Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, before the Spanish colonization in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. Honduras became independent in 1821 and has since been a republic, although it has consistently endured much social strife and political instability, and remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 1960, the northern part of what was the Mosquito Coast was transferred from Nicaragua to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.
The nation's economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The lower class is primarily agriculturally based while wealth is concentrated in the country's urban centers. Honduras has a Human Development Index of 0.625, classifying it as a nation with medium development. When adjusted for income inequality, its Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index is 0.443. (Full article...)
In 2016 she was assassinated in her home by armed intruders, after many years of threats against her life. A former soldier, with the US-trained special forces units of the Honduran military, asserted that Cáceres' name was on their hitlist for months prior to her assassination. As of February 2017, three of the eight arrested people have been linked to the US-trained elite military troops. Two had been trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA, at the former School of the Americas (SOA), now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC. Having been founded in 2001, WHINSEC has since been linked to thousands of murders and human rights violations in Latin America by its graduates. In November 2017, a team of international legal experts released a report finding "willful negligence by financial institutions." For example, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Netherlands Development Finance Institution (FMO) and the Finnfund pursued a strategy with shareholders, executives, managers, and employees of the Honduran company Desarrollos Energeticos SA (DESA), private security companies working for DESA, public officials and State security agencies "to control, neutralize and eliminate any opposition". (Full article...)
Image 10The railroad transportation suffered a lot of economic issues and disadvantages during the 2000s, it was not until 2010 passenger trains where reactivated. (from History of Honduras)
Image 22First coat of arms of Honduras given by the emperor Charles I of Spain an 5th of the Holy Roman empire. By the time of the colonial era Honduras suffered a demographic change due the arrival of Spanish immigrants (from History of Honduras)
Image 23Honduran National Congress, built during the 1950s (from History of Honduras)
Image 29Mayan representative hieroglyphic of the Yax Kuk Mo Dynasty that later would become the emblem of the Kingdom of "Oxwitik" also known as Copán. (from History of Honduras)
Image 30After the 2009 coup d'état, the military presence in the streets began to be more common. (from History of Honduras)
Image 31Cafe Guancasco, is one of the best exponents of Honduran pop rock. (from Culture of Honduras)
Image 40The church of la Merced in the city of Comayagua was the first Cathedral of Honduras in 1550 and is the oldest Honduran church still standing. (from History of Honduras)
Image 56Train station in La Ceiba during the 1920s. The locomotives were one of the main means of transportation in Honduras during the 20th century. (from History of Honduras)
