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HISTORY |
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When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, Honduras was
populated by a number of different tribes. In the northeast - the
Mosquitia, parts of the north coast and Olancho - were the Pech and Sumu
, related to the South American Chibchans, while the north-central
region was occupied by the Tolupan , migrants from possibly as far away
as the present United States. Western Honduras was home to the Maya ,
while the Lenca , also believed to be descended from the Chibchans,
inhabited the centre of the country. The Pipils , migrants from present-day
Mexico, lived to the south, along the Golfo de Fonseca, with the Toltec-speaking
Chorotega , also from Mexico, inhabiting the area around Choluteca.
Of these, it is the Maya about whom most is known. Archeologists believe
that settlers began moving south into the Río Copán valley from around
1000 BC; construction of the city of Copán began around 100 AD. By the
time of the founding of the royal dynasty in 426 AD, Copán exerted
control as far north as the Valle de Sula, east to Lago Yojoa and west
into what is now Guatemala. Home to the governing and religious elite,
and supporting a total population of around 24,000, the city was the pre-eminent
Maya centre for scientific and artistic development; today it is one of
the world's foremost archeological sites. When, for reasons which are
not entirely clear, Maya civilization began to collapse around 900 AD,
Copán was abandoned, although the area it previously controlled remained
inhabited.
Following the collapse of the Maya empire, the Lenca became the
predominant group in Honduras, absorbing other indigenous cultures and
settling in small, scattered communities, supported by subsistence
agriculture and hunting and gathering. The Lenca established trade links
as far north as Mexico and interacted peaceably with the Maya and Pipil.
Discovery and conquest
On July 30, 1502, on his fourth and final voyage, Columbus arrived off
the island of Guanaja. Naming it the "Isla de Pinos" (Island of Pines),
he then continued exploring the Central American coastline, accompanied
by a Pech trader...
On July 30, 1502, on his fourth and final voyage, Columbus arrived off
the island of Guanaja. Naming it the "Isla de Pinos" (Island of Pines),
he then continued exploring the Central American coastline, accompanied
by a Pech trader encountered coming from the direction of Guatemala.
Sailing east along the coast, the fleet first stopped at Punta Caxinas,
close to present-day Trujillo, where the first Catholic Mass in Latin
America was held on August 14, 1502. Sailing on into harsh storms, the
fleet rounded a cape where, encountering calmer waters, Columbus is
reputed to have exclaimed "Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de estas
honduras" (Thank God we have now left these depths), christening both
the cape - Cabo Gracias a Dios - and eventually the country. Initially,
however, the Spanish called these new lands Higueras, the name used by
the indigenous groups they encountered.
Twenty years elapsed before the conquistadors returned to take
possession of the new territory, the nominal conqueror being Gil
González Dávila , who sailed up the Pacific coast from Panamá and
partially explored the lands that now form Nicaragua and Honduras. In
1524, however, Hernán Cortés despatched his lieutenant Cristóbal de Olid
to claim the whole of the isthmus on Cortés's behalf. Olid landed on the
north coast in May 1524 and founded the first Spanish settlement,
Triunfo de la Cruz on the Bahía de Tela; his own claims on the territory
were abruptly ended by assassination later that year. Cortés himself,
desperate to stamp his ownership on the new lands, left Mexico for
Honduras in 1525, arriving on the north coast in the spring and ordering
the founding of Puerto Caballos (now Puerto Cortés) and Trujillo. Aware
that his absence from Mexico was undermining his position, however,
Cortés returned there in April 1525. Five years later Pedro de Alvarado
, despatched from Guatemala, arrived to govern the territory. Under
Alvarado, the city of San Pedro Sula was founded in 1536, and control of
the inland regions was secured.
Lempira's rebellion
There was sporadic but persistent resistance to the Spanish advance by
the indigenous groups they encountered, although the power of these was
lessened by their geographical dispersal and the lack of a single
powerful group. No significant...
