mining efforts were hampered by lack of capital, labor and the difficult terrain. Mercury, vital for the production of silver was scarce, besides the neglect of the officials.
The partially conquered northern coast
While the Spanish made significant conquests in the southern half of the area, they had less success in the Caribbean section, on the north. They founded a number of towns on the coast, Puerto Caballos in the east, and on the west, and sent minerals and other exports across the country from the Pacific side to be sent to Spain from the Atlantic ports. The founded a number of inland towns on the northwestern side of the province, notably Naco and San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
. In the northeast side, the "province" of Taguzgalpa
Taguzgalpa
Taguzgalpa is a region or district located in northeastern Honduras, known historically through Spanish sources, and heir to a longer and richer archaeological tradition. It was usually called a "Province" in Spanish sources, and its internal social organization is unclear...
resisted all attempts to conquer it, physically in the sixteenth century, and spiritually, by missionaries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Among the groups found along northern coast and in neighboring Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
were the Miskito, who although organized in democratic and egalitarian way, had an institution of king, and hence were known as the Mosquito Kingdom
Mosquito Coast
The Caribbean Mosquito Coast historically consisted of an area along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, and part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests...
.
One of the major problems for the Spanish rulers of Honduras, was the activity of the British in northern Honduras, a region over which they had only tenuous control. These activities began in the sixteenth century and continued until the nineteenth century. In the early years, European pirates frequently attacked the villages on the Honduran Caribbean. The Providence Island Company, which occupied Providence Island not far from the coast, raided it occasionally and probably also had some settlements on the shore, possible around Cape Gracias a Dios. Around 1638, the king of the Miskito visited England and made an alliance with the English crown. In 1643 an English expedition destroyed the city of Trujillo, Honduras's main port.
The British and the Miskito Kingdom
The Spanish sent a fleet from Cartagena which destroyed the English colony at Providence island in 1641, and for a time the presence of an English base so close to the shore was eliminated. At about the same time, however, a group of slaves revolted and captured a ship on which they were traveling, and ended up wrecking it at Cape Gracias a Dios. Managing to get ashore, they were received by the Miskito, and within a generation had given birth to the Miskito ZamboMiskito Sambu
The Miskito Sambu are a mixed-race population group occupying the Caribbean coast of Central America, focused on the region of the Honduras-Nicaragua border...
, a mixed race group that by 1715 had become the leaders of the kingdom.
Meanwhile the English captured Jamaica in 1655 and soon were seeking allies on the coast, and hit upon the Miskito, whose king Jeremy visited Jamaica in 1687.
A variety of other Europeans made settlements in the area during this time. An account of 1699 reveals a patchwork of private individuals, large Miskito family groups, Spanish settlements and pirate hideouts along the coast. Britain declared much of the area a Protectorate in 1740, though they exercised little authority as a result of this decision. British colonization was particularly strong in the Bay Islands, and alliances between the British and Miskito as well as more local supporters made this an area the Spanish could not easily control and a haven for pirates.
Bourbon reforms
In the early eighteenth century, the Bourbon dynasty, linked to the rulers of France, replaced the Habsburgs on the throne of SpainSpain
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...
. The new dynasty began a series of reforms throughout the empire (the Bourbon Reforms
Bourbon Reforms
The Bourbon Reforms were a set of economic and political legislation introduced by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon throughout the 18th century. The reforms were intended to stimulate manufacturing and technology in order to modernize Spain...
), designed to make administration more efficient and profitable, and to facilitate the defense of the colonies. Among these reforms was a reduction in tax on precious metals and the cost of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, which was a royal monopoly. In Honduras, these reforms contributed to the resurgence of the mining industry in the 1730s.
Under the Bourbons, the Spanish government made several efforts to regain control of the Caribbean coast. In 1752, the Spaniards built the fort of San Fernando de Omoa. In 1780, the Spanish returned to Trujillo, who started out as base of operations against British settlements to the east. During the decade of 1780, the Spanish regained control of the Bay Islands and took most of the British and their allies in the Black River area. They were not, however, able to exapand their control beyond Puerto Caballos and Trujillo, thanks to determined Miskito resistance. The Anglo-Spanish Convention of 1786, issued the final recognition of Spanish sovereignty over the Caribbean coast.
Independence from Spain (1821)
The news that Guatemala had declared the separation from Spain on September 15, 1821, the Provincial Government of Comayagua Honduras declared independence from the Spanish monarchy on September 15, 1821.Federal independence period (1821-1838)
Honduras later joined the Mexican Empire of Agustin de IturbideAgustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
, a fact which lasted until the formation of the Federal Republic of Central America
Federal Republic of Central America
The Federal Republic of Central America, known as the United Provinces of Central America in its first year of creation, was a sovereign state in Central America, which consisted of the territories of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala of New Spain...
in 1823.
Among the most important figures of the federal era include the first democratically elected president in Honduras, Dionisio de Herrera
Dionisio de Herrera
José Dionisio de la Trinidad de Herrera y Díaz del Valle was a Liberal Honduran politician, head of state of Honduras from 1824 to 1827 and head of state of Nicaragua from 1830 to 1833. During his terms, Honduras and Nicaragua were states within the Federal Republic of Central America...
, a lawyer, whose government, begun in 1824 established the first constitution.
Gen. Francisco Morazán
Francisco Morazán
General Francisco Morazán was a Honduran general and a politician who ruled several Central American states at different times during the turbulent period from 1827 to 1842. He rose to prominence at the legendary Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827...
, Federal President 1830-1834 and 1835–1839, whose figure embodies the ideal American Unionist, Honduran José Cecilio del Valle, editor of the Declaration of Independence signed in Guatemala on September 15, 1821 and Foreign Minister of Mexico in 1823.
Soon, social and economic differences between Honduras and its regional neighbors exacerbated harsh partisan strife among Central American leaders and brought the collapse of the Federation from 1838 to 1839. General Francisco Morazán
Francisco Morazán
General Francisco Morazán was a Honduran general and a politician who ruled several Central American states at different times during the turbulent period from 1827 to 1842. He rose to prominence at the legendary Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827...
, a Honduran national hero, led unsuccessful efforts to maintain the federation. Restoring Central American unity remained the officially stated chief aim of Honduran foreign policy until after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Honduras broke away from the Central American Federation in October 1838 and became independent and sovereign state.
Democratic period between 1838 to 1899
Comayagua was the capital of Honduras until 1880, when it was transferred to TegucigalpaTegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
.
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.
In 1850, Honduras attempted to build, with foreign assistance, an Inter-Oceanic Railroad from Trujillo to Tegucigalpa and then on to the Pacific Coast. The project stalled due to difficulties in the work, corruption and other issues, and in 1888, ran out of money when it reached San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second...
