Honduras history of the country. History of Honduras

State of Honduras, geography and history of Honduras

Information about the state of Honduras, geography and history of Honduras, political and economic structure

Definition

origin of name

History of Honduras

Pre-Columbian period

Colonial era

Federation of Central America

Independence

Twentieth Century

Territorial dispute with Nicaragua

Coup d'état in Honduras (2009)

Football war

Background and reasons

Escalating conflict

On the eve of the war

War activities

The role of aviation

Aftermath of the war

Football results

Geography

Largest cities

Tegucigalpa

La Ceiba

Puerto Cortez

Comayagua

Choluteka

Vegetation and fauna

State structure

Local government bodies

Political parties

Administrative divisions

Population

Public education

Economy

Agriculture

Ribad

Forestry

Industry

Transport

International trade

Currency and banks

The state budget

Military establishment

Honduran Navy

History

Combat composition

Base points

Foreign policy

Culture

Art

Fish rain in Honduras

Republic of Honduras (Spanish República de Honduras) is a state in Central America. The capital is the city of Tegucigalpa (until 1880 - Comayagua).

origin of name

There are several theories regarding the origin of the name of the state - Honduras, but to date, none of them has a scientific basis. According to one of the legends, the name of the country comes from the statement of Christopher Columbus during his last, fourth voyage to the New World in 1502. His ship was caught in a violent storm, and when he managed to escape, he said: "Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de estas honduras" (Thank God that we managed to get out of these depths). This phrase gave the name to Cape Gracias a Dios (Cabo Gracias a Dios) and the country of Honduras. The depths off the coast of Honduras are really great, therefore, such a name could have been given without connection with the said phrase of Columbus. The first mention of the name "Honduras" to designate the area west of Cape Gracias a Dios appeared in the texts in 1607.

History of Honduras

Pre-Columbian period

The territory of modern Honduras was part of a cultural region that historians call Mesoamerica. Several ancient civilizations existed on the territory of the country, the most famous of them being the Mayan Empire. Copan, near the border with Guatemala, is a major archaeological site containing Mayan artifacts in the country.

Colonial era

The first European to reach this land was Christopher Columbus, when he landed in 1502 on the east coast of Honduras, on a promontory that he named Gracias a Dios ("Thanks to God"). At that time, several Indian tribes lived in this region. After the conquest of Mexico, Hernan Cortes sent here in 1524 a detachment under the command of Cristobal de Olida to explore and colonize this territory. In the same year, Olid founded the first settlement there, Triumfo de la Cruz. Having discovered deposits of silver, Olid Cristobal decided to secede from the Spanish possessions. Upon learning of his betrayal, Cortez set out on a forced march from Mexico through the jungle and swamps along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, crossed the Yucatan Peninsula and reached Honduras in 1525. Olid had already been killed by that time. Cortez founded several settlements, but the conquerors faced fierce resistance from the Indians under the command of the leader Lempiri, who is now considered the national hero of Honduras.

Until 1539 Honduras was included in the captaincy-general of Guatemala, which consisted of two provinces - Tegucigalpa and Comayagua, each of which was ruled by a governor. The colony developed slowly, despite the ruthless exploitation of the Indians in the silver mines. Until 1821 Honduras, like other countries of Central America and Mexico, declared its independence from Spain, but in the same year it was annexed by Mexico, where Agustín de Iturbide established a monarchy (Mexican Empire).

Federation of Central America

After the collapse of the Iturbide empire in 1823, Honduras and the neighboring republics created the federal state of the United Provinces of Central America. Under the constitution of 1824, this state entity was named the Federation of Central America. Political disagreements, which began almost immediately after the creation of the federation, put Honduras, along with other republics, in an extremely difficult situation. The main struggle was between the conservative elements - the large Spanish landowners, who allied with the Catholic Church, and the liberals, who belonged to the intellectual elite, and the Creole landowners who advocated a secular state and a market economy.

In 1825, the Salvadoran liberal Manuel José Arce was elected the first president of the Federation of Central America, but the next year he renounced his party, held a series of events that led to the return of the Conservatives to power and the actual abolition of the liberal constitution. In the civil war that began after this, the famous Honduran-born liberal Francisco Morasan Quesada, who became a national hero, played an important role. In 1829 the army under his command defeated the army of Arce and occupied Guatemala. The federal constitution was reinstated, and in 1830 Morasan was elected president. While Morasan was unquestionably a successful leader, he was in too much of a hurry to pursue liberal reforms. In addition, the republics that were part of the federation were still afraid of Guatemala's claims to supremacy, although Morasan moved the capital to San Salvador in 1832. Finally, in 1838, the republics officially announced their withdrawal from the Federation.

Independence

On October 26, 1838, legislative fees in Comayagua proclaimed Honduras an independent republic. Guatemalan dictator Rafael Carrera, who held power from 1844 to 1865, ousted liberal governments in Honduras and El Salvador. This was partly the decisive reason for the three neighboring states - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, where the tendency towards unification was quite pronounced, to create a confederation in 1849. The union lasted until 1863.

From 1871 to 1874 Honduras was at war with El Salvador and Guatemala. After the end of this war, civil war broke out in Honduras itself; it ended with the election of Ponciano Leivi as president, supported by Guatemala. The next president (in 1876-1883) was Mazko Aurelio Soty, a supporter of liberal reforms. In 1880, a long rivalry between the cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagua ended with Tegucigalpa finally establishing itself as the capital.

Twentieth Century

At the beginning of the 20th century, Honduras remained the poorest and least developed country in Central America. The US fruit companies, which began growing bananas on plantations along the Caribbean coast, soon became a decisive force in the country's economic and political life. Until 1910, American companies controlled 80% of all banana plantations, and banana cultivation was the main branch of the national economy. Honduras was called the "banana republic".

In 1933, Tiburcio Carias Andino became president, who established a brutal dictatorship. In January 1949, Carias resigned from the presidency, appointing in his place Juan Manuel Galvez, who was supported by the National Party. Galvez carried out a number of important economic and social reforms. During his reign, new roads, schools, and health care institutions were built.

In October 1954, there was a presidential election, but no candidate received the required majority, and in December, Vice President Julio Lozano Diaz seized power. In October 1956, the military junta deposed Lozano and organized elections for the legislature, and in 1957 promulgated a new constitution. In November 1957, the legislature held a presidential election, which became Ramón Villeda Morales. Viljeda began the implementation of the agrarian reform, which caused the discontent of the landowners and the army. Viljeda's presidential rule was complicated over and over again by the outbreak of uprisings of the population, and in October 1963, another military coup took place in the country. In 1965, new elections were held for the Legislative Assembly, which then elected a president for another 6-year term. It was a military man, Colonel Osvaldo López Arellano, who stopped the agrarian reforms begun under Villeda.

In the 1960s, relations between Honduras and El Salvador deteriorated significantly, caused by border conflicts, as well as numerous cases of resettlement of landless and unemployed citizens of El Salvador to Honduras. On July 14, 1969, following the scandalous football match between the teams of these countries, which took place in San Salvador and was accompanied by fights between the fans, the so-called. "Football war". Four days of hostilities are estimated to have cost two thousand lives. In June 1970, the conflict was partially resolved - the states agreed to establish a demilitarized zone, and in 1976 agreed to settle the conflict through mediators. Relations between Honduras and El Salvador remained tense until 1980, when the peace treaty was signed. In 1992, border conflicts were resolved by the International Court of Justice (UN).

In March 1971, a national election was held in which Ramon Ernesto Cruz, leader of the National Party, was elected president. However, in 1972, Lopez Arellano regained power with a bloodless coup and the suspension of Congress. At that time, peasant uprisings began again in the country. Lopez resumed agrarian reforms, distributing state land to landless peasants and allowing the settlement of vacant private land. Lopez issued a law on a new agrarian reform aimed at creating peasant cooperatives. In April 1975 the military removed Lopez from power and was replaced by Colonel Juan Alberto Melgar Castro.

Corruption and rivalry between different military groups led to the fact that in 1978 Melgar Castro was overthrown by a military junta, led by General Polycarpo Paz Garcia. Legislative elections were held in 1980, but no party received a majority, and Paz remained in the presidency. The 1981 presidential election was won by the Liberal Party candidate, Roberto Suazo Cordova. In 1985, he was succeeded by another liberal, Jose Ascona, who won the next election over the National Party candidate Rafael Callejas. But Callejas returned to power again with 51% of the vote in the next election. At this time, although a civil government nominally existed in the state, the military retained power in their hands.

Honduras escaped the fate of Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, which experienced large-scale civil wars, but in the 1980s there were several left-wing groups in the country, who were responsible for several terrorist attacks against odious figures of the regime and the Americans, as well as two unsuccessful incursions such »From the territory of Nicaragua. At the moment, the communists and supporters of "left" political views have regrouped into the PUD party.

Since the beginning of the 90s, a full-fledged political life has existed in the country, which, however, is largely determined by the rivalry of the two giant parties, the National and the Liberal, but the electoral legislation also allows other political groups to be represented in parliament. The Liberal Party won the presidential elections in 1993, 1997, 2005, the National in 2001.

In 1993, Carlos Roberto Reina became president, in 1998 Carlos Roberto Flores, in 2001 Ricardo Maduro, in 2005 Manuel Zelaya Rosales, a candidate of the Liberal Party who was forcibly removed from his post by the military in 2009.

The country remains one of the poorest in the region; by 1993, up to 70% of the population lived below the official poverty line.

Territorial dispute with Nicaragua

In the late 1990s, relations between Honduras and neighboring Nicaragua worsened, with which there had been disagreements since the end of the 19th century regarding the issue of coastal sovereignty in the area of \u200b\u200bCape Gracias de Dios. Both countries accused each other of concentrating troops on the border. Nicaragua imposed additional duties on goods from Honduras and filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The parties, through the mediation of the Organization of American States, in 2000, decided on a mutual withdrawal of troops from the border.

Coup d'état in Honduras (2009)

The coup d'état in Honduras in 2009 is a military coup that resulted from the political crisis that began in June 2009.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya intended to hold a constitutional referendum on June 28, 2009, following which the possibility of re-election of the head of state could be added to the country's constitution. The Honduran constitution prohibits the re-election of the president for a new term. The basic law interprets such attempts as "high treason". The Supreme Court of Honduras, opposition to the president in parliament and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal have all opposed the constitutional changes. The president removed the chief of the general staff from his post for refusing to ensure the holding of the referendum, and the minister of defense also resigned. Some time later, the Supreme Court reinstated them in office. In the early morning of June 28, shortly before the referendum, the president was seized by force and taken to Costa Rica. Later that day, the Supreme Court announced that it had ordered the removal of the president. The President of the unicameral National Congress, Roberto Micheletti, has been appointed interim head of state. The new head of state, a few hours after his election, introduced a state of emergency in the country.

Opponents of the ousted president argue that there was no coup, since the military only carried out the decision of the country's parliament, as well as a direct order from the Supreme Court to arrest the president. Power in the country passed to civilians in accordance with legal procedures, and not to the military as a result of the coup.

On September 21, 2009, ousted President Manuel Zelaya returned to Honduras and made an appeal to his supporters from the premises of the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, in response the new government of Honduras imposed a curfew. A rally of supporters of Manuel Zelaya that arose near the Brazilian embassy was dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets.

On October 29, Zelaya and Micheletti signed an agreement that would give Zelaya the opportunity to continue serving as president for the remaining months of his term if approved by Parliament. However, the agreement was not implemented. On November 25, the country's Supreme Court ruled that Zelaya would not be able to return to the presidency. On the same day, the courthouse was fired upon from a grenade launcher.

International response:

European Union: "The EU strongly condemns the arrest of the constitutionally elected President of the Republic of Honduras by military forces."

Cuba: "Cuba condemns the coup d'état in Honduras" (Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla)

Russia: "Russia strongly condemns these actions and calls for an early restoration of law and order in Honduras"

Venezuela: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saw the intervention of the "Yankee Empire" in the military coup and threatened to use force against the "military junta" that removed the president. Shortly thereafter, Venezuelan troops were put on alert.

Football war

Football War (English Soccer War, Spanish Guerra del Fútbol) - a fleeting military conflict between El Salvador and Honduras, which lasted 6 days (from 14 to 20 July 1969). According to international media, the immediate reason for the war was the loss of the Honduran team to the El Salvador team in the playoffs of the qualifying stage of the FIFA World Cup, which explains the name given to the conflict.

Despite the transience, the conflict came at a cost to both sides; the total losses were about 2,000 people. The war buried the Central American Common Market regional integration project. The peace treaty between the countries was signed only 10 years after the end of the war.

Background and reasons

The immediate cause of the war was a long-standing dispute between the two countries over the exact location of certain sections of the common border. Honduras was also greatly annoyed by the substantial trade advantages afforded to the more developed Salvadoran economy under the rules of the Central American Common Market organization. Both countries experienced significant economic difficulties, both were ruled by the military; both governments sought to divert public attention from pressing domestic political and economic problems.