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There was sporadic but persistent resistance to the Spanish advance by
the indigenous groups they encountered, although the power of these was
lessened by their geographical dispersal and the lack of a single
powerful group. No significant threat to the Spanish was posed until
Lempira's rebellion in 1536. A Lenca cacique (chieftain) from what is
today Erandique in southwest Honduras, Lempira was a charismatic leader,
popularly believed to be invincible. Persuading the tribes of the centre
and western highlands to unite in rebellion, he amassed a force of up to
30,000 men, retreating with them to the natural mountain redoubt of
Peñol de Cerquín. From here he signalled the outbreak of hostilities by
killing three Spanish passers-by. The mass insurrection that followed
was at first impossible for the Spanish to control; at one point
Comayagua was burnt down and Gracias, San Pedro de Puerto Caballos and
Trujillo besieged. Outright rebellion continued for three years, before
the Spanish, having lured Lempira down to participate in peace talks,
shot and killed him in 1539. With no leader at their head, Lempira's
forces were easily overcome and the Spanish hold on the land assured.
The colonial period
With Honduras under control, the Spanish increasingly focused their
attention on the int-erior of the country, in large part because of the
inhospitable climate of the coastal settlements and their vulnerability
to pirate attacks. Discovery of gold ...
With Honduras under control, the Spanish increasingly focused their
attention on the int-erior of the country, in large part because of the
inhospitable climate of the coastal settlements and their vulnerability
to pirate attacks. Discovery of gold in the Valle de Comayagua in 1539,
and of silver at Goascorán and around Tegucigalpa over the following
forty years, seemed to promise untold riches. The designation of
Comayagua as capital in 1573 reflected the displacement of economic
activity away from the coast.
For the indigenous inhabitants, the consolidation of Spanish power was
catastrophic. Contemporary population records are notoriously inaccurate,
but from an estimated 400,000 in 1524, the population probably fell to
as low as 15,000 by 1571. Those who survived the diseases of the Old
World were initially enslaved and shipped either overseas or into the
mines. Social structures collapsed and communities were forcibly
dispersed, with the highland tribes being most affected, since they had
the greatest contact with the colonists. Incredibly, considering their
impact, the number of colonists numbered fewer than 300 throughout the
seventeenth century.
For the Spanish the steep decline in population was above all else a
severe hindrance to economic development. Though at their peak the mines
provided a comfortable living for their owners, from the seventeenth
century onwards the labour shortage made working deeper seams
impracticable, and profits dropped sharply as a result. The depopulation
of the countryside also hindered the development of a sustainable
agricultural sector. Encomienda , the system of demanding labour and
tribute from the indigenous population, theoretically ensured a supply
of workers; in practice, labour scarcity meant that food production
rarely rose above subsistence levels, capable only of supplying
immediate local needs.
By the early 1800s, the Honduran economy was in crisis. Mining was
virtually defunct and a series of severe droughts hit both agriculture
and livestock. Society was sharply divided, with a thin layer of the
relatively wealthy - state functionaries, merchants, a handful of mine
and hacienda owners - above a poor mass of mestizos and indigenous
peoples. A middle class was nonexistent and any kind of unifying
national infrastructure absent; by independence in 1821, Honduras still
had no national printing press, newspapers or university
Independence
News of independence from Spain reached Honduras on September 28, 1821.
While the Liberals of Tegucigalpa celebrated, the Conservatives of
Comayagua declared their intention of joining the American monarchy
under the Mexican Agustín Iturbide....
News of independence from Spain reached Honduras on September 28, 1821.