, resulting in its growth into the nation's main industrial center and second largest city. Since independence, nearly 300 small internal rebellions and civil wars have occurred in the country, including some changes of government.
The internationalization of the north, 1899-1932
Political stability and instability both aided and distracted the economic revolution which transformed Honduras through the development of a plantation economy on the north coast, ultimately leading to military interventions from the United States.The Rise of United States influence in Honduras (1899-1919)
In 1899, the banana industry in Honduras was growing rapidly and the peaceful trasfer of power from Policarpo BonillaPolicarpo Bonilla
José Policarpo Bonilla Vasquez was President of Honduras between 22 February 1894 until 1 February 1899.-Biography:He was born on 17 March 1858 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, his parents were Inocete Bonilla and Juana Vasquez. He became a lawyer on 17 March 1878, held posts in the government of Marco...
to General Terencio Sierra
Terencio Sierra
Terencio Sierra Romero was President of Honduras between 1 February 1899 and 1 February 1903.Sierra was born in Coray, Valle, Honduras. After studying in Comayagua he became a typographist in El Salvador before travelling through Central and South America as an accountant in the shipping industry...
would mark the first time in decades that such a constitutional transition had taken place. By 1902, railroads had been constructed along the country's Caribbean coast to accommodate the growing banana industry. However, Sierra made efforts to perpetuate himself in office after refusing to step down after a new president was elected in 1902 and would be overthrown by Manuel Bonilla
Manuel Bonilla
General Manuel Bonilla Chirinos was President of Honduras from 13 April 1903 to 25 February 1907, and again from 1 February 1912 till 21 March 1913....
in 1903. After toppling Sierra, Bonilla, a conservative, imprisoned ex-president Policarpo Bonilla, a liberal rival, for two years and made other attempts to suppress liberals throughout the country, as they were the only group in the country with an organized political party. The conservatives were divided into a host of personalist factions and lacked coherent leadership, but Bonilla made some efforts to reorganize the conservatives into a "national party." The present-day National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras—PNH) traces its origins to his administration.
Bonilla proved to be an even greater friend of the banana companies than Sierra had been. Under Bonilla's rule, companies gained exemptions from taxes and permission to construct wharves and roads, as well as permission to improve interior waterways and to obtain charters for new railroad construction. He would also successfully establish the border with Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and resist an invasion from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
in 1906. After fending off Guatemalan military forces, Bonilla sought peace with the country and signed a friendship pact with both Guatemala and El Salvador.
Nicaragua's powerful President José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya López was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909.-Early life:He was a son of José María Zelaya Irigoyen, born in Nicaragua, and mistress Juana López Ramírez...
saw this friendship pact as an alliance to counter Nicaragua and began to undermine Bonilla. Zelaya now supported liberal Honduran exiles in Nicaragua in their efforts to topple Bonilla, who had established himself as a dictator. Supported by elements of the Nicaraguan army, the exiles invaded Honduras in February 1907. With the assistance of Salvadoran troops, Manuel Bonilla tried to resist, but in March his forces were decisively beaten in a battle notable for the introduction of machine guns into Central American civil strife. After toppling Bonilla, the exiles established a provisional junta, but this junta would not last.
The United States noticed: it was in US interests to contain Zelaya, protect the region of the new Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, and defend the increasingly important banana trade. This Nicaragua-assisted invasion by Honduran exiles strongly displeased the United States government, which concluded that Zelaya wanted to dominate the entire Central American region, and the government dispatched marines to Puerto Cortes
Puerto Cortés
-Geography:It is on the Caribbean Sea coast, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, at 15.85° N, 87.94° W. It has a natural bay.It is Honduras's main sea port and it is considered the most important seaport in Central America...
to protect the banana trade; US naval units were also sent to Honduras and were able to successfully defend Bonilla's last defense position at Amapala
Amapala
Amapala is a municipality in the Honduran department of Valle. It is formed by El Tigre Island and its satellite islets and rocks in the Gulf of Fonseca. It has an area of 75.2 km² and a population of 2,482 as of the census of 2001...
in the Gulfo de Fonseca. Through a peace settlement arranged by the US charge' d' affaires in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, Bonilla stepped down and the war with Nicaragua came to an end.
The settlement also provided for the installation of a compromise regime headed by General Miguel R. Davila
Miguel R. Dávila
General Miguel Rafael Dávila Cuellar was President of Honduras between 18 April 1907 and 28 March 1911. He occupied various posts in the government of Policarpo Bonilla, before becoming President himself. He died in Honduras on 11 October 1927....
in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya, however, was not pleased by the settlement, as he strongly distrusted Davila. Zelaya afterwards made a secret arrangement with El Salvador to oust Davila from office. The plan failed to reach fruition, but alarmed the United States. Mexico and the U.S. then called the five Central American countries into diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
talks at the Central American Peace Conference to increase stability in the area. At the conference, the five countries signed the General Treaty of Peace and Amity of 1907, which established the Central American Court of Justice to resolve future disputes among the five nations. Honduras also agreed to become permanently neutral in any future conflicts among the other nations.
In 1908, opponents of Davila made an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow him. Despite the failure of this coup, the United States became concerned over Honduran instability. The Taft Administration saw the huge Honduran debt, over $120 miilion, as a contributing factor to this instability and began efforts to refinance the largely British debt with provisions for a United States customs receivership or some similar arrangement. Negotiations were arranged between Honduran representatives and New York bankers, headed by J.P. Morgan. By the end of 1909, an agreement had been reached providing for a reduction in the debt and the issuance of new 5 percent bonds: the bankers would control the Honduran railroad, and the United States government would guarantee continued Honduran independence and would take control of customer revenue.
The terms proposed by the bankers met with considerable opposition in Honduras, further weakening the Dávila government. A treaty incorporating the key provisions of this agreement with J.P. Morgan was finally signed in January 1911 and submitted to the Honduran legislature by Dávila. However, that body, in a rare display of independence, rejected it by a vote of thirty-three to five.
An uprising in 1911 against Dávila interrupted efforts to deal with the debt problem. The United States stepped in to mediate the conflict, bringing both sides to a conference on one of its warships. The revolutionaries, headed by former president Manuel Bonilla, and the government agreed to a cease-fire and the installation of a provisional president who would be selected by the United States mediator, Thomas Dawson. Dawson selected Francisco Bertrand
Francisco Bertrand
Francisco Bertrand Barahona was twice President of Honduras, first from 28 March 1911 to 1 February 1912, and then again between 21 March 1913 and 9 September 1919. His successor and predecessor was Manuel Bonilla....
, who promised to hold early, free elections, and Dávila resigned.
