Interesting Facts about Honduras

Did You Know?

16 curious facts about Honduras.

• The name of the Honduran capital city, Tegucigalpa, comes from two indigenous words: teguz, which means hill, and galpa, which means silver. Tegucigalpa was once a silver mining town.
• Honduras was originally known as Higüeras, the name of a native plant. Christopher Columbus named the land Honduras, which means “deep waters,” because he landed in a bay off the north coast of Honduras that was very deep.
• The Garífuna or Black Caribs are mixed-race descendants of Africans and Carib Indians from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, who were deported by the British and sent to Central America in the late 18th century.
• In 1830, Francisco Morazán, a Honduran military leader, was elected president of the United Provinces of Central America. He worked to improve education, the justice system and regional economic development. Many streets, parks and towns in Honduras are named after Morazán, who is considered the father of Central America.