While the Liberals of Tegucigalpa celebrated, the Conservatives of
Comayagua declared their intention of joining the American monarchy
under the Mexican Agustín Iturbide. Following Iturbide's deposition, the
provinces of Central America declared themselves an independent republic
on July 1, 1823. In the civil war that almost immediately followed, the
Honduran Francisco Morazán - Liberal and sometime soldier - succeeded in
defeating Conservative forces in Guatemala and, elected president of the
republic in 1830, tried to institute a series of far-sighted reforms in
government, the Church, the judicial system and education. Opposed by
Conservatives across Central America, his vision of the potential of a
united republic was not enough to persuade even his own countrymen.
There were sporadic uprisings and eventually civil war broke out again;
Morazán failed to crush the Conservative-backed 1837 rebellion of Rafael
Carrera in Guatemala, and - when Honduras and Nicaragua went to war
against El Salvador - resigned in 1839. The Central American Republic
was finished.
Rivalry in the newly independent Republic of Honduras between Liberals
and Conservatives was as strong as ever. Rallying various bastions of
local power to their respective flags, they plunged the country into an
almost permanent state of political and military conflict. The economy,
too, was deeply unstable: subject to financial mismanagement by
governments of both colours, lacking an export sector to secure foreign
revenues and a national infrastructure to push growth, and undermined by
flourishing corruption. The effects of this were clearly illustrated in
the ill-fated venture to construct a national railway system. Sensing
the opportunity to make a quick profit, British banks loaned a desperate
government £6 million in 1867-70. Of this, only around £100,000 was ever
received and barely 90km of track laid. The resulting debt - which over
the next fifty years rose to £30m - was not fully paid off until 1953.
Marco Aurelio Soto and the Liberal reform
The man credited with beginning the modernization of Honduras was Dr
Marco Aurelio Soto , a Liberal who was elected president in 1876. He and
his successor Luis Bográn reformed the powers of judiciary and Church,
professionalized the armed...
The man credited with beginning the modernization of Honduras was Dr
Marco Aurelio Soto , a Liberal who was elected president in 1876. He and
his successor Luis Bográn reformed the powers of judiciary and Church,
professionalized the armed forces and put communications and education
infrastructures into place. What was created, in short, were all the
elements, above a common language and religion, necessary to make
Honduras a unified state capable of taking its place in the world.
Recognizing the need to participate in the international economy, Soto
also instigated agricultural reforms in order to develop the coffee and
sugar cane industries for export.
Believing that foreign capital was the key to economic development, he
encouraged foreign investment by US, British and European companies on
extremely favourable terms, conversely laying the basis for the
country's enduring economic problems. In the mining industry, for
example, investors had an obligation to do little more than employ
workers, while the government undertook to build roads, ports and any
infrastructure necessary to get equipment in and the finished product
out. At the El Rosario mine near Tegucigalpa - at one point the most
productive mine in the western hemisphere - which accounted for 45
percent of the country's export income at the turn of the century,
ninety percent of shares were in foreign (mainly US) hands.
The banana republic
The banana industry that developed in the late nineteenth century was to
become the dominating factor in Honduras's future. More than happy to
accept government concessions, which included exemption from customs
duties and ownership of mineral...
The banana industry that developed in the late nineteenth century was to
become the dominating factor in Honduras's future. More than happy to
accept government concessions, which included exemption from customs
duties and ownership of mineral rights, US fruit companies began to move
into the rich agricultural lands of the north coast. Three companies -
United Fruit, Vacarro Bros (later Standard Fruit) and the Cuyamel Fruit
Company (bought out by United Fruit in 1929) - soon became dominant, all
but wiping out small-scale producers. Further concessions, granted in
return for promises to build railways, allowed the companies to steadily
increase their holdings, which by 1924 amounted to two thousand square
kilometres on the north coast and control of seventy percent of
Honduras's total exports. Through expansion of interests, the companies
also gained control of the country's railways, principal factories and
major energy and telegraph companies, set up banks and acted as
intermediaries in negotiations over foreign loans.