El Salvador, the smallest and most populous of all the Central American states, had a more developed economy, but experienced an acute shortage of suitable for cultivation. Much of the land in El Salvador was controlled by large landowners, which led to "land hunger" and the migration of landless peasants to neighboring Honduras.

Honduras is much larger in territory than its neighbor, less densely populated and less developed economically. By 1969, more than 300,000 Salvadorans had moved to Honduras in search of free land and work. Many had already lived in the country for many years by that time. Most migrants entered the country illegally, seizing vacant land and starting to cultivate it; such unauthorized settlers had no rights to the land, except for their physical presence on it.

For Honduras, the land issue itself did not matter much; however, the prospect of dominance and domination of the Salvadorans in the economy caused great irritation in the society. During the 1960s, the rules of the Central American Common Market gave preference to the economies of the more developed countries in the region, El Salvador and Guatemala. The explosive growth in the number of Salvadoran-owned private enterprises in Honduras (most notable in the number of shoe stores) in the eyes of ordinary citizens of Honduras was a clear indication of the economic backwardness of their country. The problem of the Salvadoran squatters, although not very significant in an economic sense, was a sore spot for the Honduran nationalists, who believed that economic dominance would be followed by territorial expansion, and Hondurans would be aliens in their country.

Escalating conflict

Tension in bilateral relations gradually increased during the two years preceding the conflict. The regime of Honduran President Osvaldo López Arellano (1963-1971) experienced significant economic and political difficulties and decided to use the Salvadoran settlers as a convenient scapegoat. In January 1969, the government refused to renew the 1967 bilateral immigration treaty with El Salvador. In April, it announced its intention to deprive and expel those who acquired land as part of the agrarian reform from the country, without providing evidence required by law that the acquirer was a citizen of Honduras by birth. A media campaign was launched to explain the rise in unemployment and declining wages as an influx of migrant workers from El Salvador.

At the end of May, a stream of dispossessed migrants pulled from Honduras to overpopulated El Salvador. Images of refugees and their stories filled the pages of Salvadoran newspapers and television screens. Rumors of violence perpetrated by the Honduran military in the expulsion of immigrants began to circulate. Tension in relations between the two countries was approaching a critical point.

El Salvador's public services were unable to cope with the influx of displaced refugees; discontent grew in society, which threatened to result in a social explosion. Trust in the government was falling; success in the conflict with Honduras could help him regain popular support. While the war would almost certainly have led to the disintegration of the Central American Common Market, the Salvadoran government was willing to do so. According to him, the organization was already close to disintegration due to the problem of trade advantages; war would only hasten the inevitable.

On the eve of the war

The incident that provoked open hostilities and gave the war its name took place in San Salvador in June 1969. Within a month, the football teams of the two countries had to play two matches for reaching the final of the 1970 FIFA World Cup (if each team won one match, a third was appointed). Riots arose both during the first match in Tegucigalpa, and after it (a certain citizen of El Salvador shot herself, declaring that she could not survive such a shame of her country), and during the second match (the return victory of El Salvador), in San Salvador, they reached the threatening scale. In El Salvador, Honduran footballers and fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned; a backlash of attacks against the Salvadorans, including two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country. Emotions ran high, and the press of both countries became hysterical. On June 27, 1969, immediately after losing the third match, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador.

On July 14, the Salvadoran armed forces launched a concerted military action against Honduras.

War activities

The Salvadoran Air Force attacked targets in Honduras, and the army launched an offensive along the main roads connecting the two countries and the Honduran-owned islands in Fonseca Bay. Initially, the Salvadoran troops were successful. By the evening of July 15, the Salvadoran army, larger and better armed than the opposing army of Honduras, advanced 8 km and occupied the capital of the Nueva department, Octotepec. However, after that, the offensive collapsed due to a lack of fuel and ammunition. The main reason for the shortage of fuel was the actions of the Honduran Air Force, which, in addition to destroying the weaker Salvadoran air force, seriously damaged the Salvadoran oil storage facilities.

The day after the outbreak of the war, an emergency session of the Organization of American States was convened, calling for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Salvadoran troops from Honduras. For several days, El Salvador resisted OAS calls, demanding that Honduras first agree to the payment of reparations for attacks on Salvadoran citizens and guarantee the safety of the Salvadorans who remain in Honduras. A ceasefire was agreed on 18 July; the fire was completely stopped by 20 July. Until July 29, El Salvador refused to withdraw its troops, but then agreed to the withdrawal of troops in early August. He was persuaded to such a decision, on the one hand, by the threat of economic sanctions on the part of the OAS, and on the other, by its proposals to station in Honduras special representatives of the OAS to control the security of Salvadoran citizens. Active hostilities lasted only four days, but a peace treaty between the two countries was concluded only ten years later.

The role of aviation

The football war is often referred to as the most recent conflict in which piston-powered propeller-driven aircraft fought against each other. Both sides used American aircraft from World War II. The P-51 Mustang, F4U Corsair, T-28 Trojan, and even converted into Douglas DC-3 bombers made combat missions. The state of the Salvadoran Air Force was so deplorable that the bombs had to be dropped manually through the windows.

Aftermath of the war

In fact, both sides lost the war. Between 60 and 130 thousand Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians. Bilateral trade came to a complete halt and the border was closed, damaging both economies and transforming the Central American Common Market into an organization that only existed on paper.

The political influence of the military in both countries increased after the war. In the elections to the Parliament of El Salvador, the candidates from the ruling National Reconciliation Party were mostly military. However, the government was unable to successfully address the economic problems associated with the appearance of thousands of citizens deported from Honduras in an already overpopulated country. In addition, the government lost the economic safety valve that illegal emigration to Honduras used to provide; the land issue has sharply deteriorated again. The resulting social tension was one of the reasons for the 1981 civil war in El Salvador.

Football results

Playoffs June 27, Mexico City, Mexico. El Salvador - Honduras 3: 2 in extra time (1: 2, 2: 2).

Having beaten in the final stage of the selection of Haitians in the fall, the El Salvador national football team, for the first time in its history, reached the final part of the World Cup, where it took last place, losing dry in all matches.

Geography

Honduras is located in Central America and occupies the northern part of the Central American isthmus. In the south, Honduras borders Nicaragua, in the west with Guatemala, in the southwest with El Salvador; in the north and east it is washed by the Caribbean Sea and its Honduran Gulf, in the south-west it opens onto the Fonseca Bay in the Pacific Ocean. The country also includes numerous islands in the Caribbean and Fonseca Gulf, including the remote Swan Islands in the northeast.

Most of the territory is highlands (up to 2865 m), composed mainly of Archean crystalline and metamorphic rocks, in the south by Cenozoic lavas.

Honduras is located on a vast plateau, which is crossed from east to west by mountain ranges: Montesillos, Comayagua and Opalaca with the highest point in the country, Mount Selake (2,865 m). 80% of Honduras is covered with mountains, and lowlands are found mainly only along the coast. A deep tectonic valley divides the mountain ranges from north to south, from the source of the Ulua River to the Gulf of Fonseca. Its length from the Caribbean coast to the bay is 280 km, and the highest point of its bottom, which means the intra-valley watershed of the basins of the two oceans, reaches 940 m above sea level. The other two largest rivers in Honduras are Patuca and Aguan.

Along the coast of the Caribbean Sea are the San Pedro Sula Plains and the Mosquito Coast (mostly swampy). Banana plantations are located on the north coast. There is also a flat zone on the Pacific coast. To the northeast, in the lowlands, are the La Mosquito jungle, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Rio Plateau Biosphere Reserve.

Relief

Most of Honduras is mountainous. High steep massifs rise from the very border with El Salvador, reaching elevations of more than 2,700 m in the western part of the country. A deep tectonic valley cuts the mountainous region from north to south, from the mouth of the Ulua River to Fonseca Bay. Its length from the Caribbean coast to the gulf is 280 km, and the highest point of its bottom, marking the intra-valley watershed between the basins of the two oceans, reaches 940 m above sea level. In the mountainous area, there are intermontane depressions; their bottoms with gently undulating relief lie 600–1500 m above sea level. In the south of the country, sheets of volcanic lava and ash are widespread; to the north and east, their thickness decreases.

The area adjacent to the Caribbean coast is dominated by latitudinal ridges with steep slopes and sharp ridges. One of these ridges, the Sierra de Merendon, separates the valley of the Motagua River, located in Guatemala, from the lowland along which the Ulua River flows; this lowland is approx. 40 km extends almost 100 km from the Caribbean coast. To the east there is another depression located at the mouth of the Atuan River. On the rest of the coast, narrow river valleys are sandwiched between ridges ranging in height from 450 to 1500 m above sea level. The most extensive lowland - the swampy Mosquito Coast with the huge Karatasca lagoon - is located in the north-east of the country and continues further south into Nicaragua.

Climate

The climate of the country is characterized as a tropical trade wind with sharp differences in precipitation on the windward (northern and eastern) and leeward slopes of the mountains. Seasonal temperature changes are negligible. Average monthly temperatures in the lowlands are from +22 ° C to +26 ° C, in the highlands from +10 ° C to +22 ° C.

The Caribbean coast and other regions of the republic, up to an altitude of 800 meters, belong to the hot zone, the so-called "tierra caliente", and the main part of the country lies in the moderately hot zone ("tierra templada"). In the interior regions of the country and in the south, precipitation falls much less and the rainy season falls in May-October. On the Pacific coast, the wettest months are from September to January. On average in the country, precipitation falls up to 3000 mm per year.

Destructive tropical hurricanes are frequent. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 destroyed nearly 80% of crops, killed approximately 8,000 people, and left almost 20% of the population homeless.

Largest cities

Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa (Spanish Tegucigalpa) is the capital (since 1880) and the largest city of Honduras. Population 1,682,725 thousand inhabitants (2006, with suburbs). The third largest city in Central America (after Guatemala and San Salvador). The city is located among the mountains of the central part of the country, in the valley of the Choluteka River at an altitude of about 1000 m above sea level. Tegucigalpa is also the capital of the Francisco Morazán department.

The most common version of the name Tegucigalpa comes from the words Tegus-galpa of the Nahuatl language, which means "silver hills". Guatemalan explorer Favio Rhodes, the origin of the name Tegucigalpa, put forward the version that Tegucigalpa means bird in the Nahuatl language. There were other hypotheses put forward by two Mexican experts, Ignacio Davila Garibi and Alfredo Barrera Vasquez, that the word Tegucigalpa derives from the Nualt Tecuztlicallipan, or "The abode of the rich" or Tegutzilkapan (Tecuhtzincalpan).

Words with the suffix -alpa exist in the Sumo language of the Misumalp language family, which was widespread in Honduras before the arrival of the Aztecs.

None of the versions, except for the official one, have yet become widespread.

Tegucigalpa was founded on September 29, 1578 on the site of an existing Indian settlement. The city's original name was San Miguel de Tegucigalpa de Heredia. At that time it was the center of the silver and gold mines. The first capital of Honduras was the port city of Trujillo. Later, the capital was moved to the city of Gracias in the western department of Lempira. In the future, the capital was again moved several times to Tegucigalpa, then to Comayagua. Tegucigalpa finally became the capital in 1880. One of the reasons for the final transfer of the capital to Tegucigalpa was the desire of the then President Marco Aurelio Soto to be closer to his mining business, which was located 40 km from Tegucigalpa.

The city remained small and provincial until the 1960s. In the 1930s, the town of Comayaguela on the other side of the Choluteca River was incorporated into Tegucigalpa. The city is now booming, expanding beyond the colonial city and continuing to grow at a fast pace but rather chaotic. Today, the city is also growing thanks to economic migrants who come to the capital from the provinces in search of work and a better future.

The capital of Honduras is conditionally divided by the Choluteka River into two halves - mountainous and flat. The plain refers to the part of the city located on the slopes of the El Picacho mountain, and several areas on the Comayagua plateau. The main feature of Tegucigalpa is its mild climate and fresh air. The city is constantly blown by mountain winds, and in addition, pine forests have been preserved on the slopes of the nearby mountains, bringing coolness to the residents.

On October 22, 1998, the waters of the southwestern part of the Caribbean created a tropical depression, which grew into a tropical hurricane a day later, called Mitch. Gaining power, Mitch rushed north and by October 26, his strength exceeded 12 points, generating prolonged winds up to 290 kilometers per hour and gusts up to 320. On October 30, 1998, as a result of this hurricane, the city of Tegucigalpa was badly damaged. Part of the Comayagua city area, as well as some other places along the Choluteca River, were destroyed. Rains and downpours accompanied the hurricane for 5 days, saturating the ground with water and leading to landslides throughout the country, but most of all in the capital along the Choluteka River.