The 1912 elections were won by Manuel Bonilla, but he died after just over a year in office. Bertrand, who had been his vice president, returned to the presidency and in 1916 won election for a term that lasted until 1920. Between the years 1911 and 1920, Honduras saw relative stability. During this time, railroads expanded throughout Honduras and the banana trade grew rapidly. This stability, however, would prove to be difficult to maintain in the years following 1920. Revolutionary intrigues also continued throughout the period, accompanied by constant rumors that one faction or another was being supported by one of the banana companies.
The development of the banana industry contributed to the beginnings of organized labor movements in Honduras and to the first major strikes in the nation's history. The first of these occurred in 1917 against the Cuyamel Fruit Company. The strike was suppressed by the Honduran military, but the following year additional labor disturbances occurred at the Standard Fruit Company's holding in La Ceiba. In 1920, a general strike hit the Caribbean coast. In response, a United States warship was dispatched to the area, and the Honduran government began arresting leaders. When Standard Fruit offered a new wage equivalent to US$1.75 per day, the strike ultimately collapsed. Labor troubles in the banana area, however, were far from ended.
The Fruit Companies activity
The Liberal government opted to expand production in mining and agriculture, and in 1876 began granting substantial grants of land and tax exemptions to foreign concerns as well as local businesses. Mining was particularly important, and the new policies coincided with the growing of banana exporting, which began in the Bay Islands in the 1870s and was pursued on the mainland by small and middling farmers in the 1880s. Liberal concessions allowed U. S. based concerns to enter the Honduran market, first as shipping companies, and then as railroad and banana producing enterprises. The U. S. companies created very large plantationsBanana production in Honduras
Banana production in Honduras plays an important role in the Economy of Honduras. In 1992, the revenue generated from banana sales that year accounted to US$287 million and along with the coffee industry accounted for some 50% of exports. Honduras produced 861,000 tons of bananas in 1999...
worked by labor that flooded into the region from the densely settled Pacific side, other Central American countries, and thanks to the company's policies favoring English speaking people, from the English-speaking Caribbean. The result was the creation of an enclave economy
Enclave economy
An enclave economy is defined as an economic system in which an export based industry dominated by international or non-local capital extracts resources or products from another country. It was widely employed as a term to describe post-colonial dependency relations in the developing world,...
centered on the settlements and activities of the three major companies, Cuyamel Fruit Company
Cuyamel Fruit Company
Cuyamel Fruit was a Honduran fruit company founded by Samuel Zemurray in 1910, to export fruit inland from Puerto Cortés, Honduras. Zemurray started as a banana retailer in Mobile, Alabama and moved to Honduras in order to participate in growing and exporting fruit...
, Standard Fruit
Standard Fruit Company
Standard Fruit Company was established in the United States in 1924 by The Vaccaro Brothers. Its forerunner was started in 1899, when Sicilian immigrants Joseph, Luca and Felix Vaccaro, together with Salvador D'Antoni, began importing bananas to New Orleans from La Ceiba, Honduras...
and particularly United Fruit
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
after it absorbed Cuyamel in 1930.
In 1899, Vaccaro Brothers and Company (later known as Standard Fruit
Standard Fruit Company
Standard Fruit Company was established in the United States in 1924 by The Vaccaro Brothers. Its forerunner was started in 1899, when Sicilian immigrants Joseph, Luca and Felix Vaccaro, together with Salvador D'Antoni, began importing bananas to New Orleans from La Ceiba, Honduras...
,a New Orleans-based fruit corporation, which came to Honduras in 1899 to purchase coconuts, oranges and bananas on Roatan Island. After successufully selling these fruits in New Orleans, the company decided to move to the mainland of Honduras. In 1901, Vaccaro Brothers and Company established offices in La Ceiba
La Ceiba
La Ceiba is a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part of the south eastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras...
and Salado
Salado
Salado is a Spanish adjective meaning salty.Salado may refer to:* Salado, Arkansas* Salado, Texas* Salado Creek AVA, California wine region in Stanislaus County...
and eventually controlled the banana industry between Boca Cerrada and Balfate
Balfate
Balfate is a municipality in the Honduran department of Colón.Balfate itself is a town of about 2500 but the municipality includes the towns of Lucinda Lis Lis and several others. In January 2003 a new hospital was opened in Balfate bringing much needed medical care to this area. The main paved...
(an area of about 80 kilometers of coastline). In 1900, American businessman Samuel Zemurray and United Fruit
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
came to Honduras to purchase some banana plantations. In 1905, Zemurray had started buying his own plantations and in 1910, after purchasing 5000 acres (20.2 km²) of plantation land in Honduras, formed his own company, the Cuyamel Fruit Company
Cuyamel Fruit Company
Cuyamel Fruit was a Honduran fruit company founded by Samuel Zemurray in 1910, to export fruit inland from Puerto Cortés, Honduras. Zemurray started as a banana retailer in Mobile, Alabama and moved to Honduras in order to participate in growing and exporting fruit...
. The two companies' wealth and powerful connections allowed them to gain extraordinary influence in government.
Rivalries between the companies, however, escalated in 1910, when the United Fruit
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
came to Honduras to set up company operations; the company had already been a local producer of bananas in Honduras. By 1912, United Fruit had two concessions which it had purchased with government approval. One was to build a railroad from Tela to Progreso which is in the Sula Valley, and the other was to build a railroad from Trujillo, to the city of Juticalpa in Olancho. In 1913, United Fruit established the Tela Railroad Company and shortly thereafter a similar subsidiary, the Trujillo Railroad Company; these two railroads managed the concessions which the Honduran government granted them. Through these two railroad companies, United Fruit dominated the banana trade in Honduras.
A census of 1899 revealed that northern Honduras had been exporting bananas for several years and that over 1,000 people in the region between Puerto Cortes and La Ceiba (and inland as far as San Pedro Sula) were tending bananas, most of them small holders. The fruit companies received very large concessions of land on which to grow bananas, often forcing small holders who had been growing and exporting bananas off their land or out of business. In addition, the brought in many workers from the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
, especially Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and 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...
, both to work on the plantations, but also as lower managers and skilled workers. The companies often favored the West Indian workers because they spoke English and were sometimes better educated than their Honduran counterparts. This perception of foreign occupation, coupled with a growing race-prejudice against the African-descended West Indians led to considerable tension, as the arrival of the West Indians drove demographic change in the region.
The connection between the wealth of the banana trade and the influence of outsiders, particularly North Americans, led O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
, the American writer who took temporary refuge in Honduras in 1896-97, to coin the term "Banana Republic
Banana republic
In political science, the pejorative term Banana Republic denotes a politically unstable country dependent upon limited primary productions , which is ruled by a plutocracy, a small, self-elected, wealthy group who exploit the country by means of a politico-economic oligarchy...