Political power and influence followed economic might. Cuyamel
cultivated strong links with the Liberal Party, while United Fruit -
whose support extended to instigating armed uprisings - bankrolled the
Conservatives, now known as the National Party. A succession of weak and
shortlived governments struggled to keep control in the face of the
dominant interests of the fruit companies and, behind them, the United
States, as the virtually autonomous north coast spun away from the
impoverished centre and south
The development of modern Honduras: 1932-1963
With the 1932 election of National Party president Tiburcio Carías
Andino were laid the foundations for the modern state of Honduras. A
virtual dictator for sixteen years until he was forced to step down in
1948, Carías strengthened the armed...
With the 1932 election of National Party president Tiburcio Carías
Andino were laid the foundations for the modern state of Honduras. A
virtual dictator for sixteen years until he was forced to step down in
1948, Carías strengthened the armed forces and cracked down on political
opposition, the press and trade unions. Conversely, his economic
austerity programme succeeded in balancing the economy and his
authoritarian leadership forged a new national cohesion. His successor,
Juan Manuel Gálvez , set up a central bank, a public service sector, and
expanded the nascent export industry of coffee, sugar and light
manufacturing.
This strengthened government was thus better placed to deal with the
worst excesses of the banana companies, reflected in the Banana Strike
of May 1954. Originating with Puerto Cortés dockers, the strike spread
to 35,000 United and Standard Fruit workers, and then to workers in
other industries. Ended by a settlement in early July, thrashed out
between government, employers and unions, most demands went unrecognized.
The two main achievements of the strikers, however - legitimization of
labour unions and the drafting of an enduring framework of labour
protection laws - made the strike a watershed in Honduran history.
A coup in October 1956 introduced the military as a new element into the
hierarchy of power. Though civilian government resumed in 1957, with the
election of Liberal Ramón Villeda Morales, a new constitution the same
year gave the armed forces the right to disregard presidential orders
they perceived to be unconstitutional, strengthening vastly the position
of the military and affecting the development of the state over the next
twenty years.
Military influence - and the Football War
In October 1963 a second coup installed Colonel Oswaldo López Arellano
as provisional president. Though elected constitutionally in 1965, López
remained a ranking officer - eventually rising to Brigadier General -
forging an unhealthily close...
In October 1963 a second coup installed Colonel Oswaldo López Arellano
as provisional president. Though elected constitutionally in 1965, López
remained a ranking officer - eventually rising to Brigadier General -
forging an unhealthily close alliance between the military and the
National Party, in effect his personal political vehicle. During twelve
years in power he decimated the Liberal opposition and reversed most of
his predecessor's social reforms. Free-market economic policies led to
an increase in unemployment and landlessness, while the profits which
were creamed off government development projects fuelled unprecedented
corruption. In an attempt to counter growing unrest over land, López
introduced limited agrarian reform in 1967, in the shape of rural co-operatives,
though these were far more acceptable to the fruit companies than the
trade unions. Above all, however, his first period of office is
remembered for one of the more bizarre conflicts in modern Central
American history, the so-called " Football War ".
On July 14, 1969, war broke out on the Honduras-El Salvador border.
Ostensibly caused by a disputed result in a soccer match between the two
countries, the conflict stemmed from tensions generated by a steady rise
in illegal migration of compassions from El Salvador into Honduras in
search of land. In April 1969 the Honduran government gave settlers
thirty days to return to El Salvador and began forced expulsions;
sporadic violence broke out, with cynical manipulation of the situation
in the press by right-wingers on both sides of the border.
In June, the two countries began a series of qualifying matches for the
1970 World Cup, the first of which, held in Tegucigalpa, was won 1-0 by
Honduras. At the second game, won 3-0 by El Salvador, spectators at the
San Salvador ground booed the Honduran national anthem and attacked
visiting Honduran fans. The third and deciding match was pre-empted by
the El Salvadorean army bombing targets within Honduras and advancing up
to 40km into Honduran territory. After three days, around two thousand
deaths and a complete rupture of diplomatic relations, the Organization
of American States (OAS) negotiated a ceasefire, establishing a three-kilometre-wide
demilitarized zone along the border. Tensions and minor skirmishes
continued, however, until 1980, when a US-brokered peace treaty was
signed. Only in 1992 did both sides accept an International Court of
Justice ruling demarcating the border in its current location.