The main attraction of the city is the Iglesia de San Francisco church. Most of the modern church was built in 1740, although the building itself began construction in 1592. It has a stately exterior and interior in a traditional Spanish style. In front of the park area Parque Central stands the Cathedral of San Miguel, which was built for almost 20 years, from 1765-1782. It has a gilded altar and a carved stone cross, which are the objects of pilgrimage for tourists. The premises of the old University of Antigua Paraninfo-Universitaria currently used as an art museum. South of Parque Central, rises the National Art Gallery complex, or Paraninfo, with a collection of Central American art. The National University was originally built as a convent. Next to the National University is the National Congress Complex, the country's main government building. In the block to the west there is the Presidential Palace, which houses the Historical Museum of the Republic. Particularly noteworthy is the Caye-Peatonal Street or Pedestrian Street, literally packed with shops, cafes and street stalls. To the west lies the cozy and shady Parquet Herrera, on the south side of which is the complex of the National Theater Manuel Bonilla, built in 1915 and is almost an exact copy of the Parisian building of Atheny-Comique. In Parque La Concordia, exact copies of the Copan Mayan sculptures, kept in the country's museums, are on display. In the northwest, you can find the small domed church Iglesia de Nuestra Senhora de Los Dolores, built in 1732. Its facade is decorated with biblical scenes, and inside there is a unique altar, which, according to some residents, has miraculous properties. Two blocks west of Los Dolores is the Villa Roy mansion, home of President Julio Lozano Diaz, which now houses the National Museum of Anthropology and History with an extensive history of the country and a small library. Morasan Square is also considered one of the central parts of the city and is used as a popular meeting place and venue for social events. The statue in the center of the square is erected in honor of the national hero Francisco Morazán. The National Library is located in his home today. On the eastern edge of the square rises the snow-white façade of the Cathedral of San Miguel, built in 1782. North of Morasan Square are the old suburbs, which were once the area of \u200b\u200bresidence of wealthy emigrants. The slopes of the Cerro el Picacho hill are literally crammed with old buildings reminiscent of the capital's colonial past. In Parque de las Naciones Unidas stands the youngest monument in the capital - the massive Cristo del Picacho monument (1997), from the foot of which a breathtaking panorama of the city and its surroundings opens. To the east of the center begins a respectable area called Colonia Palmira, where most of the foreign embassies, luxury hotels and wealthy residences of the capital are concentrated. In the east of the capital, there is Morasan Boulevard, Tegucigalpa's entertainment center. It is often referred to as La Zona Viva. The boulevard borders on the country's main stadium, Estado Nacional. The La Paz Monument, visible to the south of the stadium, was built to commemorate the end of the 1969 "football war", which killed about two thousand people. Noteworthy is the Museum of Military History in Valle Park - a private collection of objects of pre-Columbian cultures of America - Sala Bancatlan (open from 9.00 to 15.00) on Miraflores Boulevard, the Natural History Museum in the complex of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) with an extensive exposition of the country's various ecosystems. The main market of the capital, San Isidro, stretches between 6th Avenue and Calle Uno from the Puente Carias River Bridge.

Toncontin International Airport serves as the main airport for arrivals and departures from Tegucigalpa. The origin of this name is unknown. This airport is often criticized for being among the ten most dangerous airports in the world. Due to its location close to a mountain range, its too short airstrip, and a complex approach that requires large commercial aircraft to take a tight left hairpin. Due to the terrain, the turning maneuver is performed at a low altitude. Efforts have been made over the years to replace Toncontin with Palmerola Airport in Comayagua, which is now the Air Force Base for the United States and Honduras. On May 30, 2008, a plane crash occurred at the airport, as a result of which a TACA plane slid off the runway and crashed into the embankment, destroying several vehicles. As a result of the crash, 5 people were killed and 65 were injured. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya announced that for several years all commercial flights will be operated via Palmerola Airport.

La Ceiba

La Ceiba (Spanish: La Ceiba) is a port city on the northern coast of Honduras, the administrative center of the Atlantis department. The city is located on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, on the eastern border of the Gulf of Honduras.

With a population of over 200,000, La Ceiba is the third largest city in Honduras. Officially founded on 23 August 1877. Named after the giant ceiba trees that grew near the old docks and fell into the sea in late 2007. La Ceiba is called the ecological tourism capital of Honduras. Every year the city hosts a festival in honor of Isidore the farmer, which attracts more than half a million tourists.

The proud economy is based on banana farming and forestry, as well as food and leather industries.

Puerto Cortez

Another of the main cities of Honduras is Puerto Cortez. This port, based on the country's Caribbean coast, has the most modern equipment and is considered one of the best equipped in Central America. Due to its geographic location, Puerto Cortez has developed into one of the safest ports in the world and has received a security certification from the US Department of Security.

Comayagua

The city of Comayagua is located in the heart of the country, at an altitude of 1650 meters above sea level. The city was founded by Captain Alonso de Caceres in 1537. For decades, he managed to preserve the features of colonial architecture. Comayagua was once the capital of Honduras, and this is an important part in the history of the country. The city is inhabited by more than 60,000 people, whose main occupations are cattle breeding and agriculture.

Choluteka

Choluteca (Spanish Choluteca) is a city in the south of Honduras, the administrative center of the Choluteca department. Population 101.6 thousand (2001, estimate).

The city is located on the Pan American Highway, near the border with Nicaragua, on the Choluteca River. There is a bridge over the river, built in the 1930s by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Founded in 1522, in 1845 received the status of a city. Many buildings have survived in the city from the colonial period.

Flooding during Hurricane Mitch in 1998 caused significant damage to Cholutek. The amount of precipitation has exceeded several monthly norms, which led to the overflow of the Choluteka River.

Choluteka is one of the economically developed regions of Honduras. Agriculture: sugar production; shrimp farming; melons, watermelons, okra, sweet potatoes, cotton, coffee, sesame, corn are grown; cattle breeding, fishing. Leather, timber industry.

Vegetation and fauna

The hot and humid lowlands of the Caribbean coast and the adjacent mountain slopes were formerly covered with dense tropical rainforest, which is now partially destroyed. Higher in the mountains, where temperatures are lower, there are oak and pine forests. In arid inland areas, including the Tegucigalpa region and areas to the south and east, the area is covered with grassy savanna and low sparse forests. As in other countries of Central America, a number of valuable tree species are found in the forests of Honduras. Especially many of them grow on the vast, almost impenetrable jungle plain of La Mosquito and on the slopes of the surrounding mountains.

A large number of wild animals live throughout Honduras, which survived due to the poorly populated area of \u200b\u200bthis mountainous region, the tropical climate of which was not quite suitable for humans. Here you can find both common for Central America and rare species of animals: bears, various types of deer, monkeys, wild pigs and bakers, tapirs, badgers, coyotes, wolves, foxes, jaguars, cougars, lynxes, ocelots, a rare black panther and many other, smaller felines. There are also alligators, crocodiles, iguanas and snakes, including venomous ones (the latter include the deadly kaisaka and kaskawela), as well as anteaters, koats, sloths, armadillos and kinkajou. The rich avifauna includes wild turkey, pheasant, parrots, including macaw, heron, toucan and many other species.

State structure

Honduras is a unitary presidential republic. In 1932-1949, the country was ruled by a dictator - General Tiburcio Carias Andino, then the multi-party system was restored. A military coup took place in 1963, followed by a period of military juntas. In November 1981, Honduras returned to civilian rule, but strong military influence over the country's politics persists.

The 1982 constitution is in force, with subsequent amendments made to it. Separation of powers is also provided.

Legislative power in the country belongs to the unicameral National Assembly of 128 deputies; annual sessions run from January 25 to December 31, but may be extended. Extraordinary sessions are possible by decision of the assembly or at the request of the executive. The National Assembly elects the chairman and members of the Supreme Court, the chief inspector, the prosecutor of the republic and their deputies, has the right to request the work of ministers, bring charges against the president, ministers and other state officials, grants political amnesty, awards senior officer ranks, determines the number of armed forces, declares war and peace. The Assembly approves the draft budget submitted by the executive branch, makes decisions on attracting loans and foreign capital.

Executive power is exercised by the president, together with government ministers. There are also three vice presidents. The President is the head of state, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the guarantor of the constitution, issues decrees, participates in the creation of laws, submitting projects to the National Assembly, dictates the adoption of urgent measures in the economic and financial sphere, if necessary, monitors the receipt of taxes and financial activities. Appoints and dismisses ministers and deputy ministers, presidents and vice-presidents of banks in the country, assigns junior officer ranks.

The President, Vice-Presidents and Members of the National Assembly are elected in general elections for four-year terms based on direct, equal, secret and compulsory voting by citizens over 18 years of age. The President and Vice Presidents cannot be re-elected for a second term. The deputies are elected according to a proportional system in 18 constituencies.

The judiciary is represented by the Supreme Court of 9 members and 7 deputies, as well as local courts. An independent National Electoral Tribunal, composed of representatives of the Supreme Court and registered political parties, exists to administer election procedures.

Local government bodies

The country is divided into 18 departments and a central (federal) district where the capital is located. Heads of departments are appointed by the president. Departmental districts are governed by elected municipal councils. The Central Federal District, which is formed by the country's capital Tegucigalpa and its suburb of Comayaguela, located on the other side of the river, is governed by special laws.

Political parties

From the 19th century. in Honduras, two political parties traditionally operated - the National (Conservative) and the Liberal. The dictator Carias Andino was a representative of the National Party, and the military juntas of the 1960s and 1970s also relied on it. According to the 1982 constitution, there is political pluralism in Honduras. The following main political parties are active:

National Party. Although a conservative political trend has existed in Honduras, as well as in other Central American countries, since the 1820s, the National Party was officially formed in 1891, organizationally formed in 1916. It is closely associated with the leadership of the armed forces and the conservative part of the country's traditional possessing elite. In the very first elections after the restoration of civilian rule in 1981, the party was defeated, and a young technocrat, Rafael Leonardo Callejas, came to its leadership. He achieved the adoption in 1986 of a new program, which proclaimed a "war against poverty and underdevelopment" and assumed a series of social reforms. A number of internal trends have developed in the party. In 1989, Callejas won the presidential election, but his administration was accused of fraud and corruption. In 1993 and 1997, National Party candidates Osvaldo Ramos Soto, an old-school politician, and Nora de Melgar, wife of a former military dictator, were defeated by the liberals. Only in November 2001 did the nationalists take revenge. Their candidate Ricardo Maduro received 52.2% of the vote and was elected President of Honduras. The party also won parliamentary elections: with 46.5% of the vote, it won 61 out of 128 seats in the National Assembly.

The Liberal Party appeared in Honduras at the same time as the Conservative, but was officially created in 1891 as a party of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Liberal government Ramon Villeda Morales (1957-1963) tried to carry out agrarian and some other socio-economic reforms, but was overthrown by the military. In the 1980s, various internal currents emerged in the party, which since 1985, in accordance with the election regulations, have received the right to nominate their own candidates.

In 1981-1989, the Liberal Party was in power, but ideological and political differences were growing in its ranks. The radical wing accused the government of submitting to the diktat of the International Monetary Fund and the United States, and rejecting the policy of neutrality. It established links with international social democracy. In 1989, the liberals, nominating a single candidacy for Carlos Robert Flores Facusse, the leader of one of the inner-party currents, lost the presidential election and ceded power. But four years later, the liberal-nominated Carlos Roberto Reina, the leader of the radical faction, was elected president. He promised to fight militarism and carry out social reforms. Some of the ministers he has appointed have previously participated in the student movement in the 1980s. However, once in power, Reyna began to take measures to reduce the budget deficit and government spending, which essentially continued the liberal economic course. He managed to achieve the adoption of an amendment to the constitution, which provided for the abolition of universal military service, reforming military policy and placing it under the control of civilian authorities. In November 1997, Liberal candidate Flores Facusse was re-elected president. But in 2001, the liberal Pineda Ponce won only 40.8% of the vote and ceded power to the nationalists. In the elections to the National Assembly, the Liberal Party received 41% of the vote and has 55 seats.

The Renewal and Unity Party (OYE) was founded in 1970 as a social and political movement. During the dictatorial rule of General Osvaldo López Arellano (1972-1975), who tried to carry out some reforms, representatives of the OYE participated in his government. Officially recognized in 1978 as a centrist-reformist party, it proclaimed itself an alternative to traditional parties, advocating national sovereignty and democracy. In terms of programs, the party seeks to expand the participation of mass movements and organizations in the political life of the country, to provide citizens with new economic and social opportunities. Close to social democracy. Since 1981, OYE has been taking part in elections and has representatives in the National Assembly. Since 1993, it has been blocked with the Social Democracy association. Their candidate received 2.8% (in 1993) and 2.1% of the vote (in 1997). In 2001, the chairman of the OYE Olban, Francisco Valladares Ordonez, speaking on behalf of the OYE - SD, received 1.5% of the vote. In the elections to the National Assembly, the OYE - SD collected 4.6% of the vote and has 4 seats in parliament.

The Democratic Unification Party (PDO) is a left-wing coalition formed in 1993. It includes the Honduran Revolutionary Party, the Patriotic Renewal Party, the Party for the Reformation of Honduras and the Morasanist Party. The program contains requirements for a broad agrarian reform, improvement of education and health systems, and solutions to the problem of external debt. In 1997, the PDO, relying on the low-income strata of the urban population, became the fourth political force in the country, gaining 2.6% of the vote in the parliamentary elections and winning the 1st seat in the National Assembly. PDO presidential candidate, university professor Matias Funes collected 1.2% of the vote. Approximately the same number of voters (1.1%) supported him in 2001. In the simultaneous parliamentary elections, the PDO collected 4.5% of the vote and has 5 seats in the National Assembly.