" to describe Honduras. By 1912, three companies dominated the banana trade in Honduras: Samuel Zemurray's Cuyamel Fruit Company
Cuyamel Fruit Company
Cuyamel Fruit was a Honduran fruit company founded by Samuel Zemurray in 1910, to export fruit inland from Puerto Cortés, Honduras. Zemurray started as a banana retailer in Mobile, Alabama and moved to Honduras in order to participate in growing and exporting fruit...
, Vaccaro Brothers and Company and the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
; all of which tended to be vertically integrated, owning their own lands and railroad companies and ship lines such as United's "Great White Fleet". Through land subsidies granted to the railroads, they soon came to control vast tracts of the best land along the Caribbean coast. Coastal cities such as La Ceiba
La Ceiba
La Ceiba is a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part of the south eastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras...
, Tela
Tela
Tela is a town in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast. It is located in the department of Atlantida.-History:Tela was founded by the Spanish conquistador Cristóbal de Olid on 3 May 1524 near an indigenous town named Tehuacán, ruled by a cacique named Cucumba which had a very good source of...
, and Trujillo
Trujillo, Colón
Trujillo is a city and a municipality on the northern Caribbean coast of the Honduran department of Colón, of which the city is the capital. The municipality has a population of about 30,000 . The city is located on a bluff overlooking the Bay of Trujillo. Behind the city rise two prominent...
and towns further inland such as El Progreso
El Progreso
The municipality of El Progreso is located in the Honduran department of Yoro. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport of San Pedro Sula is located west of the city. To the east of the city is the mountain range of Mico Quemado ....
and La Lima became virtual company towns.
For the next twenty years, the U.S. government was involved in quelling Central American disputes, insurrections, and revolutions, whether supported by neighboring governments or by United States companies. As part of the so-called Banana Wars all around the Caribbean, Honduras saw the insertion of American troops in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924 and 1925. For instance, in 1917 the Cuyamel Fruit Company extended its rail lines into disputed Guatemalan territory.
Renewed threat of instability (1919-1924)
In 1919, it became obvious that Bertrand would refuse to allow an open election to choose his successor. Such a course of action was opposed by the United States and had little popular support in Honduras. The local military commander and governor of Tegucigalpa, General Rafael López GutiérrezRafael López Gutiérrez
General Rafael López Gutiérrez was President of Honduras between 1 February 1920 and 10 March 1924. A former general in the Honduran Army, Gutierrez attempted to extend his term in office past its designated end, and was forced from office...
, took the lead in organizing PLH opposition to Bertrand. López Gutiérrez also solicited support from the liberal government of Guatemala and even from the conservative regime in Nicaragua. Bertrand, in turn, sought support from El Salvador. Determined to avoid an international conflict, the United States, after some hesitation, offered to meditate the dispute, hinting to the Honduran president that if he refused the offer, open intervention might follow. Bertrand promptly resigned and left the country. The United States ambassador helped arrange the installation of an interim government headed by Francisco Bográn, who promised to hold free elections. However, General López Gutiérrez, who now effectively controlled the military situation, made it clear that he was determined to be the next president. After considerable negotiation and some confusion, a formula was worked out under which elections were held. López Gutiérrez won easily in a manipulated election, and in October 1920 he assumed the presidency.
During Borgrán's brief time in office, he had agreed to a United States proposal to invite a United States financial adviser to Honduras. Arthur N. Young of the Department of State was selected for this task and began work in Honduras in August 1920, continuing to August 1921. While there, Young compiled extensive data and made numerous recommendations, even persuading the Hondurans to hire a New York police lieutenant to reorganize their police forces. Young's investigations clearly demonstrated the desperate need for major financial reforms in Honduras, whose always precarious budgetary situation was considerably worsened by the renewal of revolutionary activities. In 1919, for example, the military had spent more than double the amount budgeted for them, accounting for over 57 percent of all federal expenditures. Young's recommendations for reducing the military budget, however, found little favor with the new López Gutiérrez administration, and the government's financial condition remained a major problem. If anything, continued uprisings against the government and the threat of a renewed Central America conflict made the situation even worse. From 1919 to 1924, the Honduran government expended US$7.2 million beyond the amount covered by the regular budgets for military operations.
From 1920 through 1923, seventeen uprisings or attempted coups in Honduras contributed to growing United States concern over political instability in Central America. In August 1922, the presidents of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador met on the U.S.S. Tacoma in the Golfo de Fonseca. Under the watchful eye of the United States ambassadors to their nations, the presidents pledged to prevent their territories from being used to promote revolutions against their neighbors and issued a call for a general meeting of Central American states in Washington at the end of the year.
The Washington conference concluded in February with the adoption of the General Treaty of Peace and Amity of 1923, which had eleven supplemental conventions. The treaty in many ways followed the provisions of the 1907 treaty. The Central American court was reorganized, reducing the influence of the various governments over its membership. The clause providing for withholding recognition of revolutionary governments was expanded to preclude recognition of any revolutionary leader, his relatives, or anyone who had been in power six months before or after such an uprising unless the individual's claim to power had been ratified by free elections. The governments renewed their pledges to refrain from aiding revolutionary movements against their neighbors and to seek peaceful resolutions for all outstanding disputes.
The supplemental conventions covered everything from the promotion of agriculture to the limitation of armaments. One, which remained unratified, provided for free trade among all of the states except Costa Rica. The arms limitation agreement set a ceiling on the size of each nation's military forces (2,500 men for Honduras) and included a United States-sponsored pledge to seek foreign assistance in establishing more professional armed forces.
The October 1923 Honduran presidential elections and the subsequent political and military conflicts provided the first real tests of these new treaty arrangements. Under heavy pressure from Washington, López Gutiérrez allowed an unusually open campaign and election. The long-fragmented conservatives had reunited in the form of the National Party of Honduras (Partido Nacional de Honduras—PNH), which ran as its candidate General Tiburcio Carías Andino
Tiburcio Carías Andino
Tiburcio Carías Andino was a Honduran military man with a reputation as a strongman. He founded the National Party of Honduras in 1918, and was President of Honduras twice with the first term beginning in April 1924....
, the governor of the department of Cortés. However, the liberal PLH was unable to unite around a single candidate and split into two dissident groups, one supporting former president Policarpo Bonilla, the other advancing the candidacy of Juan Angel Arias
Juan Ángel Arias Boquín
Juan Ángel Arias Boquín was President of Honduras 1 February - 13 April 1903.He was Member of the Partido Liberal de Honduras....
. As a result, each candidate failed to secure a majority. Carías received the greatest number of votes, with Bonilla second, and Arias a distant third. By the terms of the Honduran constitution, this stalemate left the final choice of president up to the legislature, but that body was unable to obtain a quorum and reach a decision.