An experiment in democratic government, under Ramón Cruz in 1971-72, was
marked by economic chaos and civil unrest, and ended abruptly with a
second coup restoring Lopéz to power in December 1972. A new programme
of industrialization, with the government responsible for investment and
accumulation of capital, was - given the by now endemic corruption at
senior levels of government, in the military and in business - a recipe
for disaster. Millions of dollars of national and international loans
and aid money were siphoned off to private bank accounts, and while
limited agricultural reform succeeded to a degree in redistributing
under- utilized land, it was not enough to contain rural unrest.
The "Bananagate" scandal, the payment of US$1.25m to government
officials by United Brands (previously United Fruit) in return for
reducing the taxes on fruit exports, eventually forced López to leave
office in April 1975. Under his successors, Colonel Juan Melgar Castro
(1975-78) and General Policarpo Paz García (1978-81), agrarian reform
slowed to a trickle, repression of civil rights and freedom of speech
increased, and corruption among military and government personnel grew
to almost laughable levels. In a society sharply divided between rich
and poor, almost seventy percent of rural households were unable to meet
essential consumption costs, while five percent of the population
controlled over half the land.
The lost decade - "USS Honduras"
Following the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua in July 1979 and the
election of Reagan to the US presidency in November 1980, Honduras found
itself at the centre of US geo-political strategy - the "fourth border
of the US", a state of affairs...
Following the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua in July 1979 and the
election of Reagan to the US presidency in November 1980, Honduras found
itself at the centre of US geo-political strategy - the "fourth border
of the US", a state of affairs with which the government was only too
happy to comply. The elections of November 1981, held under US
diplomatic pressure, brought Roberto Suazo Córdova to power. Though a
Liberal, Suazo was closely allied to the rabidly anti-Communist Colonel
Alvarez Martinez , head of the police force (the FSP), then under
military control, and later Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
These two men allowed Honduras to become the focus for the US-backed
Contra war in Nicaragua, accepting in return over US$1.5bn of direct
economic and military aid from the US during the 1980s. US-funded
training camps along the border were used on occasion to launch Contra
attacks into Nicaraguan territory, while the Honduran army provided
logistical support and participated in manoeuvres with the steadily
growing numbers of US troops based in the country.
Domestically, the relationship between the military and government grew
ever closer. Human rights violations rose alarmingly, with the army
implicated in at least 184 "disappearances" of activists from labour
organizations and peace movements. Forced conscription was common, and
lengthy jail sentences were introduced for activities deemed subversive,
including street demonstrations. In 1984, army officers, increasingly
anxious over Alvarez's actions, forced him into exile. Though repression
eased somewhat, the relationship between the military and government
continued to be close, with corruption at senior levels in both
institutions positively encouraged by the endless flow of dollars from
the US.
Neo-liberalism and Hurricane Mitch
Honduras's role as a geo-political lynchpin diminished after Reagan left
office and both the Contra war and the civil war in El Salvador were
resolved. As the military became less obvious in day-to-day life, forced
conscription was ended and most of the...
Honduras's role as a geo-political lynchpin diminished after Reagan left
office and both the Contra war and the civil war in El Salvador were
resolved. As the military became less obvious in day-to-day life, forced
conscription was ended and most of the US troops stationed in Honduras
were recalled, the country's endemic economic and social problems were
thrown into stark relief.
National Party president Rafael Leonardo Callejas came to power in 1989
and introduced a neo-Liberal austerity programme, floating exchange
rates, privatizing the state sector and cultivating foreign and private
investment. Successful in the short term, particularly in forging
relations with international lenders, the programme led to a sharp rise
in poverty levels and failed ultimately to secure significant investment.