The Christian Democratic Party of Honduras (HDPD) received party status in 1982 and relies on the urban intelligentsia, office workers and other working classes in the city and countryside. Ideally, he adheres to a centrist orientation, advocating Christian ethics and universal human values. In 1997, the HDPD won 1.2% in the presidential elections and 1 seat in the National Assembly. In 2001, Christian Democratic representative Marco Orlando Iriarte won the support of 1% of voters. In the elections to the National Assembly, the party received 3.7% of the vote and 3 parliamentary seats.

Military establishment. Recruitment into the army was carried out on the basis of conscription until 1994, when the government began to implement a policy of demilitarizing Honduras. The strength of the armed forces in 1998 was approx. 18.9 thousand people. 7% of the state budget was spent on military needs. High command retained control of many of the most lucrative business areas, either directly managing enterprises or managing the military pension fund.

Administrative divisions

Since 1971, the territory of Honduras has been divided into 18 departments and 1 central district. Each department is headed by a head, to whom the heads of municipalities, of which there are 298, are subordinate. They are in charge of 3731 settlements and 27969 villages of the country. The Central Federal District, which is formed by the country's capital Tegucigalpa and its suburb of Comayaguela, located on the other side of the river, is governed by special laws.

Population

The population of Honduras was estimated in 2003 at 6670 thousand people. In 2003, the birth rate was 31.67 per 1000 inhabitants, the mortality rate was 6.44 per 1000. The natural population growth, although slightly declining in recent years, remains high - approx. 2.32% per year. According to forecasts, in 2005 the population of the country will be 6750 thousand people. Life expectancy in the country is 65.31 for men and 68.06 for women. In the population, 90% are mestizos (descendants of Indians and whites), 7% are purebred Indians, 2% are descendants of Africans; OK. 1% are whites. Among the Indian population, there is a large group of Chorti (2.5 thousand people), descending from the Maya and living near the border with Guatemala; pipili, descendants of the Aztecs living on the border of El Salvador; OK. 60 thousand Lenka live in the west; 8 thousand hikake, or tolpanov, live in the central highlands; the forested lowlands of the northeast are home to several hundred tawaka or sumu and several thousand miskito. Along the northern coast, approx. 70 thousand Garifs, or Black Caribs, which appeared as a result of the mixing of the indigenous Indian population with the Negroes brought here from the West Indies; they speak a language akin to that of the now extinct indigenous population of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. A large group of English-speaking Negroes live on the northern shore.

About 53% of the population lives in rural areas, 47% in cities. Most are concentrated in the western part of the country; the northeast is rarely inhabited. The largest city in the country is its capital Tegucigalpa, located in the central mountainous region, with a population of approx. 738.5 thousand people (1997). The second largest city in the country - San Pedro Sula (568.8 thousand inhabitants, 1998) is located in the region of the largest banana plantations in the lowlands adjacent to the Caribbean coast. There are also several ports connecting plantations with the outside world, the population of which, according to an estimate for 1998, was: 85.9 thousand people - in La Ceiba, 53.6 thousand - in Puerto Cortez, 35.8 thousand people. - in Bodies and 5 thousand people in Trujillo.

The official language of the country is Spanish, the dominant religion is Catholicism. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law. There are many Protestant churches in the country, especially in the Caribbean coastal areas.

Public education

Political instability and lack of communications slowed down the spread of education, and according to official figures 1995, approx. 27% of the adult population was illiterate. Although free and compulsory education has been introduced for children between the ages of 7 and 12, many of them are forced to drop out of school to earn a living. School attendance is optional. There are 31% of adolescents in the corresponding age group in secondary schools. The National Autonomous University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa has existed since 1847; the number of students in 1996 was approx. 40,000 people. In Zamorano, the Pan American School of Agriculture was opened - a higher educational institution that trains specialists in the field of tropical agriculture. In 1978 a private university was opened in Tegucigalpa.

Economy

Honduras is an economically underdeveloped country in Latin America, dependent on fluctuations in world prices for its exported goods, mainly bananas and coffee. The Honduran economy remains dependent on the US economy, Honduras' largest trading partner. In 2008, the GDP of Honduras was estimated at $ 33.7 billion ($ 4400 per capita - 149th place in the world). In 2004, 50.7% of the population was below the officially established poverty line.

As a result of a series of devastating hurricanes and floods in 1998-2001, Honduras suffered huge material losses. In this regard, a number of donor states, in accordance with the decisions of the Consultative Group on Central America, began to provide Honduras with regular economic assistance in the amount of $ 300 to $ 600 million a year - in 2006, its volume was estimated at $ 490 million.

The economy of Honduras is based on agro-industrial sectors specializing in the production of export goods: bananas, coffee, sugar, tropical fruits, palm oil, tobacco products, beef and frozen seafood (mainly shrimp), as well as processing enterprises. They employ more than half of the entire economically active population. The remaining half of the working population is involved in timber harvesting, furniture production, household utensils, and building materials.

Traditionally, two types of economies coexist in Honduras; one is characteristic of colonial settlements within the central highlands, the other is characteristic of the Caribbean coast, where American banana companies have established their own enclaves near export plantations. In the farming areas, plantations of American companies use the most modern production methods, and a network of railways and highways has been built to service the plantations and export products. The country's highlands remain isolated and economically inert. The economy of the central mountainous regions is based on the mining industry and subsistence agriculture; the large estates that have existed here since the colonial era are mainly specialized in cattle breeding.

Agriculture

The main role in the economy of Honduras is played by agriculture, which accounts for about 25% of the country's income and approx. 2/3 of the labor force (according to 1995 data). Since the territory of the country has a rugged relief, only about a quarter of its area is suitable for agriculture. In 1900, large land concessions were granted to American fruit companies to establish banana plantations on the fertile Caribbean coast. The area was well connected to southern US ports, making it the second largest banana exporter in the world. In the early 1930s, bananas accounted for 70–80% of Honduras' exports. Banana production declined after 1930; Factors such as the global economic crisis, the Second World War, the spread of diseases affecting banana plantations, and a major strike in 1954 played a role. However, in 1963, banana companies began to increase production and, in addition to bananas, plant other crops, such as the oil palm. hemp and pineapples. Banana plantations were severely damaged by the devastating 1974 hurricane.

In 1975, after the United Fruit Company bribed the President and the Minister of Commerce in order to lower export duties, the Honduran government created a special state agency COHBANA to control the production, financing and marketing of bananas by local producers. Two US corporations, Castle & Cook and United Fruit (renamed United Brands), continued to control over 60% of banana exports. In general, bananas account for about a quarter of all export earnings to the Honduran budget. Other important export items are coffee, seafood and ready-to-wear.

Coffee plantations in Honduras are usually small in size - from 10 to 20 hectares. In the highlands and lowlands of the Caribbean coast, large cattle ranches have existed since the time of Spanish colonial rule. After the opening of the country's first modern meat processing plant in 1960, the production of meat products increased sharply. However, their export declined in the 1980s due to falling prices and rising domestic consumption.

Corn is grown for export to El Salvador and for domestic needs. In the late 1950s, cotton increased in importance, with plantations concentrated on the Pacific coast, but cotton production declined in the 1990s. Other commercial crops include millet, beans, rice, sugarcane and tobacco. The main food crops are grown mainly by small-scale farmers with semi-subsistence farming on marginal soils in the mountainous interior of the country.

Ribbing

The waters of the Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of Honduras are abundant in fish and other seafood, which provides the basis for the rapid development of fisheries. Lobster and shrimp are the main commercial fisheries. Shrimp farms have spread across the Pacific Coastal Plain, causing great damage to the highly vulnerable ecosystems of coastal mangrove swamps. By 1986, seafood was ranked third in the country's exports.

Forestry

Most of the mountainous regions are forested, and timber is an important Honduran export. Redwood stocks have been depleted and pine is currently harvested. Honduras is rich in minerals; their development is carried out mainly by foreign companies that mine and export gold, silver, lead and zinc. Iron ore deposits were discovered.

Industry

In industrial terms, Honduras remains the least developed country in Central America. In 1994, the manufacturing industry employed approx. 10% of the economically active population; it accounted for 22% of GDP, and in 1995 - 30%.

The northern coast is powered by banana companies, the rest of the country is unevenly supplied with electricity and the cost is very high. In the mid-1970s, a large hydropower complex was built on the Rio Lindo River. In the late 1980s, a 300,000 kW hydropower plant was built in El Cajon, but the design capacity has not been achieved due to periodic droughts, as well as due to the fact that deforestation in the river basin led to soil washout, siltation of the reservoir and constant clogging of power plant turbines. In 1994, the total capacity of the HPP in Honduras was 140,000 kW, i.e. slightly less than half of the total capacity of the country's power plants, which in 1995 reached 605,900 kW.

Transport

The construction of the first railway was planned back in 1870, but due to errors in calculations and theft of funds, only 142 km were laid. Later, banana companies built railways for their own needs in the Caribbean coast with a total length of approx. 1050 km. In the rest of the country, before the construction of modern roads began in the 1940s, the main routes of communication were trails and dirt roads, and the means of transport were draft animals and pack animals.

With financial assistance from the United States, the Pan American Highway was built along the Pacific coast, and in the 1950s, a highway that connected it to Tegucigalpa. Large-scale efforts to develop the road network began in the late 1960s. As a result, the total length of roads increased from 1,600 km in 1965 to 18,500 km in 1988; about an eighth of them are hard-coated. The infrastructure development program in effect in the 1990s made it possible by 1998 to increase the length of paved roads to 8,950 km.

The inadequacy of land communications led to the development of air communications, which began in the 1930s. The cities of Tegucigalpa, La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula have international airports. La Ceiba is a port on the Caribbean Sea through which the main export of bananas is carried out; another important port is Puerto Cortes, through which the bulk of foreign trade (in particular, the export of coffee) passes. The only port on the Pacific Ocean is Amapala. In addition, in 1979 a new port, San Lorenzo, was built in Fonseca Bay, and in 1980, another port on the Caribbean coast, Puerto Castilla.

International trade

In the 1960s and early 1970s, export earnings and import spending roughly balanced each other. Investments in banana plantations and the development of new agricultural sectors boosted export earnings, which allowed for increased purchases abroad. However, since the mid-1970s, Honduras' trade balance has been in constant deficit. For example, in 2002, export revenues amounted to $ 1.3 billion, while import costs reached $ 2.7 billion. About half of export earnings come from coffee and bananas, the rest is accounted for by such items as meat products, timber, minerals, seafood and ready-to-wear. The largest trading partner is the United States, which accounts for over 65% of Honduras' export value and over 50% of imports.

Currency and banks

The main currency in the country is the lempira. In 1950, a central bank was created to control the issue of money and the country's banking system. Private entrepreneurs are served by the state-owned development bank and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The private commercial banking system is dominated by US-controlled banks.

The state budget

Recently, the government has attempted to increase budget revenues to increase public investment. Improvements in governance and reform of the tax system increased tax revenue to about 14% of GDP in 1987. The bulk of revenue comes from sales and value added taxes, customs duties and income taxes. In the state budget for 1996 approx. 16% were spent on education, 11% - on health care, 4% - on defense and ensuring state security. The state debt in 1995 reached 4.5 billion dollars.

Military establishment

Recruitment into the army was carried out on the basis of conscription until 1994, when the government began to implement a policy of demilitarizing Honduras. The strength of the armed forces in 1998 was approx. 18.9 thousand people. 7% of the state budget was spent on military needs. High command retained control of many of the most lucrative business areas, either directly managing enterprises or managing the military pension fund.

The country's armed forces include the land army, the navy and the air force. Various state security and police units were under military command until late 1996. The 1980s were marked by a significant US military presence in Honduras; here were also the bases of the Nicaraguan contras. In 1983, training camps were established on the territory of Honduras, where American instructors trained Salvadoran soldiers. Officially, US military bases have been in Honduras since 1981. Their contingent declined significantly in the early 1990s.

Military budget $ 35 million (2001). The regular forces are 8 300 people. Reserve 60,000 people Paramilitaries (National Security Forces) 6,000 people. Acquisition: on call. Service life 24 months. Mob. resources of 1.59 million people, including 869 thousand fit for military service

Ground troops. Composition: 5,500 people. 6 military zones, 4 infantry brigades, an armored cavalry regiment, a presidential guard company, a special forces group (airborne and special purpose battalions), a separate engineering battalion. Reserve; infantry brigade.

Armament: 12 light tanks Scorpion, 67 BRM, 28 towed PA guns, 90 mortars, 120 84-mm BO Karl Gustav, 80 106-mm BZO M-40A1, 48 3AU.

Honduran Navy

The Honduran Naval Forces (Spanish: Fuerza Naval de Honduras) is one of the three branches of the Honduran armed forces.

As of 2005, the Honduran navy numbered 1,400 (including 830 in the marines).