In January 1924, López Gutiérrez announced his intention to remain in office until new elections could be held, but he repeatedly refused to specify a date for the elections. Carías, reportedly with the support of United Fruit, declared himself president, and an armed conflict broke out. In February the United States, warning that recognition would be withheld from anyone coming to power by revolutionary means, suspended relations with the López Gutiérrez government for its failure to hold elections.
Conditions rapidly deteriorated in the early months of 1924. On February 28, a pitched battle took place in La Ceiba between government troops and rebels. Even the presence of the U.S.S. Denver and the landing of a force of United States Marines were unable to prevent widespread looting and arson resulting in over US$2 million in property damage. Fifty people, including a United States citizen, were killed in the fighting. In the weeks that followed, additional vessels from the United States Navy Special Service Squadron were concentrated in Honduran waters, and landing parties were put ashore at various points to protect United States interests. One force of marines and sailors was even dispatched inland to Tegucigalpa to provide additional protection for the United States legation. Shortly before the arrival of the force, López Gutiérrez died, and what authority remained with the central government was being exercised by his cabinet. General Carías and a variety of other rebel leaders controlled most of the countryside but failed to coordinate their activities effectively enough to seize the capital.
In an effort to end the fighting, the United States government dispatched Sumner Welles to the port of Amapala; he had instructions to try to produce a settlement that would bring to power a government eligible for recognition under the terms of the 1923 treaty. Negotiations, which were once again held on board a United States cruiser, lasted from April 23 to April 28. An agreement was worked out that provided for an interim presidency headed by General Vicente Tosta
Vicente Tosta
Vicente Tosta Carrasco was provisional President of Honduras for ten months, from 30 April 1924 through 1 February 1925.WAR CIVIL...
, who agreed to appoint a cabinet representing all political factions and to convene a Constituent Assembly within ninety days to restore constitutional order. Presidential elections were to be held as soon as possible, and Tosta promised to refrain from being a candidate. Once in office, the new president showed signs of reneging on some of his pledges, especially those related to the appointment of a bipartisan cabinet. Under heavy pressure from the United States delegation, however, he ultimately complied with the provisions of the peace agreement.
Keeping the 1924 elections on track proved to be a difficult task. To put pressure on Tosta to conduct a fair election, the United States continued an embargo on arms to Honduras and barred the government from access to loans—including a requested US$75,000 from the Banco Atlántida. Furthermore, the United States persuaded El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua to join in declaring that, under the 1923 treaty provision, no leader of the recent revolution would be recognized as president for the coming term. These pressures ultimately helped persuade Carías to withdraw his candidacy and also helped ensure the defeat of an uprising led by General Gregorio Ferrera of the PNH. The PNH nominated Miguel Paz Barahona
Miguel Paz Barahona
Miguel Paz Barahona was President of Honduras from 1 February 1925 to 1 February 1929. Barahona was a member of the National Party of Honduras .The PNH nominated Barahona as their presidential candidate in 1924...
(1925–29), a civilian, for president. The PLH, after some debate, refused to nominate a candidate, and on December 28 Paz Barahona won virtual unanimous election.
Restoration of order (1925-1931)
Despite another minor uprising led by General Ferrera in 1925, Paz Barahona's administration was, by Honduran standards, rather tranquil. The banana companies continued to expand, the government's budgetary situation improved, and there was even an increase in labor organizing. On the international front, the Honduran government, after years of negotiations, finally concluded an agreement with the British bondholders to liquidate most of the immense national debt. The bonds were to be redeemed at 20 percent of face value over a thirty-year period. Back interest was forgiven, and new interest accrued only over the last fifteen years of this arrangement. Under the terms of this agreement, Honduras, at last, seemed on the road to fiscal solvency.Fears of disturbances increased again in 1928 as the scheduled presidential elections approached. The ruling PNH nominated General Carías while the PLH, united again following the death of Policarpo Bonilla in 1926, nominated Vicente Mejía Colindres
Vicente Mejía Colindres
Vicente Mejía Colindres was President of Honduras between 16 September and 5 October 1919; and again between 1 February 1929 and 1 February 1933. A successful beginning to his presidency was dampened by the effects of the 1929 economic depression...
. To the surprise of most observers, both the campaign and the election were conducted with a minimum of violence and intimidation. Mejía Colindres won a decisive victory—obtaining 62,000 votes to 47,000 for Carías. Even more surprising was Carías's public acceptance of defeat and his urging of his supporters to accept the new government.
Mejía Colindres took office in 1929 with high hopes for his administration and his nation. Honduras seemed on the road to political and economic progress. Banana exports, then accounting for 80 percent of all exports, continued to expand. By 1930 Honduras had become the world's leading producer of the fruit, accounting for one-third of the world's supply of bananas. United Fruit had come increasingly to dominate the trade, and in 1929 it bought out the Cuyamel Fruit Company, one of its two principal remaining rivals. Because conflicts between these companies had frequently led to support for rival groups in Honduran politics, had produced a border controversy with Guatemala, and may have even contributed to revolutionary disturbances, this merger seemed to promise greater domestic tranquility. The prospect for tranquility was further advanced in 1931 when Ferrera and his insurgents were killed, while leading one last unsuccessful effort to overthrow the government, after government troops discovered their hiding place in Chamelecon.
Many of Mejía Colindres's hopes, however, were dashed with the onset of the Great Depression. Banana exports peaked in 1930, then declined rapidly. Thousands of workers were laid off, and the wages of those remaining on the job were reduced, as were the prices paid to independent banana producers by the giant fruit companies. Strikes and other labor disturbances began to break out in response to these conditions, but most were quickly suppressed with the aid of government troops. As the depression deepened, the government's financial situation deteriorated; in 1931 Mejía Colindres was forced to borrow US$250,000 from the fruit companies to ensure that the army would continue to be paid.
The Era of Tiburcio Carías Andino (1932-1949)
Despite growing unrest and severe economic strains, the 1932 presidential elections in Honduras were relatively peaceful and fair. The peaceful transition of power was surprising because the onset of the depression had led to the overthrow of governments elsewhere throughout Latin America, in nations with much stronger democratic traditions than those of Honduras. After United Fruit bought out Cuyamal, Sam Zemurray, a strong supporter of the Liberal Party, left the country and the Liberals were short on cash by the 1932 general election. Mejía Colindres, however, resisted pressure from his own party to manipulate the results to favor the PLH candidate, Angel Zúñiga Huete. As a result, the PNH candidate, Carías, won the election by a margin of some 20,000 votes. On November 16, 1932, Carías assumed office, beginning what was to be the longest period of continuous rule by an individual in Honduran history.Lacking, however, was any immediate indication that the Carías administration was destined to survive any longer than most of its predecessors. Shortly before Carías's inauguration, dissident liberals, despite the opposition of Mejía Colindres, had risen in revolt. Carías had taken command of the government forces, obtained arms from El Salvador, and crushed the uprising in short order. Most of Carías's first term in office was devoted to efforts to avoid financial collapse, improve the military, engage in a limited program of road building, and lay the foundations for prolonging his own hold on power.
