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...)
La Ciudad Blanca (pronounced[lasjuˈðaðˈblaŋka], Spanish for "The White City") is a legendarysettlement said to be located in the Mosquitia region of the Gracias a Dios Department in eastern Honduras. It is also known by the Pech name Kahã Kamasa ("White Town"). This extensive area of rainforest, which includes the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, has long been the subject of multidisciplinary research. Archaeologists refer to it as being a part of the Isthmo-Colombian Area of the Americas, one in which the predominant indigenous languages have included those in the Chibchan and Misumalpan families. Due to the many variants of the story in the region, most professional archaeologists doubt that it refers to any one actual settlement, much less one representing a city of the Pre-Columbian era. They point out that there are multiple large archaeological sites in the region and that references to the legendary White City cannot be proven to refer to any single place.
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés reported hearing "trustworthy" information on a region with "towns and villages" of extreme wealth in Honduras, but never located them. In 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh reported seeing a "white city" while flying over eastern Honduras. The first known mention by an academic of the ruins under the name Ciudad Blanca (White City) was by Eduard Conzemius, an ethnographer from Luxembourg, in 1927. In his report on the Pech people of Honduras to the Society of Americanists, he said the ruins had been found about twenty-five years earlier by someone looking for rubber who got lost in the area between the Paulaya River and the Plátano River. He said it was called the White City because its buildings and a wall around it were white stone. (See Timeline below for a list of the many attempts to identify the White City.) (Full article...)
... that the Peñol de Cerquín, a Lenca fortress in southern Honduras, successfully resisted the Spanish conquistadores for months?
... that when the British Honduran Lands Department claimed no lands were available for women, Gwendolyn Lizarraga marched into the swamp and measured lots to create land parcels?
... that a river in Honduras swelled 15 meters (50 feet) above its normal level during torrential rains from a hurricane in 1935?
Image 3The 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 13The 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 61Train 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)
Image 73Mayan 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 74El Xendra is an independent film that mixes elements of suspense and science fiction. (from Culture of Honduras)
Image 75First 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 76Coat of Arms of Trujillo, one of the oldest towns founded by the Spanish in Honduras.