History

Until the early 70s of the 20th century, Honduras did not have an independent Navy. The Armed Forces had only one ship at their disposal, which was used to patrol the coastal waters. On August 1, 1976, the Honduras Navy (Fuerza Naval de Honduras) was formed as a separate type of the Armed Forces with its own purpose and headquarters.

Between 1983 and 1993, the Navy doubled, aided by the growing importance of the Navy in Central America, as well as military assistance from the United States.

Combat composition

As of 2005, the Navy included:

3 Guaymuras class patrol boats (formerly USA Swiftship);

1 Copan class patrol boat (formerly USA Guardian);

7 patrol boats of the Swift class;

20 river boats;

1 landing ship Punta Caxinas;

The Navy also includes the 1st Marine Battalion, based in Puerto Cortez.

Base points

Amapala (Isla del Tigre in Fonteca Bay on the Pacific coast)

Puerto Cortez (west coast of the Caribbean)

Puerto Castia (Central Caribbean Coast)

Foreign policy

Honduras is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. In foreign policy, he usually acts as a united front with the United States.

Culture

Art

The cultural traditions of the indigenous people of Honduras, dating back to the ancient Mayans, are clearly visible in many buildings and carvings; the most complete picture of this culture is given by the pyramids of Copan, the ancient Mayan city, where temples and carved stone steles are also preserved. In cities, there are monuments of colonial architecture built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles.

The most popular musical instrument in Honduras is the marimba (a type of wooden xylophone); the country has many marimba orchestras complemented by other instruments. In 1952, a public music school was opened in Tegucigalpa.

The center of the country's artistic life is the state-funded School of Fine Arts, based in the city of Comayagua. The most significant artists of the 20th century. considered Arturo Lopez Rodenso (b. 1906), founder of the National School of Arts and Crafts; primitivist Antonio Velazquez (1906-1983); and landscape painter Carlos Garay, a graduate of the National School of Fine Arts, whose paintings have been shown at art exhibitions around the world. The most famous in literature are the poet, historian and essayist Rafael Eliodoro Valle (1891-1959), the novelist and author of short stories Argentina Diaz Lozano (1912-1999) and the poets Clementine Suarez (1906-1991) and Roberto Sosa (b. 1930).

Fish rain in Honduras

Fish rain in Honduras is a rare animal-type phenomenon that has occurred annually for over 100 years in the Yoro department, Honduras (by the nature of its formation, this rain is radically different from the classic).

Fish rain is a regular phenomenon for the population of this department. Every year between May and July, eyewitnesses observe how a dark cloud appears in the sky, and then lightning flashes, thunder rumbles, a strong wind blows and heavy rain pours for 2-3 hours. After its completion, hundreds of live fish remain on the earth, which people collect and carry home to cook.

Since 1998, the city of Yoro has hosted the Festival de la Lluvia de Peces (Festival of the Fish Rain).

On July 26, 2006 on Honduran television, the Abriendo Brecha news program aired a message about the phenomenon, commenting that it has been raining fish twice a year recently.

The generally accepted explanation for this phenomenon is that strong winds lift fish out of the water several kilometers in height. The source is probably located about 50 km away in the Caribbean.

Sources

ru.wikipedia.org - The Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia

krugosvet.ru - Around the World Online Encyclopedia

Until the early 16th century, the territory of Honduras was called Igueras or Ibueras. Part of the indigenous Indian population - the Lenca, Payya, Hikake tribes, lived in a primitive communal system, their main occupations were slash and burn agriculture, hunting, and fishing. In the second century A.D. e., Indians of the Mayan group of tribes, ousted local Indian tribes on the less fertile mountain slopes. Unlike the indigenous Indian tribes, the Maya had a written language, knew crafts, cultivated corn, created structures of stone, built roads, and had a strong and mobile army. On the territory of Honduras there was one of the major centers of Mayan culture - the city of Copan. However, in the 9th century AD, the Maya, for unknown reasons, left this region for the Yucatan Peninsula. The ruins of Copan were discovered by archaeologists in the forest thickets of Honduras only in 1839.

The Honduras coast was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502. The Spaniards named the country " Honduras", which means in Spanish" Depths ". As noted in the logbook of Columbus, his ships could not anchor off the coast because of the great depths. After the conquest of Mexico, Hernán Cortez, sent here in 1524, a detachment under the command Cristobal de Olida to explore and colonize the area. In the same year, Olid founded the first settlement here - Triumfo de la Cruz. Having discovered silver deposits, Olid decided to secede. Learning about this, Cortez set off on a forced march from Mexico City through the jungle and swamps along the coast The Gulf of Mexico, crossed the base of the Yucatan Peninsula and reached Honduras in 1525. Olid had already been killed by that time.Cortes founded several settlements, but the conquerors faced fierce Indian resistance, under the command of the Lempiri leader, in honor of him, the current currency of Honduras named lempira.

In 1539, Honduras was incorporated into the Captaincy General of Guatemala. It had two provinces - Tegucigalpa and Comayagua, each of which was governed by a governor. The colony developed slowly, despite the ruthless exploitation of the Indians in the silver mines. In 1821, Honduras, like other countries of Central America and Mexico, declared its independence from Spain, but in the same year it was annexed by Mexico, where Agustin de Iturbide established a monarchy (Mexican Empire).

After the collapse of the Iturbide empire in 1823, Honduras and the neighboring republics formed the federal state of the United Provinces of Central America, according to the constitution of 1824, called the Federation of Central America. The political strife that began after the creation of the federation put Honduras (like other republics) in an extremely difficult situation. The main struggle was between the conservative elements - the large Spanish landowners in alliance with the Catholic Church, and the liberals, which included the intellectual elite and Creole landowners who advocated a secular state and a market economy.

In 1825, the Salvadoran liberal Manuel José Arce was elected the first president of the Central American Federation, but the following year he renounced his party, taking a series of measures that led to the return of the Conservatives to power and the virtual abolition of the liberal constitution. In the civil war that followed, the prominent Honduran liberal Francisco Morazán, who became a national hero, played an important role. In 1829, the army under his command defeated the army of Arce and occupied the city of Guatemala. The federal constitution was restored, and in 1830, Morasan was elected president. Although Morasan was undeniably a capable leader, he was in unnecessarily rushed liberal reforms. In addition, the republics that were part of the federation were still wary of Guatemala's claims to supremacy, even though Morasán moved the capital to San Salvador in 1832. Finally, in 1838, the republics officially announced their withdrawal from the Federation.

Further, on October 26, 1838, the legislature in Comayagua declared Honduras an independent republic. Guatemalan dictator Rafael Carrera, who held power from 1844 to 1865, overthrew liberal governments in Honduras and El Salvador. This was partly an incentive for the three neighboring countries - El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, where the tendency towards unification was quite strongly expressed, to form a confederation in 1849. The union lasted until 1863.

At the same time, Great Britain, which owned Belize, extended control to the Islas de la Bahia archipelago off the coast of Honduras. The British have long been logging on these islands and on the Mosquito Coast, a swampy and densely forested coastal lowland in eastern Honduras and Nicaragua, inhabited by Mosquito Indians. When the "gold rush" broke out in California (1948), the question of the need for a shortcut through Central America was especially acute. Great Britain, fearing that the United States would agree with Nicaragua to build a canal, seized the mouth of the San Juan River, the eastern end of the proposed waterway. The United States protested, and the issue was settled through the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, concluded in 1850, under which both powers pledged to refrain from seizing and strengthening any territory within Central America. By 1859, Britain had returned the islands and its Mosquito Coast to Honduras.

Soon, foreign powers began to expand into Honduras, primarily Great Britain and the United States. In 1860, with the support of the US government, an American squadron led by William Walker, not a Texas ranger, but a ranger, invaded Honduras. However, the adventure was not crowned with success, and after a couple of failed seizures of power in Honduras and Nicaragua, Walker was shot, with the silent non-intervention of the British military. You can read more about William Walker.

From 1871 to 1874, Honduras was at war with El Salvador and Guatemala. At the end of this war, civil war broke out in Honduras itself. It ended with the election of Ponciano Leyva for the presidency, whose candidacy was supported by Guatemala. The next president (in 1876-1883) was Marco Aurelio Soto, an adherent of liberal reforms. In 1880, a long rivalry between the cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagua ended with Tegucigalpa finally establishing itself as the capital.

In 1884, the Americans imposed on Honduras the so-called Soto-Keita Treaty, under which Honduras received an onerous loan in exchange for railroad concessions and land for banana plantations. Due to the great demand for bananas in the foreign market, American companies expanded their plantations in Honduras, built railways and highways to transport bananas. Industry and foreign trade in Honduras gradually passed into the hands of American capital. In 1902, the plantations of the American company "United Fruit Company" (UFCO) were created, and in 1905 - the "Standard Fruit and Steamship Company", which unceremoniously interfered in the political life of Honduras. Fully dependent on the United States, Honduras has become a monoculture country. The harsh working conditions on the plantations and the brutal exploitation of agricultural workers caused repeated disturbances, which were suppressed by American troops (1905, 1907, 1911, 1912).

The struggle of the people of Honduras, especially intensified under the influence of the revolution in Russia. To suppress popular uprisings, the United States sent its troops to Honduras as many as four times (1917, 1919, 1924, 1925), to preserve the property of the banana campaigns. Then there was a typical period of presidential changes as a result of coups and coups led by the White House. In 1942, the United States occupied the Swan Islands, which belonged to Honduras, and built military installations there (airfield, radio station, etc.). In World War II, Honduras did not take part, although in December 1941 it declared war on Germany and Italy.

Of the more or less interesting events of the second half of the 20th century, mention should be made of the conflict with Nicaragua and the football war with El Salvador, as well as a couple of hurricanes. In the 1960s, there was a marked deterioration in relations between Honduras and El Salvador. The reason for this was border disputes, as well as numerous facts of resettlement of landless and unemployed citizens of El Salvador to Honduras. On July 14, 1969, following the scandalous football match between the teams of these countries, which took place in San Salvador and was accompanied by clashes between the fans, the so-called. "football war". Four days of hostilities, according to experts, cost the lives of two thousand people. In June 1970, the conflict was partially resolved - the countries agreed to establish a demilitarized zone, and in 1976, agreed to settle the dispute through mediators. Relations between Honduras and El Salvador remained tense until 1980, when a peace treaty was signed. In 1992, border disputes were resolved by the International Court of Justice (UN).

In the late 1990s, relations between Honduras and neighboring Nicaragua, with which there was a dispute over the issue of coastal sovereignty, escalated. In November 1999, the National Assembly terminated the 1986 agreement on the maritime border with Nicaragua. This decision also affected the sea area of \u200b\u200b130 thousand square kilometers. Both countries accused each other of concentrating troops on the border. Nicaragua imposed additional duties on Honduran goods and filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The parties, mediated by the Organization of American States in 2000, decided to withdraw their troops. However, several skirmishes broke out at the border during the year.

In the wake of the devastating effects of hurricanes in 1998-1999, Honduras was granted a three-year deferral in repaying its external debt and promised $ 4 billion in aid. A year after the disaster, industry and agriculture have not yet recovered. The situation was aggravated by a severe drought. The government and the United Nations have asked for food aid to Honduras.

The current Onduras is a country in which the president is elected only for ONE !!! Deadline. He also heads the government. The legislature is a unicameral parliament of 128 deputies elected by the population for a 4-year term. The population itself is about 8 million people. Its average life expectancy is 70.4 years. The urban population is 50%. Of these, 90% are mestizo, 7% are Indians, 2% are blacks, 1% are white. All these brothers speak Castelano and several Indian languages. By religion, 97% are Puro Catholics and 3% Protestants. Reading - writing can 80% of the population, and this despite the fact that school attendance is not strictly compulsory.
The economy of Honduras is based on agro-industrial sectors specializing in the production of export goods: bananas, coffee, sugar, tropical fruits, palm oil, tobacco products, beef and frozen seafood (mainly shrimp), as well as processing enterprises. In all this, more than half of the entire economically active population is employed. The remaining half is involved in timber harvesting, furniture, household utensils and building materials.

Honduras or Republic of Honduras - a state in Central America, occupies the northern part of the Central American isthmus. In the south, Honduras borders Nicaragua, in the west with Guatemala, in the southwest with El Salvador; in the north and east it is washed by the Caribbean Sea and its Honduran Gulf, in the south-west it opens onto the Fonseca Bay in the Pacific Ocean. The total area is 112,090 km². The capital is Tegucigalpa.

The country also includes numerous islands in the Caribbean and Fonseca Gulf, including the remote Swan Islands in the northeast.

Honduras is located on a vast plateau, which is crossed from east to west by mountain ranges: Montesillos, Comayagua and Opalaca (up to 2865 m). 80% of Honduras is covered with mountains, and lowlands are found mainly only along the coast.

Along the coast of the Caribbean Sea are the San Pedro Sula Plains and the Mosquito Coast (mostly swampy). Banana plantations are located on the north coast. There is also a flat zone on the Pacific coast. To the northeast, in the lowlands, are the La Mosquito jungle, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Rio Plateau Biosphere Reserve.