The economic situation remained extremely bad throughout the 1930s. In addition to the dramatic drop in banana exports caused by the depression, the fruit industry was further threatened by the outbreak in 1935 of epidemics of Panama disease (a debilitating fungus) and sigatoka (leaf blight) in the banana-producing areas. Within a year, most of the country's production was threatened. Large areas, including most of those around Trujillo, were abandoned, and thousands of Hondurans were thrown out of work. By 1937 a means of controlling the disease had been found, but many of the affected areas remained out of production because a significant share of the market formerly held by Honduras had shifted to other nations.
Carías had made efforts to improve the military even before he became president. Once in office, both his capacity and his motivation to continue and to expand such improvements increased. He gave special attention to the fledgling air force, founding the Military Aviation School in 1934 and arranging for a United States colonel to serve as its commandant.
As months passed, Carías moved slowly but steadily to strengthen his hold on power. He gained the support of the banana companies through opposition to strikes and other labor disturbances. He strengthened his position with domestic and foreign financial circles through conservative economic policies. Even in the height of the depression, he continued to make regular payments on the Honduran debt, adhering strictly to the terms of the arrangement with the British bondholders and also satisfying other creditors. Two small loans were paid off completely in 1935.
Political controls were instituted slowly under Carías. The Communist Party of Honduras (Partido Comunista de Honduras—PCH) was outlawed, but the PLH continued to function, and even the leaders of a small uprising in 1935 were later offered free air transportation should they wish to return to Honduras from their exile abroad. At the end of 1935, however, stressing the need for peace and internal order, Carías began to crack down on the opposition press and political activities. Meanwhile, the PNH, at the president's direction, began a propaganda campaign stressing that only the continuance of Carías in office could give the nation continued peace and order. The constitution, however, prohibited immediate reelection of presidents.
The method chosen by Carías to extend his term of office was to call a constituent assembly that would write a new constitution and select the individual to serve for the first presidential term under that document. Except for the president's desire to perpetuate himself in office, there seemed little reason to alter the nation's basic charter. Earlier constituent assemblies had written thirteen constitutions (only ten of which had entered into force), and the latest had been adopted in 1924. The handpicked Constituent Assembly of 1936 incorporated thirty of the articles of the 1924 document into the 1936 constitution. The major changes were the elimination of the prohibition on immediate reelection of a president and vice president and the extension of the presidential term from four to six years. Other changes included restoration of the death penalty, reductions in the powers of the legislature, and denial of citizenship and therefore the right to vote to women. Finally, the new constitution included an article specifying that the incumbent president and vice president would remain in office until 1943. But Carías, by then a virtual dictator, wanted even more, so in 1939 the legislature, now completely controlled by the PNH, obediently extended his term in office by another six years (to 1949).
The PLH and other opponents of the government reacted to these changes by attempting to overthrow Carías. Numerous efforts were made in 1936 and 1937, but all were successful only in further weakening the PNH's opponents. By the end of the 1930s, the PNH was the only organized functioning political party in the nation. Numerous opposition leaders had been imprisoned, and some had reportedly been chained and put to work in the streets of Tegucigalpa. Others, including the leader of the PLH, Zúñiga Huete, had fled into exile.
During his presidency, Carías cultivated close relations with his fellow Central American dictators, generals Jorge Ubico in Guatemala, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez in El Salvador, and Anastasio Somoza García in Nicaragua. Relations were particularly close with Ubico, who helped Carías reorganize his secret police and also captured and shot the leader of a Honduran uprising who had made the mistake of crossing into Guatemalan territory. Relations with Nicaragua were somewhat more strained as a result of the continuing border dispute, but Carías and Somoza managed to keep this dispute under control throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
The value of these ties became somewhat questionable in 1944 when popular revolts in Guatemala and El Salvador deposed Ubico and Hernández Martínez. For a time, it seemed as if revolutionary contagion might spread to Honduras as well. A plot, involving some military officers as well as opposition civilians, had already been discovered and crushed in late 1943. In May 1944, a group of women began demonstrating outside of the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa, demanding the release of political prisoners. Despite strong government measures, tension continued to grow, and Carías was ultimately forced to release some prisoners. This gesture failed to satisfy the opposition, and antigovernment demonstrations continued to spread. In July several demonstrators were killed by troops in San Pedro Sula. In October a group of exiles invaded Honduras from El Salvador but were unsuccessful in their efforts to topple the government. The military remained loyal, and Carías continued in office.
Anxious to curb further disorders in the region, the United States began to urge Carías to step aside and allow free elections when his current term in office expired. Carías, who by then was in his early seventies, ultimately yielded to these pressures and announced October 1948 elections, in which he would refrain from being a candidate. He continued, however, to find ways to use his power. The PNH nominated Carías's choice for president—Juan Manuel Gálvez, who had been minister of war since 1933. Exiled opposition figures were allowed to return to Honduras, and the PLH, trying to overcome years of inactivity and division, nominated Zúñiga Huete, the same individual whom Carías had defeated in 1932. The PLH rapidly became convinced that it had no chance to win and, charging the government with manipulation of the electoral process, boycotted the elections. This act gave Gálvez a virtually unopposed victory, and in January 1949, he assumed the presidency.
Evaluating the Carías presidency is a difficult task. His tenure in office provided the nation with a badly needed period of relative peace and order. The country's fiscal situation improved steadily, education improved slightly, the road network expanded, and the armed forces were modernized. At the same time, nascent democratic institutions withered, opposition and labor activities were suppressed, and national interests at times were sacrificed to benefit supporters and relatives of Carías or major foreign interests.
New Reform (1949-1954)
Once in office, Gálvez demonstrated more independence than had generally been anticipated. Some policies of the Carías administration, such as road building and the development of coffee exports, were continued and expanded. By 1953 nearly one-quarter of the government's budget was devoted to road construction. Gálvez also continued most of the prior administration's fiscal policies, reducing the external debt and ultimately paying off the last of the British bonds. The fruit companies continued to receive favorable treatment at the hands of the Gálvez administration; for example, United Fruit received a highly favorable twenty-five-year contract in 1949.Galvez, however, instituted some notable alterations from the preceding fifteen years. Education received increased attention and began to receive a larger share of the national budget. Congress actually passed an income tax law, although enforcement was sporadic at best. The most obvious change was in the political arena. A considerable degree of press freedom was restored, the PLH and other groups were allowed to organize, and even some labor organization was permitted. Labor also benefited from legislation during this period. Congress passed, and the president signed, legislation establishing the eight-hour workday, paid holidays for workers, limited employer responsibility for work-related injuries, and regulations for the employment of women and children.
