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- This article is about the history of Honduras from 1838 to 1932. Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its now predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule. During the first half of the 20th century, the economy of Honduras was dominated by American companies such as the United Fruit Company, the Standard Fruit Company, and the Cuyamel Fruit Company, which established enormous banana plantations along the north coast. These companies quickly made bananas the primary export of the country in return for large land grants from conservative politicians. Foreign capital, life in the banana plantations, and conservatives determined the politics of Honduras from the mid-20th century to 1988. Manuel Bonilla came to the presidency of Honduras through a military operation. Once in power, he became an even better friend of the banana companies than his predecessor, Terencio Sierra. He gave the banana companies tax breaks and permission to build a variety of infrastructure, including the National Railway of Honduras. One of Bonilla's greater accomplishments was the delimitation of the border with Nicaragua, especially in the area of the Mosquito Coast where there had been a long dispute after the Treaty of Comayagua and Managua with Great Britain. Miguel R. Dávila succeeded Bonilla as president. During his administration, the United States tried to put an end to Central American conflicts through the Central American Peace Conference of 1907. However, from 1920 to 1923, there were seventeen uprisings or attempted coups d'état in Honduras. This contributed even more to the political instability of the country. Vicente Mejía Colindres assumed power in 1929 with big hopes for his administration and his nation. Honduras seemed to direct its course toward political and economic progress. But many of Mejía Colindres's hopes were dispelled with the start of the Great Depression. (en)
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