Vegetable world

The hot and humid lowlands of the Caribbean coast and the adjacent mountain slopes were formerly covered with dense tropical rainforest, which is now partially destroyed.

Higher in the mountains, where temperatures are lower, there are oak and pine forests.

In arid inland areas, including the Tegucigalpa region and areas to the south and east, the area is covered with grassy savanna and low sparse forests.

Animal world

A large number of wild animals live throughout Honduras, which survived due to the poorly populated area of \u200b\u200bthis mountainous region, the tropical climate of which was not quite suitable for humans.

Here you can find both common for Central America and rare species of animals: bears, various types of deer, monkeys, wild pigs and bakers, tapirs, badgers, coyotes, wolves, foxes, jaguars, cougars, lynxes, ocelots, a rare black panther and many other, smaller felines.

There are also alligators, crocodiles, iguanas and snakes, including venomous ones (the latter include the deadly kaisaka and kaskawela), as well as anteaters, koats, sloths, armadillos and kinkajou.

The rich avifauna includes wild turkey, pheasant, parrots, including macaw, heron, toucan and many other species.

Climate in Honduras

Climate in Honduras - tropical trade wind, with sharp differences in precipitation on the windward (northern and eastern) and leeward slopes of the mountains. Seasonal temperature changes are negligible. Average monthly temperatures in the lowlands are from +22 ° C to +26 ° C, in the highlands from +10 ° C to +22 ° C.

The Caribbean coast and other regions of the republic, up to an altitude of 800 meters, belong to the hot zone, the so-called "tierra caliente", and the main part of the country lies in the moderately hot zone ("tierra templada"). In the interior regions of the country and in the south, precipitation falls much less, and the rainy season falls in May-October. On the Pacific coast, the wettest months are from September to January. On average in the country, precipitation falls up to 3000 mm per year.

Destructive tropical hurricanes are frequent. Hurricane Mitch in 1998 destroyed nearly 80% of crops, killed approximately 8,000 people, and left almost 20% of the population homeless.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

Population

The population of Honduras is about 8.0 million people (2010).

Average life expectancy is 69 years for men, 72 years for women.

The urban population is 48%.

Ethno-racial composition: mestizo 90%, Indians 7%, blacks 2%, white 1%.

Religions - 97% Roman Catholic, 3% Protestant.

Official language: Spanish, Indian dialects are also common.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

About money

Lempira (HNL or L)- the monetary unit of Honduras, equal to 100 centavos. In circulation there are banknotes in denominations of 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 lempira, as well as coins of 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 centavos.

US dollars are accepted for exchange almost everywhere, it is better to exchange currency in banks, large hotels, airports and special exchange offices - the rate that is offered in shops and markets is not very profitable.

Despite the fact that US dollars are readily accepted as a means of payment almost everywhere, most commercial transactions are carried out only in lempires.

Credit cards are not a good option for Honduras. Local ATMs often do not accept cards issued by foreign banks, and in order to receive money with such a card, you have to visit a bank office. There are credit cards for which not every bank will issue cash (Visa Classic, Mastercard Mass and Gold). Debit cards (for example, Visa Electron or Plus) are useless to offer to almost all banks, unless the central bank can provide limited service to some of these cards. If you are not sure what exactly your card will be lucky in service, it is better not to count on such luck.

Travel checks can be cashed completely freely in Tegucigalpa - Banco Atlantida, Bancahsa, Banco de Occidente and Ficensa usually offer the best conditions. You can also freely operate with American Express, Visa and Thomas Cook checks, while the rest can be difficult. Easiest when checks are in US dollars.

Banks are open all days of the week, except Sunday. From Monday to Friday, banks are open from 09.00 to 16.00, and on Saturdays from 09.00 to 12.00, and some until 14.00. Some banks are open on weekdays until 6 pm, and exchange offices in Tegucigalpa located at the airport, on the main streets of the city and at bank offices are usually open until midnight or until 1 am.

It makes no sense to take Honduran money home with you - outside of Honduras they cost nothing, except that if you are heading to Nicaragua, El Salvador or Guatemala - in the border regions, lempires are accepted for payment.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

Communication and communications

Phone code: 504

Internet domain: .hn

How to call

To call from Russia to Honduras you need to dial: 8 - dial tone - 10 - 504 - area code - subscriber's number.

To call from Honduras to Russia, you need to dial: 00 - 7 - area code - subscriber number.

Fixed connection

Payphones from which international calls are possible can be found only in large cities. They work with cards that can be purchased in supermarkets, as well as coins of 20 and 50 centavos.

mobile connection

The Honduran cellular communication system is currently actively developing. Communication standards - GSM 850/1900. Coverage is limited mainly to areas of large settlements and the coast.

the Internet

There are Internet cafes in the capital and most major cities of the country, and their number is constantly growing. Rates at most locations range from $ 3 to $ 12 per hour (the highest rates on the islands).

Last changes: 15.05.2013

Where to stay

Most Honduras hotels do not reach the declared star rating, this even applies to some hotels of international chains.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

History of Honduras

Since ancient times, the territory of modern Honduras was inhabited by the Indian tribes of the Lenca, Miskito-Matagalpa, Otomimange, Payya, Hikake (the Chibcha language family), who lived in a primitive communal system. Their main occupations were slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting and fishing.

In the II century A.D. e. the Mayan Indians drove the local Indian tribes into the less fertile mountain slopes. Unlike the indigenous Indian tribes, the Maya had a written language, knew crafts, cultivated corn, built structures of stone, built roads, and had a strong and mobile army. On the territory of Honduras there was one of the major centers of Mayan culture - the city of Copan. However, in the 9th century, the Mayans, for unknown reasons, left this region for the Yucatan Peninsula (in the south of modern Mexico). The ruins of Copan were discovered by archaeologists in the forest thickets of Honduras only in 1839.

Colonial period

In 1502, the northern coast of Honduras was discovered by Christopher Columbus, and 22 years later the full-scale conquest of the country began. A detachment of conquistadors, sent in search of gold and silver by the conqueror of Mexico Cortes, established the rule of the Spanish king in Honduras in 1524. At the same time, the conquistadors founded several settlements near the silver deposits they found, including Tegucigalpa, which three centuries later became the capital of modern Honduras.

In 1536, the Indians, led by the leader Lempira, launched a war against the Spanish colonialists, a failed war for the Indians. Lempira died as a result of a conspiracy, his detachment was soon defeated and dispersed.

From the middle of the 16th century, Honduras was part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. In Honduras, feudal relations began to take shape, in which the leading role was played by large Spanish landholdings. By the beginning of the 18th century, silver mining was the basis of the economy, with the main mines located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe future capital of the state - Tegucigalpa. The Indian population was dying out from labor on plantations, in gold and silver mines. Indian uprisings were brutally suppressed. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish colonialists increased the import of Negro slaves from Africa. At the same time, Spanish-Indian mestizos from neighboring Guatemala moved to Honduras.

In the XVI-XVII centuries, English, French, Dutch pirates were active in the Caribbean. They repeatedly raided the northern coast of Honduras. There are suggestions that the famous Captain Kidd kept the stolen treasures on the islands near Honduras. At the same time, new white settlers appeared on the northern coast of Honduras - the British from escaped convicts.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Honduras was the arena of struggle in the all-American liberation movement of the Spanish colonies, and on September 15, 1821, declared its independence from Spain. During this period, political parties began to take shape in Honduras - conservatives or large landowners, as well as liberals - the parties of the nascent bourgeoisie, between which a competitive struggle developed, as a result of which the conservatives won, who in 1821 managed to achieve the accession of Honduras to the Mexican Empire.

In 1823 Honduras became part of the Federation of the United Provinces of Central America. However, in the federation, the struggle continued between the liberals, who advocated a federalist form of government, the destruction of the privileges of the clergy and the implementation of land reform, and the conservatives, who advocated the preservation of the privileges of the church and the military and the creation of a centralized state.

In the civil war that began soon after the formation of the federation, Honduran-born liberal Francisco Morazán Quesada, who became a general, played an important role. In 1829, the army under his command occupied the city of Guatemala. The federal constitution was restored and in 1830 Morasan was elected president of the Central American Federation.

Incessant civil strife led to the collapse of the federation and in 1838 the declaration of independence of Honduras (as well as other republics of Central America) was proclaimed, and in January 1839 the first constitution of Honduras was adopted.

General Morasan, who still considered himself the head of the Central American federation, established himself first in El Salvador, then in Costa Rica, trying to restore power over all of Central America by military force. In 1842, he was captured by the Hondurans and shot.

In the following decades, the history of Honduras is constant military conflicts with neighboring countries of Central America, internal civil wars (for example, from 1845 to 1876 there were 12 civil wars in Honduras), constant military coups and counter-coups due to the fierce struggle between conservatives and liberals.

At the end of the 19th century, foreign investments began to be made in Honduras: British, mainly in the financial sector, and the United States - American companies began to create large banana plantations, as well as build railways and highways in Honduras, and expand seaports.

XX century

In May 1954, there was a general strike of banana plantation workers, as a result of which the United Fruit Company had to go to meet the demands of the workers. Liberal R. Villeda Morales won the 1954 presidential election, but the election results were invalidated and Vice President J. Lozano Diaz became interim president. Unrest did not stop in the country. In October 1956, army circles staged a coup d'état, and a military junta was in power for a year.

Vilyeda Morales won the elections in December 1957 again. The government of Morales, with great difficulty, managed to nationalize one railway, introduce the Labor Code, and prepare a law on agrarian reform. However, already in 1960, a decree was adopted prohibiting democratic publications, in 1961 diplomatic relations with the revolutionary government of Cuba were severed. In October 1963, the government of Morales was overthrown in a military coup led by the commander of the armed forces of Honduras, Colonel O. Lopez Arellano.

In February 1965, the military junta held elections for the National Constitutional Assembly. The conservatives won. In March 1965, the assembly proclaimed López Arellano as president. Lopez Arellano carried out repressions against democratic organizations, banned the activities of political parties (with the exception of the ruling and Liberal ones), introduced censorship on the press.

In July 1969, an armed conflict broke out between Honduras and El Salvador, known as the football war. The consequences of the conflict forced Arellano to liberalize the regime somewhat. In January 1971, the Liberal and Nationalist (Conservative) parties entered into an agreement, according to which a two-party system remained in the country. In June 1971, the conservative Ramon E. Cruz assumed the presidency.

In November 1981, Honduras returned to civilian rule, but strong military influence over the country's politics persists. The state has a constitution since January 20, 1982.

In 1993, Carlos Roberto Reyna became president, in 1998 Carlos Roberto Flores, in 2001 Ricardo Maduro, in 2005 Manuel Zelaya Rosales, candidate of the Liberal Party.

2009 constitutional crisis

On June 28, 2009, President Manuel Zelaya planned to hold a popular referendum on the possibility of reelecting the president for a second term. The organization of a referendum goes beyond the presidential powers, and the current constitution in the country prohibits even expressing an intention to re-elect the president.

According to Zelaya's supporters, the matter was not a second term, but a question put to a referendum: do the citizens agree that on November 29, during the general elections, another ballot box will be placed at polling stations so that voters express their decision on convening a Constitutional Assembly to work the new Constitution of the country. In support of the referendum, 500,000 signatures were collected.

The CEC confiscated ballots and other materials prepared for the referendum. Then Zelaya personally led a crowd of his supporters who stormed the airbase where the confiscated materials were located in order to seize them and ensure the holding of the referendum at any cost. A week earlier, Manuel Zelaya had fired the defense minister, the chief of staff of the country's armed forces, the commanders of the air force, ground forces and the marines, who refused to secure the referendum.

The country's Supreme Court declared the dismissal of the military leadership and the holding of the referendum illegal. The President's acts were assessed by the Honduran Supreme Court as “a crime against government,” “abuse of office” and “high treason,” and on June 26, 2009, the Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant to the military. After that, troops began to gather to the capital of the country.

On the morning of June 28, 2009, the start of a coup d'état initiated by President Zelaya was halted. Units of the armed forces of Honduras surrounded the presidential residence. According to former President Manuel Zelaya Rosales, he was arrested and taken to a nearby airbase, from where he was expelled to the territory of the neighboring state of Costa Rica. On the same day, the Congress of Honduras appointed the Chairman of the National Congress (Parliament of Honduras) Roberto Micheletti as interim president of the country. Micheletti's interim presidency was limited to the upcoming general election of a new president, who will take office on January 27, 2010.

The loss of power by Manuel Zelaya has sparked strong worldwide reactions, accompanied by a massive wave of hysteria, lies and distortion in the media. On July 30, 2009, the UN, based on newspaper reports, characterized the events of the removal from office of President Zelaya as a "coup d'etat." The UN unreservedly supported Mr. Zelaya, demanding his reinstatement as president. The Organization of American States issued an ultimatum to the Honduran authorities that if Zelaya was not reinstated, Honduras would be removed from their lists. But on July 4, 2009, the country's authorities themselves announced their withdrawal from the OAS.