1955–1979
In October 1955, after the general strike in 1954, young military reformists staged a coup that installed a provisional junta. Capital punishmentCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
was abolished in 1956, though the last person to be executed was in 1940 (The current president Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo has tried to bring it back). There were constituent assembly elections in 1957 which appointed Ramón Villeda
Ramón Villeda Morales
Ramón Villeda Morales is a municipality in the Honduran department of Gracias a Dios....
as President
President of Honduras
This page lists the Presidents of Honduras.Colonial Honduras declared its independence from Spain on 15 September 1821. From 5 January 1822 to 1 July 1823, Honduras was part of the First Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide....
, and itself becoming a national Congress with a 6-year term. The PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
ruled during 1957–63. The military began to become a professional institution independent of politics, with the newly created military academy graduating its first class in 1960. In October 1963, conservative military officers preempted constitutional elections and deposed Villeda
Ramón Villeda Morales
Ramón Villeda Morales is a municipality in the Honduran department of Gracias a Dios....
in a bloody coup. These officers exiled PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
members and governed under General Oswaldo López
Oswaldo López Arellano
Oswaldo Enrique López Arellano was a two-time President of Honduras, first from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1972 to 1975. He gained power both times via military force....
until 1970.
In July 1969, Honduras was invaded by El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
in the short Soccer War. Tensions in the aftermath of the conflict remain.
A civilian president for the PNH, Ramón Ernesto Cruz
Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés
Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés was the President of Honduras from 7 June 1971 till 4 December 1972.Cruz was born in San Juan de Flores in Honduras. His Father was Carlos Alberto Cruz and his mother Elisa Ucles Rosales. He was the eldest son, his brothers were: Herlinda, Carlos, Raul, Rene and Marta...
, took power briefly in 1970 until, in December 1972, Oswaldo López
Oswaldo López Arellano
Oswaldo Enrique López Arellano was a two-time President of Honduras, first from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1972 to 1975. He gained power both times via military force....
staged another coup. This time round, he adopted more progressive policies, including land reform.
López
Oswaldo López Arellano
Oswaldo Enrique López Arellano was a two-time President of Honduras, first from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1972 to 1975. He gained power both times via military force....
's successors continued armed forces modernization programs, building army and security forces, and concentrating on Honduran air force superiority over its neighbors. During the governments of General Juan Alberto Melgar
Juan Alberto Melgar Castro
Juan Alberto Melgar Castro was a general of the Honduran military who served as the head of state of Honduras from April 22, 1975 to August 7, 1979, when he was removed from power by others in the military....
(1975–78) and General Policarpo Paz
Policarpo Paz García
Policarpo Juan Paz García was a Honduran military leader and autocrat who served as President of Honduras from 7 August 1978 until 27 January 1982....
(1978–82), Honduras built most of its physical infrastructure and electricity and terrestrial telecommunications systems, both of which are state monopolies. The country experienced economic growth during this period, with greater international demand for its products and the increased availability of foreign commercial capital.
Constituent assembly (1980)
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 PLHLiberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
government of Roberto Suazo
Roberto Suazo Córdova
Roberto Suazo Córdova is a former President of Honduras.-Biography:In 1949, he graduated as a doctor from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. After his graduation, Suazo practiced his profession in the general hospital of Guatemala City...
assumed power.
1980s
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. During this time, Honduras also assisted the Contra guerillas.President launched ambitious social and economic development projects sponsored by American development aid. Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
mission in the world, and nongovernmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated.
Between 1979 and 1985, under John Negroponte
John Negroponte
John Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs...
's appointment as U.S. diplomat from 1981 to 1985, U.S. military and economic aid to Honduras jumped from $31 million to $282 million. Between 1979 and 1985, U.S. development aid
Development aid
Development aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...
fell from 80% of the total to 6%.
The United States established a continuing military presence in Honduras with the purpose of supporting the Contra guerillas fighting the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n 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, and many non-militants. The operation included a CIA-backed campaign of extrajudicial killings by government-backed units, most notably Battalion 316.
Suazo
Roberto Suazo Córdova
Roberto Suazo Córdova is a former President of Honduras.-Biography:In 1949, he graduated as a doctor from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. After his graduation, Suazo practiced his profession in the general hospital of Guatemala City...
, relying on U.S. support, created ambitious social and economic development projects to help with a severe economic recession and with the perceived threats of regional instability. 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...
became host to the largest Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
mission in the world and non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s and international voluntary agencies proliferated.
As the November 1985 election approached, the PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
could not settle on a presidential candidate and interpreted election law as permitting multiple candidates from any one party. The PLH claimed victory when its presidential candidates collectively outpolled the PNH
National Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
candidate, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, who received 42% of the total vote. José Azcona
José Azcona del Hoyo
José Simón Azcona del Hoyo was President of Honduras from 27 January 1986 to 27 January 1990 for the Liberal Party of Honduras . He was born in La Ceiba in Honduras.-Career:...
, the candidate receiving the most votes (27%) among the PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
, assumed the presidency in January 1986. With strong endorsement and support from the Honduran military, the Suazo
Roberto Suazo Córdova
Roberto Suazo Córdova is a former President of Honduras.-Biography:In 1949, he graduated as a doctor from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. After his graduation, Suazo practiced his profession in the general hospital of Guatemala City...
Administration ushered in the first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents in more than 30 years. In 1989 he oversaw the dismantling of Contras which were based in Honduras.
In 1988, as a result of threatening actions by the forces of the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
ns, US forces were deployed to Honduras
Operation Golden Pheasant
Operation Golden Pheasant was an emergency deployment of U.S. troops to Honduras in 1988, as a result of threatening actions by the forces of the Nicaraguans.-History:...
.
1990s
In January 1990, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, having won the presidential election, took office, concentrating on economic reform, reducing the deficit. He began a movement to place the military under civilian controlCivilian control of the military
Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers. One author, paraphrasing Samuel P...
and laid the groundwork for the creation of the public prosecution service.
In 1993, PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
candidate Carlos Roberto Reina
Carlos Roberto Reina
Carlos Roberto Reina Idiáquez was a politician of the Liberal Party of Honduras, and President of Honduras from January 27, 1994 to January 27, 1998....
was elected with 56% of the vote against PNH
National Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
contender Oswaldo Ramos. He won on a platform calling for a "Moral Revolution," making active efforts to prosecute corruption and pursued those responsible for alleged human rights abuses in the 1980s.