Jurisdiction over legal and government affairs was slowly wrested back
from the military by a resurgent judiciary, but monitoring groups
reported that human rights abuses were still common. Callejas also
singularly failed to tackle the issue of corruption, and was himself
formally indicted for misappropriation of public funds in 1994.
In 1993, the widely respected Liberal candidate, businessman-turned-politician
Carlos Roberto Reina , was elected president. Faced with an economic
recession and rapidly devaluing Lempira, Reina put his claims to be
capable of engineering moral renewal to the test by taking action on
most overt cases of high-level corruption. He was not able, however, to
prevent the economy sliding further into recession, or to halt a
steadily worsening spiral of social instability. This last, fuelled by
growing poverty and greater involvement with drug-smuggling between
South and North America, affected the north coast in particular.
Reina's successor, Liberal Carlos Flores Facussé , took office in
January 1998, after elections marred by allegations of corruption and
vote-rigging on both sides. Facussé immediately set about trying to
reduce Honduras's massive international debt, organizing a series of
meetings with the IMF and World Bank. Though Flores had been elected
with a campaign pledge to reverse the cycle of deepening poverty and
social despair through investment and a programme of national
conciliation, he largely maintained the free-market economics of his
predecessors. Corporation tax was slashed and sweeping privatization
plans were proposed in an austerity package formulated to gain debt
relief, while sales tax was hiked from 7 to 12 per cent.
But just as these policies were being implemented, and before debt
relief had been granted, Hurricane Mitch began brewing offshore in
October 1998. The category-five hurricane first battered Guanaja, laying
siege to the Bay Island for three days before ripping across mainland
Honduras, unleashing colossal volumes of rainfall in an apocalyptic
trail across the country. After causing landslides and storm surges that
killed over a thousand people in the capital Tegucigalpa, Mitch pursued
an erratic path back across Honduras, triggering devastating mud slides
and floods in neighbouring Nicaragua and along the path of the
Chamelecón and Ulúa rivers from the Western highlands to San Pedro
Sulfa. Though the final death toll will never be known, it's estimated
that Mitch killed over 7000 people in Honduras, 4000 in Nicaragua and
around 400 in Guatemala and El Salvador. Thousands more remain
unaccounted for.
President Carlos Flores declared that Mitch had set Honduras back fifty
years, and the world's media reported a cataclysmic picture of damage
and devastation. These initial assessments came to seem over-pessimistic,
however, as the nation - aided by teams from all over the world -
steadily pulled itself together again, quickly patching up much of the
key infrastructure. A year after the hurricane, all the main highways
were open and most of the hundred bridges damaged by Mitch had been or
repaired or rebuilt, and tourists were returning.
Yet reconstruction aside, it quickly became clear that Mitch had
seriously exacerbated the nation's fundamental weaknesses and
inequalities. The economy remains critically weak and almost totally
dependent on inward investment, which chiefly goes into the maquila
garment-assembly factories of the north. This industry, dominated by
Korean and US companies, enjoys tax-free status and pays notoriously
poor wages, while prestige technology companies opt to settle in the
stable pastures of Costa Rica, where they can draw on a well-educated
workforce. Crime rates have soared since Mitch, as violent gangs settle
turf wars in the streets of San Pedro Sula and cocaine trafficking has
become a key industry. The discredited police force retain a reputation
for systematic corruption and have been implicated in the widespread
killing of street children in the large cities.
As the December 2001 elections approached, life for most Hondurans
remained a struggle in a country gripped by poverty and lack of
opportunity, with unemployment, the state of the economy and law and
order being uppermost in people's minds. The new president faces other
formidable challenges: renegotiating Honduras's massive external debt
and co-ordinating the fundamental developmental reforms with the
numerous international organizations that have settled in Honduras after
Mit
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