In the presidential election on November 29, 2009, Porfirio Lobo, of the National Party, won over 56.5% of the vote.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

Helpful information

When moving around the country, one should take into account the peculiarities of its fauna. There are many small predators in the forests, but the main danger comes from numerous representatives of reptiles and arthropods. In addition to mosquitoes, leeches that live not only in water bodies, but also in the crowns of trees in a tropical forest deliver a lot of troubles.

It is recommended to carry sunscreen, hats and insect repellent. Mosquitoes, which carry most diseases, are widespread throughout the country (especially in some areas adjacent to the Caribbean coast), therefore, special attention should be paid to the condition of mosquito nets on the windows of living quarters.

All water should be considered potentially unfit for consumption. Water used for drinking, brushing teeth, or making ice must be pre-boiled. It is recommended to use bottled water.

Bargaining in the markets of Tegucigalpa is not accepted and almost useless. It is possible to bring down the price only at vegetable markets in peripheral cities, and even then, by no more than 5%.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

How to get to Honduras

There are no direct flights between Honduras and Russia.

It is most convenient to get from Russia to Honduras with a transfer via the United States (Atlanta, Miami, New York, Houston).

Airlines fly from the USA to Honduras: TACA, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines.

You can also get to Honduras with Iberia via Madrid (Spain) and Miami (USA).

International flights arrive at the three main airports in Honduras: Roatan, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa.

Last changes: 15.05.2013

Dabout the beginning of the 16th century. the territory of Honduras was called Igueras or Ibueras. Part of the indigenous Indian population - the Lenca, Payya, and Hikake (Payya language group) tribes lived in a primitive communal system, their main occupation was slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting, and fishing; the other part of the population - the Maya Indians were the creators of one of the highest early class civilizations in America. They cultivated corn, knew crafts, stone architecture, and had a written language. On the territory of Honduras there was one of the major centers of Mayan culture - Copan.

Pthe coast of Honduras was discovered by H. Columbus in 1502. The Spaniards named the country "Honduras", which means depths in Spanish; as noted in the logbook of Columbus, his ships could not anchor off the coast because of the great depths. After the conquest of Mexico, Hernan Cortez sent here in 1524 a detachment under the command of Cristobal de Olida to explore and colonize this territory; in the same year Olid founded the first settlement there, Triumfo de la Cruz. Having discovered deposits of silver, Olid decided to secede; learning of this, Cortez set out on a forced march from Mexico City through the jungle and swamps along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, crossed the base of the Yucatan Peninsula and reached Honduras in 1525. Olid had already been killed by that time. Cortez founded several settlements, but the conquerors faced fierce resistance from the Indians under the command of the leader Lempira. In 1536, the Indians, led by the leader Lempira, launched a struggle against the colonialists, but it was unsuccessful. Lempira was treacherously killed, his detachment was defeated. In 1539, Honduras became part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala - it had two provinces: Tegucigalpa and Comayagua, each of which was ruled by a governor. In Honduras, large feudal land ownership by Spanish landowners began to take shape, but the basis of the economy was silver mining. The main mines were in the Tegucigalpa area. The Indian population was exterminated, dying out from backbreaking labor on plantations, in gold and silver mines. Indian uprisings were brutally suppressed. The Spaniards imported Negro slaves from Africa into Honduras.

IN early 19th century Honduras participated in the liberation movement of the Spanish colonies and on September 15, 1821, declared its independence from Spain. During this period, political parties began to take shape in Honduras - the conservatives (the party of large landowners) and the liberals (the party of the nascent bourgeoisie), between which a struggle developed. The Conservatives managed to achieve the annexation of Honduras to Mexico (1821). In 1823, Honduras became part of the federation of the United Provinces of Central America. However, in the federation, the struggle continued between the liberals, who advocated a federalist form of government, the destruction of the privileges of the clergy and the implementation of land reform, and the conservatives, who advocated the preservation of the privileges of the church and the military and the creation of a centralized state. Incessant wars led to the collapse of the federation. In 1825, the Salvadoran liberal Manuel José Arce was elected the first president of the Federation of Central America, but the next year he renounced his party, taking a series of measures that led to the return of the Conservatives to power and the virtual abolition of the liberal constitution. In the civil war that followed, a prominent Honduran-born liberal Francisco Morazán, who became a national hero, played an important role. In 1829 the army under his command defeated the army of Arce and occupied Guatemala; the federal constitution was restored, and in 1830 Morasan was elected president. While Morasan was undeniably a capable leader, he was unduly rushing into liberal reforms. In addition, the republics that were part of the federation were still afraid of Guatemala's claims to supremacy, although Morasan moved the capital to San Salvador in 1832. Finally, in 1838 the republics officially announced their withdrawal from the Federation. On October 26, 1838, the declaration of independence of Honduras was proclaimed, and in January 1839, the first constitution of the Republic of Honduras was adopted.

INsoon after the creation of an independent state, the expansion of foreign powers into Honduras, primarily Great Britain and the United States, began. The first captured several islands off the coast of Honduras and part of the Mosquito Coast (1849-52). Fearing the strengthening of the British, the United States opposed them, referring to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850), according to which both countries renounced any seizures in Central America. As a result, Great Britain had to return the occupied territories (1859). In 1860, with the support of the US government, an American detachment led by Walker invaded Honduras. However, the people of Honduras defeated the invaders. In the second half of the 19th century, filled with the struggle between the Conservative and the Liberal parties, as well as numerous coups inspired or used by foreign powers, primarily the United States, the penetration of British and American capital into Honduras increased. In 1884, the Americans imposed on Honduras the so-called Soto-Keita Treaty, according to which Honduras received an onerous loan in exchange for railroad concessions and land for banana plantations. Due to the great demand for bananas in the foreign market, American companies expanded their plantations in Honduras, built railways and highways to transport bananas. Industry and foreign trade in Honduras gradually passed into the hands of the American imperialists. In 1902, the plantations of the American company United Fruit Company (UFCO) were created, and in 1905, the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company, which unceremoniously interfered in the political life of Honduras. Fully dependent on the United States, Honduras has become a monoculture country. The harsh working conditions on plantations and the brutal exploitation of agricultural workers caused repeated unrest, which were suppressed by American troops (1905, 1907, 1911, 1912).

B The struggle of the people of Honduras became especially active under the influence of the revolution in Russia. To suppress popular uprisings, the American imperialists sent their troops to Honduras (1917, 1919, 1924, 1925). In 1927, the first communist groups arose, the first trade unions (agricultural workers) were created. Crisis 1929-33 sharply worsened the situation of the masses, which caused a number of new uprisings (1931, early 1932). With the support of American capital, the terrorist dictatorship of T. Carias Andino was established in Honduras (he was president in 1933-49, with interruptions), who banned all democratic organizations and granted new concessions to SFCO (1935). In 1942, the United States occupied the Swan Islands, which belonged to Honduras, and built military installations there (an airfield, a radio station, etc.). In World War II, Honduras did not take part, although in December 1941 it declared war on Germany and Italy. The defeat of fascism contributed to the rise of the strike movement in Honduras and the deployment of massive anti-government and anti-imperialist uprisings (the most powerful of them in 1944 and 1947). In 1949, Carias Andino resigned under pressure from the mass movement; A protégé of the United States, former Secretary of War J.M. Galvez (1949-54), came to power, under whom the United States carried out an armed invasion of Guatemala from Honduras in 1954. The popular movement intensified more and more. In April 1954, an illegal conference of Honduran Marxists was held, which announced the creation of the Communist Party. In May 1954, a general strike of workers of banana plantations took place, as a result of which UFKO had to go to meet the demands of the workers. Liberal R. Villeda Morales won the presidential elections in 1954, however, under pressure from the United States, the election results were invalidated and Vice-President J. Lozano Diaz became interim president. Unrest did not stop in the country. Diaz's dictatorship lasted 2 years. In October 1956, army circles staged a coup d'état, and a military junta was in power for a year. Vilyeda Morales won the elections in December 1957 again. The growing resentment against the dominance of the Americans forced the government of Morales (1957-1963) at first to take some measures to develop the economy: the nationalization of one railway, the introduction of the Labor Code, the preparation of a law on agrarian reform (which met with resistance from the extreme right-wing opposition, based on SFCO). However, already in 1960, a decree was adopted prohibiting democratic publications, in 1961 diplomatic relations with the revolutionary government of Cuba were severed, in 1962, at a meeting of foreign ministers of the member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS), G. demanded to exclude Cuba from the OAS. In October 1963, the government of Morales was overthrown in a military coup led by the commander of the armed forces, Colonel O. Lopez Arellano. The coup was carried out under the pretext of "fighting the penetration of communism" into the country. The military junta headed by Arellano embarked on the path of persecution not only of progressive political parties, but also of patriotic representatives of the national bourgeoisie.

IN In February 1965, the military junta held elections for the National Constitutional Assembly. The conservatives won. In March 1965, the assembly declared López Arellano a "constitutional" president. A number of organizations were active against the government of López Arellano. In November - December, a wave of strikes took place throughout the country. Lopez Arellano, continuing to carry out repressions against democratic organizations, banned the activities of political parties (with the exception of the ruling and Liberal ones), put most newspapers under strict control. The 1960s saw a marked deterioration in relations between Honduras and El Salvador; the reason for this was border disputes, as well as numerous cases of resettlement of landless and unemployed citizens of El Salvador to Honduras. On July 14, 1969, following the scandalous football match between the teams of these countries, which took place in San Salvador and was accompanied by clashes between fans, the so-called. "football war". Four days of hostilities are estimated to have cost two thousand lives. In June 1970, the conflict was partially resolved - the countries agreed to establish a demilitarized zone, and in 1976 agreed to settle the dispute through mediators. Relations between Honduras and El Salvador remained tense until 1980, when a peace treaty was signed. In 1992, border disputes were resolved by the International Court of Justice (UN).

IN National elections were held in March 1971 in which Ramón Ernesto Cruz, leader of the National Party, was elected president. However, in 1972, Lopez Arellano regained power with a bloodless coup and the suspension of Congress. By that time, peasant unrest broke out in the country again. Lopez resumed agrarian reforms, distributing state land among landless peasants and allowing the settlement of vacant private land. Farmers were severely affected by the disastrous Hurricane Fifi that hit Honduras in September 1974, claiming 8,000 lives and damaging nearly 60 percent of agricultural land. Lopez passed a law on a new agrarian reform aimed at creating peasant cooperatives. However, his regime acquired many opponents; on the one hand, landowners were opposed to him, dissatisfied with the agrarian reform, and on the other, young army officers concerned that the money allocated to eliminate the consequences of the hurricane was appropriated by senior government officials. The last straw was the proof that Lopez himself had received a bribe from the United Fruit Company; after that, in April 1975, the military removed him from power and was replaced by Colonel Juan Alberto Melgar Castro.

Pat Melgar Castro, the army sided with the large landowners, brutally suppressing peasant unrest; some of their leaders were thrown into prisons. In the economy, Melgar Castro sought to increase the role of the state in banana production: some plantations were transferred to the state; in addition, a state administration was created, which was supposed to control and finance the activities of national producers. Ongoing corruption and rivalry between various military factions led to the fact that in 1978 Melgar Castro was ousted from power by a military junta, led by General Polycarpo Paz Garcia. Legislative elections were held in 1980, but no party won a majority, and Paz remained in the presidency. The 1981 presidential election was won by the Liberal Party candidate, Roberto Suazo Cordova. In 1985 he was succeeded by another Liberal, Jose Ascona, who won the next election over the National Party candidate Rafael Callejas (although the results of the vote were somewhat doubtful). However, in the next presidential election, the victory of Callejas, who received 51% of the vote, was undeniable. At the same time, although a civilian government nominally existed in the country, the military retained power in their hands.

TO 1993 over 70% of the population lived below the official poverty line. The presidential election in November 1993 was won by the Liberal candidate Carlos Roberto Reina, who promised to create a National Council for Economic Planning, increase social spending and hold new negotiations with international financial institutions on the payment of external debt exceeding $ 3.5 billion, to fight corruption, and punish those responsible for human rights violations. At the same time, he announced his intention to continue the liberal economic policy of his predecessor Callejas. The country's Indian organizations boycotted the elections, demanding that they be granted land rights.

Pthe reign of President Reina disappointed the hopes of the people of Honduras. Although he strove to avoid measures to cut government spending. In October 1994, he had to pass through parliament a decision to continue the structural stabilization program begun in 1990. Thus, the government nevertheless fulfilled the IMF demand, after which the country was provided with a new loan totaling $ 600 million. In April 1995, despite the resistance of the army leadership, parliament voted to abolish compulsory military service. The military was accused of serious human rights violations, including supporting death squads and organizing the kidnapping of 184 leftist politicians in 1979-1984. A special department for human rights was created. In July 1995, an investigation was launched against 10 officers on charges of abduction and torture. Many were forced to flee the country.