The Reina
Carlos Roberto Reina
Carlos Roberto Reina Idiáquez was a politician of the Liberal Party of Honduras, and President of Honduras from January 27, 1994 to January 27, 1998....
administration successfully increased civilian control over the armed forces, transferring the national police from military to civilian authority. In 1996, Reina
Carlos Roberto Reina
Carlos Roberto Reina Idiáquez was a politician of the Liberal Party of Honduras, and President of Honduras from January 27, 1994 to January 27, 1998....
named his own defense minister, breaking the precedent of accepting the nominee of the armed forces leadership.
His administration substantially increased Central Bank net international reserves, reduced inflation to 12.8% a year, restored a better pace of economic growth (about 5% in 1997), and held down spending to achieve a 1.1% non-financial public sector deficit in 1997.
PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
's Carlos Roberto Flores
Carlos Roberto Flores
Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé was President of Honduras from 27 January 1998 to 27 January 2002 and President of the National Congress from 25 January 1994 to 25 January 1998.- Biography :...
took office on 27 January 1998, as 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...
' fifth democratically elected President since free elections were restored in 1981, with a 10% margin over his main opponent PNH
National Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
nominee Nora Gúnera de Melgar
Nora Gúnera de Melgar
Nora Gúnera de Melgar is a Honduran politician and wife of General Juan Alberto Melgar , the Honduran military Head of State from 1975 to 1978. After being elected mayor of Tegucigalpa, she ran for presidency for the National Party in 1997 elections, but lost to Liberal Party nominee Carlos...
(the widow of former leader Juan Alberto Melgar
Juan Alberto Melgar Castro
Juan Alberto Melgar Castro was a general of the Honduran military who served as the head of state of Honduras from April 22, 1975 to August 7, 1979, when he was removed from power by others in the military....
). Flores inaugurated International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) programs of reform and modernization of the Honduran Government and economy, with emphasis on maintaining the country's fiscal health and improving international competitiveness.
In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
devastated Honduras, leaving more than 5,000 people dead and 1.5 million displaced. Damages totaled nearly $3 billion. International donors came forward to assist in rebuilding infrastructure, donating US$1400 million in 2000.
2000s
In November 2001, the National Party won presidential and parliamentary elections. The PNHNational Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
gained 61 seats in Congress and the PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
won 55. The PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
candidate Rafael Pineda was defeated by the PNH
National Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
candidate Ricardo Maduro
Ricardo Maduro
Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest is a former President of Honduras and Bank of Honduras chairman. Maduro graduated from The Lawrenceville School and later Stanford University...
, who took office in January 2002. Maduro administration emphasized on stopping mara growth, especially Mara 18
18th Street gang
18th Street gang is considered to be the largest transnational criminal gang in Los Angeles, California. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County alone...
and Mara Salvatrucha
Mara Salvatrucha
Mara Salvatrucha is a transnational criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to other parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Central Americans and active in urban and suburban areas...
.
On 27 November 2005 the PLH
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
candidate Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
beat the PNH
National Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
candidate and current Head of Congress Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, and became the new President on 27 January 2006.
Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the Liberal Party of Honduras
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
won the 27 November 2005 presidential elections with less than a 4% margin of victory, the smallest margin ever in Honduran electoral history. Zelaya's campaign theme was "citizen power," and he vowed to increase transparency and combat narcotrafficking, while maintaining macroeconomic stability. The Liberal Party won 62 of the 128 congressional seats, just short of an absolute majority.
In 2009 Zelaya caused controversy with his call to have a constitutional referendum in June to decide about convening a Constitutional National Assembly to formulate a new constitution. The constitution explicitly bars changes to some of its clauses, including the term limit, and the move precipitated a Constitutional Crisis
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
.
An injunction against holding the referendum was issued by the Honduran Supreme Court. Zelaya rejected the ruling and sacked Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez is a retired Brigadier general turned politician. He was head of the armed forces of Honduras from January 11, 2005 to January 25, 2010. He was born in Siguatepeque, Comayagua. In 1972 he joined the army, and he attended the School of the Americas at least twice, in 1976...
, the head of Honduras's armed forces
Military of Honduras
-pre-1979:During the twentieth century, Honduran military leaders frequently became presidents, either through elections or by coups d'état. General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected in 1932, he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to be reelected, and his rule became more...
. Vásquez had refused to help with the referendum because he did not want to violate the law. The sacking was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court as well as by the Congress and Vásquez was reinstated. The President then further defied the Supreme Court by pressing ahead with the vote, which the Court had deemed "illegal". The military had confiscated the ballots and polls in a military base in Tegucigalpa. On June 27, a day before the election, Zelaya followed by a big group of supporters entered the base and ordered, as Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces, for the ballots and polls to be returned to him. The congress saw this as abuse of power and ordered his capture.
On June 28, 2009, the military removed Zelaya from office and deported him to Costa Rica, a neutral country. Elvin Santos, the vice-president during the start of Zelaya's term, had resigned in order to run for president in the coming elections, and by presidential line of succession the head of Congress, Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
, was appointed president. However, due to the stance taken by the United Nations and the Organization of American States on use of military force to depose a president, most countries in the region and in the world continued to recognize Zelaya as the President of Honduras and denounced the actions as an assault on democracy .
Honduras continued to be ruled Micheletti's administration under strong foreign pressure. On November 29, democratic general elections
Honduran general election, 2009
The Honduran general election, 2009 was held in Honduras on 29 November 2009, including presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Voters went to the polls to elect:*A new President of Honduras to serve a four-year term starting January 27, 2010....
were held, with former Congressional president and 2005 nominee, Pepe Lobo as victor.
2010s
Inaugurated on January 27, 2010, Pepe Lobo and his administration focused throughout the first year for foreign recognition of presidential legitimately and Hondura's reinstitution in the OASOrganization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
.
See also
- History of the AmericasHistory of the AmericasThe history of the Americas is the collective history of the American landmass, which includes North and South America, as well as Central America and the Caribbean. It begins with people migrating to these areas from Asia during the height of an Ice Age...
- History of Central AmericaHistory of Central AmericaThe history of Central America is the study of the past of the region known as Central America.- Before European contact :In pre-Columbian times, most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican civilization. The Native American societies of Mesoamerica occupied the land ranging from...
- History of Latin AmericaHistory of Latin AmericaLatin America refers to countries in the Americas where Romance languages are spoken. This definition, however, is not meant to include Canada, in spite of its large French-speaking population....
- History of North AmericaHistory of North AmericaThe history of North America is the study of the past, particularly the written record, oral histories, and traditions, passed down from generation to generation on the continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and western hemisphere....
- List of Presidents of Honduras
- Politics of HondurasPolitics of HondurasPolitics of Honduras takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Honduras is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the...
- Spanish colonization of the AmericasSpanish colonization of the AmericasColonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...