Honduras was inhabited by many indigenous peoples when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The western-central part of Honduras was inhabited by the Lencas, the central north coast by the Tol, the area east and west of Trujillo by the Pech, the Maya and Sumo. These autonomous groups traded with each other and with other populations as distant as Panama and Mexico. Honduras has ruins of several cities dating from the Mesoamerican pre-classic period that show the pre-Columbian past of the country.
Central America is commonly said to include Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. This definition matches modern political borders. Central America begins geographically in Mexico, at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico's narrowest point, and the former country of Yucatán (1841–1848) was part of Central America. At the other end, before its independence in 1903 Panama was part of South America, as it was a Department of Colombia. At times Belize, a British colony until 1981, where English instead of Spanish is spoken, and where the population is primarily of African origin, has been considered not part of (Spanish-speaking) Central America.
The Football War, also known as the Soccer War or the 100 Hour War, was a brief military conflict fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countries coincided with rioting during a 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The war began on 14 July 1969 when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras. The Organization of American States (OAS) negotiated a cease-fire on the night of 18 July, hence its nickname. Salvadoran troops were withdrawn in early August.
The Federal Republic of Central America, initially known as the United Provinces of Central America, was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states, and a Federal District from 1835 to 1839. Guatemala City was its capital city until 1834, when the seat of government was relocated to San Salvador. The Federal Republic of Central America was bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south by Gran Colombia and on its eastern coastline by the Mosquito Coast and British Honduras, both claimed by the federal republic.
The Greater Republic of Central America, later the United States of Central America, originally planned to be known as the Republic of Central America, was a short-lived political union between El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, lasting from 1896 to 1898. It was an attempt to revive the failed Federal Republic of Central America that existed earlier in the century.
The Banana Wars were a series of conflicts that consisted of military occupation, police action, and intervention by the United States in Central America and the Caribbean between the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898 and the inception of the Good Neighbor Policy in 1934. The military interventions were primarily carried out by the United States Marine Corps, which also developed a manual, the Small Wars Manual (1921) based on their experiences. On occasion, the United States Navy provided gunfire support and the United States Army also deployed troops.
The Central American crisis began in the late 1970s, when major civil wars and communist revolutions erupted in various countries in Central America, causing it to become the world's most volatile region in terms of socioeconomic change. In particular, the United States feared that victories by communist forces would cause South America to become isolated from the United States if the governments of the Central American countries were overthrown and pro-Soviet communist governments were installed in their place. During these civil wars, the United States pursued its interests by supporting right-wing governments against left-wing guerrillas.
This is an index of Central America-related articles. This index defines Central America as the seven nations of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Honduras is a republic in Central America, at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize.
Authoritarian General Tiburcio Carías Andino controlled Honduras during the Great Depression, until 1948. In 1955—after two authoritarian administrations and a general strike initiated by banana workers—young military reformists staged a coup that installed a provisional junta and paved the way for constituent assembly elections in 1957. This assembly appointed Ramón Villeda Morales as president and transformed itself into a national legislature with a 6-year term.
The Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) are two community-based organizations that seek to foster the comprehensive development of the Latino community. CARECEN in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region was founded in 1981 to protect the rights of refugees arriving from conflict in Central America and to help ease their transition by providing legal services. CARECEN provides direct services in immigration, housing and citizenship while also promoting empowerment, civil rights advocacy and civic training for Latinos. Another CARECEN is also located in Los Angeles and which was established two years after the D.C. location.
The following lists events that happened during 2020 in Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The Central American Civil War may refer to one of the following conflicts:
The Battle of Chalchuapa was a battle between the military forces of El Salvador and Guatemala from 1–2 April 1885. Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios was killed during the battle.
Barrios' War of Reunification, also known as Barrios' great attempt, was a war initiated by Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios in 1885 with the goal of reunifying Central America. Of the five Central American countries, only Honduras supported Barrios' reunification effort; Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua opposed it, as did Mexico.
The War of 1907 was a conflict fought between El Salvador and an alliance between Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvadoran exiles, and American filibusters. The invasion of El Salvador on 11 June 1907 resulted in a quick military victory for El Salvador as invading forces withdrew by the end of the day. The war officially ended with the signing of a peace treaty on 20 December 1907 which established the Central American Court of Justice.
Relations between the Greater Republic of Central America, also known as the United Provinces of Central America, and the United States were formally established in 1896 following El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua agreeing to form a union similar to the former Federal Republic of Central America. Relations lasted until 1898 when the Great Republic dissolved and relations with the United States continued with the individual states of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.