IN In November 1997, Liberal Flores Facusse was elected president with 53% of the vote, while National Party candidate Nora de Melgar gained about 43%. The new president continued the policy of his predecessor. In January 1999, the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that subordinated the military to the president; the post of chairman of the armed forces and the military Supreme Council of 54 members were eliminated. For the first time, a civilian was appointed to the post of defense minister. In July of that year, the President fired the Deputy Minister and Chief of the General Staff for disobeying the new minister. However, the repressive authorities often continued to operate independently. So, in October 1999, the police brutally dispersed a demonstration authorized by the president of 6 thousand Indians, and the head of state ordered an investigation into the incident. Indigenous people protested against a constitutional amendment that allowed foreigners to buy land on the country's coast.

IN In the late 1990s, relations between Honduras and neighboring Nicaragua, with which there was a dispute over the issue of coastal sovereignty, worsened. In November 1999, the National Assembly terminated the 1986 Maritime Border Agreement with Colombia. This decision also affected the sea area of \u200b\u200b130 thousand square kilometers. Both countries accused each other of concentrating troops on the border; Nicaragua imposed additional duties on Honduran goods and filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The parties, through the mediation of the Organization of American States, in 2000 decided to withdraw their troops. However, several skirmishes broke out at the border during the year.

IN Due to the devastating effects of hurricanes in 1998-1999, Honduras was granted a three-year deferral in repaying its external debt, as well as promised aid in the amount of $ 4 billion. A year after the disaster, industry and agriculture have not yet been restored. The situation was aggravated by a severe drought. The government and the United Nations have asked for food aid to Honduras.

Hin the 2001 general election, the opposition National Party won. Its candidate, Ricardo Maduro, became president with 52.2% of the vote.

Honduras is a small state located in the north of the isthmus of Central America. It was founded in 1821, when independence was proclaimed. It is a presidential republic by its form of government, the President of Honduras is elected for a term of 4 years. Today the country is run by Juan Orlando Hernandez. Administratively, the state is divided into the capital Tegucigalpa (central district) and 18 provinces-departments.

Territory

In the northeast, the country is washed by the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean, which is symbolically depicted on the coat of arms and flag of Honduras, in the southwest, where the border with El Salvador passes. The total length of the coastline is 820 kilometers. To the west of the country, as seen on the map of Honduras, is Guatemala. There are six countries on the Isthmus of Central America, namely Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica.

More than 80% of Honduras is mountainous, with ridges ranging from 5 to 9 thousand feet in height from east to west. The east of the country is covered with forests of the Mosquito Coast and swamps. A significant part of the north is covered by two rivers, Patuka and Ulua, and their tributaries. The northern shore is located on the border with the Great Barrier Reef.

As you can see on the map of Honduras, a small part of it on the southern coast with the city of San Lorenzo on it has the only outlet to the Pacific Ocean. Here is the Fonseca Bay with its natural beauty. The most famous islands of Honduras are Roatan, Sakate Grande, Sisne and El Tigre.

The largest cities in the country, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, are the largest shopping centers that carry out trade with other states. They export coffee, bananas, sugar and timber. In the settlement of Trujillo there are many ancient monuments and structures from Spanish times; it was near this place that Columbus once made his stop.

History

The history of Honduras began from the moment when Europeans first landed on this land in 1502. This was the last expedition led by Christopher Columbus. Before that, only Indian tribes lived here, engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture, trade with neighboring Mexico, mining and processing of precious metals, in particular gold and silver.

After 20 years, the Spanish conquerors raided the territory of the future state, they were looking for such fossils as gold and silver, and, finding them, created several settlements, including the modern capital of Honduras - Tegucigalpa. However, the deposits of precious metals were small, and the area did not please the Europeans - it was dense forests, then mountains, then swamps. Substantial profits were brought only by the trade in slaves, who were exported to other countries, where they were then sold.

Population

The overwhelming majority of the population of today's Honduras is Ladino, that is, mestizo. They are a mixture of Amerindians, that is, Indians, and Europeans. Creoles or white residents (they are also called European Hondurans) are a small group of the population and live mainly in Tegucigalpa and its environs. The population of Honduras is currently about 9 million.

In the mountains located in the center of the country, Indian tribes are still found. For example, in the vicinity of the ruins of the ancient city of Copan, there are descendants of the Mayan tribes who built it in the second century AD. Some temples and stone columns with reliefs and hieroglyphs are still preserved and are very impressive. The descendants of Indian tribes are called Amerindians. Most of them live in rural areas and have retained their own language.

The smallest population group here are African-Honduran blacks. They consist mainly of the Garifuna, a people with African roots. Afro-Hondurans usually live on islands and coasts, many of them originally from the Caribbean.

Most of the inhabitants of Honduras live in the central part of the country, in the west and around the capital. The mosquito coast, located in the north-east of the country and consisting of dense tropical thickets, is practically deserted. Most of the citizens of Honduras are localities. To feed themselves, they grow beans, rice and corn, and are engaged in cattle breeding. Many peasants work on tobacco, banana, and coffee plantations owned by American companies.

Language

Most of the country's inhabitants speak Spanish, but sometimes you can also find English here, in which the descendants of Indians and Africans who were brought to work on the plantations communicate. The slaves fled to the Caribbean coast called the Mosquito Coast, where they were received by English pirates and then taught English. The descendants of these Indians and Africans, who are called "Black Caribbean", still live in northern Honduras, as well as in the east.

In the eastern part of the country, there are numerous Native American dialects, the most common of which is Miskito. This language is more widespread in Nicaragua, but it also occurs in Honduras. There is also one that emerged during the period of European colonization in the 15th-20th centuries.

Climate

Hurricanes often hit Honduras from the Caribbean Sea, one of which, Fifi, destroyed plantations in September 1974 and destroyed all crops, killing 10,000 people. Streams of water literally wiped out entire villages from the face of the earth. Most of the businesses were destroyed. The climate here is tropical, rainy, and more temperate in the mountains. May to October is rainy time, and the wettest time in Honduras on the Pacific coast generally lasts from September to January.

The air temperature here is directly dependent not on the season, but on the altitude above sea level. The highest average temperature is +32 degrees. The ideal months to visit the country are February-March, the weather at this time is predictable, there is no mud, and the vegetation is abundant.

Capital

Tegucigalpa is the main trade center of the country of Honduras and its capital. It is also called "a city without railways". The name can be translated as "silver hill", but this is a conditional translation. The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1578 in the area where the Mayan settlement used to be. Then it was a large industrial center, where gold and silver were mined. Then, in 1880, the capital was moved here, and its development began. The city's population is now about 1.8 million.

Tourists here can visit the National Museum, which contains unique archaeological finds of its kind, ancient churches, the Palacio Legislativo and Casa Presidencial palaces, stroll through the Central Park and Morasan Square.

Various fairs, carnivals and festivals are often held in Tegucigalpa. But not everything is so rosy. Street theft is rampant in Honduras, home to major cities, and the capital is no exception. In this respect, small towns are much quieter.

The capital of Honduras is located in the valley of the Choluteca River, a thousand meters high. The river divides the city into two parts - mountainous and flat. The climate is mild and the air is pleasant and fresh. Coolness flows here from the pine forests. On the streets of the capital, you can find buildings that have survived since colonial times, adjacent to modern shopping centers with burning lights and cinemas. The eastern bank of the Choluteka River is considered a modern economic center, while the western bank is a historical one.

Currency

The currency of the country of Honduras is the lempira. The bargaining chip in force in the country is a centavo, equal to 1/100 of a lempira. Centavo is in the circulation of a number Until 1926, the currency of Honduras was the silver peso. The name lempira received from the name of the Indian leader who lived at the beginning of the 16th century and led the uprising of the indigenous people against the colonialists from Spain. Lempira was murdered treacherously during the negotiations. His incredible popularity among the people contributed to the fact that the country's currency was named after him.

The image of the leader is printed on paper notes "1 lempira", minted on coins along with the coat of arms of the state. However, no portraits of Lempira have survived, so he is depicted on the currency conditionally - in the guise of an Indian warrior. On other bills of the Honduran currency there are portraits of the country's former presidents, places and events important for the state.

At first, centavos were made of 900 silver. Then, in 1974, coins were produced from steel with copper or brass plating. Now coins equivalent to 1 and 2 centavos are no longer produced; a coin equivalent to 5 centavos has been withdrawn from circulation. The prices of goods are naturally rounded. Nowadays, coins of 10, 20 and 50 centavos are in circulation. The size of all lempira bills is the same. The banknotes have a watermark - a portrait repeating that depicted on the obverse. The US dollar also has free circulation throughout the country.

Tourism

Despite the harsh hurricanes of Honduras, its exotic nature, gorgeous white beaches and vast sea spaces attract travelers. There is a wide choice for active recreation: climbing the mountains, walking in the jungle, traveling to the ruins of ancient Mayan settlements and their ancient structures. There are also water activities: diving, rafting, sailing on boats with a transparent bottom. Mountaineering, ecotourism, fishing, observation of rare animals and birds, which have survived to this day due to the small population of the country - all this is available to tourists. Many rivers have beautiful waterfalls.

Those who prefer a beach holiday should definitely visit the Punta Sal peninsula, where the most comfortable hotels in Honduras are located, and the beaches of Roatan. Prices here are an order of magnitude lower than on the Caribbean coast, but nature is not inferior in beauty. What's more, Roatan is the best diving spot as it has one of the world's largest coral reefs.

Almost every city or any other settlement has its own patron, that is, a Catholic saint. Many festivals are held in honor of these saints every year. The Feria de San Isidro and La Ceiba carnivals are the largest and most ambitious. They are famous for costumed performances, dance and music, fireworks and folk parades. La Ceiba is held in the third week of the last month of spring. The main event of the country is considered to be the two-week fair "La Virgen de Suyapa", which is held in February in the city of Suyapa.

Honduras is famous not only for the ancient monuments of the Mayan tribes that have survived to this day, but also for the large number of beautiful Catholic monasteries and temples. The state maintains strict control over the possible export from the country of ancient finds dating back to the era of the Mayan civilization. Antiquities from here can be taken out only if there is a special permit for this.

Crime in Honduras, where many gangs are located, remains high. The reason for this is poverty, because of which young people join gangs that arrange firefights among themselves. Some people here are used to solving conflicts and disputes with weapons. Tourists in this country should be careful not to walk at a late hour, not to travel to remote areas, not to wear jewelry on them, not to take large sums of money with them. Every year, there are several attacks on tourists with weapons, kidnapping and other violent crimes. Perhaps that is why tourists pay little attention to Honduras, although there is something to see there. However, statements about crime are heard mainly in large cities, most of the country is completely safe for visitors. In rural areas, even petty theft is rare.

The main resorts of the country are Guanaja, Copan, La Ceiba, La Esperanza, La Mosquito and, of course, Tegucigalpa.

Religion

The overwhelming majority of believers in Hondurans, namely 96%, are Catholic. An insignificant part of the believing population (3%) are Protestants. The remaining local tribes are adherents of their religious cults, which include worship of ancestral spirits and have features of Indian and African animism.

Not all Honduras are deeply religious, often their faith is superficial, but at the same time, almost all of them believe in Jesus Christ. Protestants here mainly belong to the Evangelical Church. Nobody advertises their faith, although Catholics, for example, can wear a crucifix or amulet around their necks. Many Hondurans have a sense of divine destiny. It is interesting that Catholics are predominantly the upper classes of society, while the urban poor profess Protestantism.

The Constitution of the state says that Catholicism is a national religion. Despite this, liberal reforms took place in the 20s of the 19th century, which led to the confiscation of church property, the closure of religious educational institutions and a significant quantitative decline of the clergy. In the middle of the 20th century, people could hear any information about religion only in large administrative centers.

From that time on, the return of the church began by the forces of foreign priests, including the French-speaking Canadians. Already in the 1980s, there were enough clerics to play the main role in the confrontation directed towards the United States. Since the early 20th century, Protestantism has grown in Honduras, gaining many converts in the 1970s. Small Pentecostal chapels can be found in poorer urban and rural areas.

Most of the Catholic believers go to church only on special occasions, for example, on major church holidays. Evangelical Christians go to small chapels located in a room at home or even in a forest hut. Protestants gather every evening for prayer and Bible reading. In the district of El Paraiso, the "baptism of the cornfield" is practiced. It consists in the fact that the priest reads a prayer, sprinkles the field with holy water and tramples a path in the form of a cross across the field. He makes small crosses from corn leaves.

Economy

Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere and is still dependent on international aid. The dire economic situation was even one of the impetus for the short war between Honduras and El Salvador in July 1969.

The basis of the country's economy is agriculture. The most significant export commodities are coffee and bananas. Nearly all of the coffee and banana plantations located primarily along the north coast are owned by American organizations. Honduras also exports seafood, fruits, palm oil, beef, timber, gold and other minerals. Other important products for the country's economy are corn, oranges, lemons, beans, and rice.

The country of Honduras has significant forest resources and deposits of precious metals, lead, iron, zinc and others. However, their use is limited by the weak infrastructure of roads and railways. San Pedro Sula and important port cities are linked to the plantations via railway networks, which are only 121 km long. Therefore, remote areas are usually reached by air.

San Pedro Sula is the country's main industrial city. Equipment, raw materials, fuels, transportation, chemical products and foodstuffs are mainly imported. Apart from El Salvador and Guatemala, the United States is Honduras' largest economic partner.