Honduras

Honduras is a democratic republic in Central America, formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize). The country had a Mayan presence around the city of Copan; by the time Christopher Columbus reached the coastal Bay Islands in 1502, howver, the Lencas were the main Amerindian people living in western Honduras. The Spanish ruled for approximately three centuries. Honduras declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821, with the rest of the Central American provinces. Recently, two of the country's five registered political parties have dominated control of the nation: the Liberal Party of Hondruas and the National Party of Honduras.

Honduras has experienced strained relations with bordering El Salvador. In the 1980s, the U.S. established a military presence in the country to support the El Salvadoran military's battle against guerillas while the Honduran army quietly waged a campaign against leftists.

Study Abroad

• Global Crossroads Internships
  
• The Ethnographic Field School